Reaching Out with ICW in Oman
Great things happened during last year’s International Coaching Week (ICW) in Oman, thanks to the support of enthusiastic ICF Oman Chapter Members. The Chapter is relatively young, established in 2015 and has 33 members to date. ICW is an excellent way for us to reach out to make people aware we exist and what our mission is. During ICW 2017, individuals and organizations in Muscat received pro bono from ICF Members. The goal was to raise awareness among the public and organizations about the positive impact of professional coaching and to let them experience what coaching is.
Oman, home to a relatively small population of 4.5 million, is increasingly focused on diversification, innovation and the promotion of non-oil exports. In the last couple of years, we witnessed all kinds of growth initiatives aimed at boosting economic and social development, like the National Program for Enhancing Economic Diversification (Tanfeedh), and initiatives to enhance the SME sector and promote more women in the private sector. In this context, there is a growing need to strengthen local human capacity, leadership capacity and soft skills development. So, in many ways, introducing coaching to different layers of society is coming at the right moment. More and more organizations realize they need to invest in employees’ development, as well as shift away from a silo mentality and from a “command and control” culture to a greater collaborative, creative and productive work environment. ICW 2017 was an excellent platform to raise awareness around the value of coaching for organizations, individuals and society at large.
During ICW 2017, we delivered pro bono coaching to a group of female entrepreneurs, set up an online coaching webinar for small business owners, reached out to a company management team and delivered team coaching to several groups of Omani graduates.
The crown event during ICW was the “Why Coach”? event with more than 50 interested parties from private sector, educational institutions and individuals. During the event, participants immersed in the world of professional coaching through two live video presentations of Prism award nominees and two panel discussions on coaching. During the first panel, industry leaders of several well-known Omani companies informed the audience of the benefits coaching has brought to their companies while in the second panel, personal life coaching experiences were shared by clients, which truly moved the listeners.
The set-up of ICW was a great success, and we were able to reach many people in all corners of society. We had a good deal of media attention and shared the events, initiatives and outcomes on social media. We were immensely pleased with the great feedback of participants and from the organizations where we delivered pro bono coaching.
ICW was brought to a close in Dubai with a regional Middle East Prism award ceremony for the business community that is “creating a coaching culture.” Oman Shipping Company received honorable mention. This gives a good indication that we are on the right track as the ICF Oman Chapter to promote more than ever the art, science and practice of coaching.
What Will This Year’s ICW in Oman Bring?
Since we got the word out last year, this year we strive to deliver even more in-person coaching experiences. For this, we reached out to several not-for-profit organizations. We will be present during the open day at a college, reaching out to students, their parents and the teachers. We will work with several incubators for young entrepreneurs and an organization focused on young leaders. We will also repeat some past successes like the webinar for entrepreneurs, called “The Entrepreneurs’ Resources – Attracting and Letting Go.” A new offering this year is a group coaching workshop “Experience Systems Coaching” by Linda Berlot, PCC, from the Berlot Group in Dubai. Like last year, International Coaching Week will end with the ICF Middle East Prism award ceremony in Dubai, celebrating organizational coaching programs within companies in the region. And we’re proud to say that again an Omani company is one of the nominees.
The yearly ICW in May is a great way to reach out and support the Chapter’s vision and mission to further raise awareness of coaching in Oman as an integral part of a thriving society, people, business community and education sector and become the number one coaching association and authority on coaching in Oman.
Elisabeth van Loon-Muller, ACC
Elisabeth van Loon-Muller, ACC, is a certified Organization- and Relationship Systems Coach (ORSCC) and lives in Muscat, the lovely capital of Oman. She served as the 2017 ICW Chair for the ICF Oman Chapter. After working for over 15 years in large internationally operating organizations (Europe and Africa) with a strong focus on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and human capacity-building, she now runs her own coaching practice, leading transformational projects to enhance leaders and improve organizations’ long-term effectiveness, creating resilient and aligned teams, enhancing the capability to relate and work effectively across cultures.
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Great applauds to ICW, your focus and integrated efforts for women empowerment through coaching in Oman is really commendable. Growth in professional working culture in today scenario is really a stressful job. Efficient employees hold the foundation of biggest ventures and arranging a seminar for their skill development, future growth orientation through life coaching is the need of the hour. Really Appreciated Elisabeth for sharing.