Prism Award
THE 2011 PRISM AWARD CELEBRATION & LUNCHEON
February 10, 2012
The Metro DC Chapter of the International Coach Federation will award its fourth annual Prism Award on Friday, February 10, 2012 at a luncheon at The Capital Hilton in Washington, DC. We'll also get to hear from leadership guru, coach, author and speaker Scott Eblin, who will share insights on the key behaviors leaders need to absorb -- or let go -- as they transition into new and larger roles, how leaders can empower teams and spur them to greater results, and how leaders can communicate effectively in a rapidly changing environment.
The Details
The Award
The Recipients
The Program
Previous Prism Award Winners
Friday, February 10, 2012
11:15 – 11:45: Check in and networking
11:45 – 12:15 pm: Lunch
12:15 – 2:30 pm: Award presentation and keynote speaker Scott Eblin on “Coachable Moments: Leadership Tools You Can Use Every Day”
The Capital Hilton
1001 16th Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20036
Click here to register. Deadline is Wednesday, Feb. 8
The Prism Award is presented each year by the Metro DC Chapter of the International Coach Federation (ICF), in recognition of the impact of executive coaching on organizational/business results and employee performance. It is presented to the organization that has successfully championed coaching within its organization over the past year.
While the Prism Award is given to the organization to honor its success, we also acknowledge the coaches who partnered with the organization to accomplish such success.
Executive coaching has emerged in recent years as a popular, powerful and cost-effective way to develop leadership skills. With the Prism Award, we want to focus on how to leverage the power of coaching strategically for organizations so that there is a demonstrable effect on the business results.
Patti Burgess, the architect of the original Prism award, has said that the concept for the award came to her when she thought of coaching as a tool to help clients create "full spectrum living" for themselves. The idea of a spectrum led to "prism" because of the ability of the quartz crystal to refract light into the full spectrum of colors. It was first instituted in Toronto and has since come to be used throughout Canada and by ICF Global. The ICF Metro DC Chapter was the second chapter in the United States to present this award.
By acknowledging both the organization and the coach(es) who contributed to its success, the Prism Award raises the profile of the value of coaching within the business community. It is one of the many ways the ICF Metro DC Chapter demonstrates its strong commitment to the highest standards and ethics in coaching.
2011 Prism Award Recipient: Arlington County Government
Arlington County Government is on the cutting edge of leadership development in local government and its Mid-Level Manager Development Program (MLM) is one of its signature programs. The MLM program contributes to the county’s larger vision of being a true learning organization where leaders at all levels focus on their continual growth and development.
The six-month MLM program, which was designed by Emma Kiendl, PCC, manager of training and organization development, incorporates classroom training, multi-rater and personality assessments, a career development project and individual and group coaching. The program is supported by a strong partnership of internal and external coaches/facilitators, including Sandra Brody, ACC, training and organization development specialist for Arlington County and Kiendl and Lynnette Yount, MCC, of Lynnette Yount Associates, Inc., who submitted the nomination of the county’s program.
Over the three years that the MLM program has been in existence, 50 leaders from every department in the organization have participated in the program. Entry into the program is a competitive process that involves a supporting nomination by the participant’s manager and the elements of the program are delivered in a cohort format, with participants experiencing the six month program together.
The coaching initiative, and indeed the entire MLM program, was designed to fill a critical need in the county. With a large number of county managers will be eligible for retirement in the near future, Arlington County Government needed a way to “fast track” mid-level talent to be prepared for the next steps in their careers, to develop mid-level managers as the coaches of the internal talent, and, equally important, to reconnect them with their purpose, passion and drive for their work. One unique element of the MLM program includes the career development project, in which participants use the coaching and other skills learned in the program to develop the potential of a direct report. Also unique, especially in local government, is the program’s emphasis on innovative concepts such as leadership presence and somatic coaching, designed to help leaders take effective leadership actions through mind-body practices. It is this hands-on, practical approach to leadership development that has made the program successful. The broad interest in and success of the MLM program, including the coaching component, are due in large part to the senior level support that the program enjoys. The fact that the program is viewed as a sought-after benefit and an investment in a leader’s success is evidence that the MLM is indeed creating value for the county.
2011 Honorable Mention: Booz Allen Hamilton
McLean-based Booz Allen Hamilton's coaching program has been in existence since 1998. However, it has been in the last year that the management and technology consulting firm has taken significant strides toward connecting leadership coaching to business impact. While coaching efforts have been successful in the past, Booz Allen Hamilton now links this learning solution to business requirements such as collaboration across teams, communication, and managing business risk. Coaching is viewed as a key strategy to support high potentials and “up and coming” leaders.
Headed by Laura Mendelow, coaching and organization development project manager, one of the key ways in which they have linked the firm’s coaching efforts to business requirements is through the significant involvement of the managers of coaching participants. Activities such as signing off on coaching goals to ensure the development areas are in line with the firm's leadership needs, periodic update meetings with the coaches and obtaining feedback on performance improvements are all a part of the responsibilities of the managers of the coachees.
Capitalizing on the momentum of the changes in the coaching program at the firm, future enhancements include increasing the involvement of the managers of coaching participants, building a cadre of internal coaches to support mid-level managers, and strengthening the partnership with the firm’s internal HR managers. Bill Pullen, MCC, of BPA Coaching and Consulting, is the nominating coach for the Booz Allen Hamilton program.
In addition to the presentation of the Prism Award and a brief presentation from the 2011 recipient, attendees will enjoy a keynote presentation by leadership guru, coach, author and speaker, Scott Eblin, who will discuss “Coachable Moments: Leadership Tools You Can Use Every Day.”
Scott will share insights on the key behaviors leaders need to absorb -- or let go -- as they transition into new and larger roles, how leaders can empower teams and spur them to greater results, and how leaders can communicate effectively in a rapidly changing environment.
Scott will be available after his speech to sign a limited number of copies of his book, The Next Level: What Insiders Know About Executive Success, which will be available for purchase at the luncheon. Scott is co-founder and president of The Eblin Group, a leadership development and strategy firm that supports organizations in ensuring the success of their executive leaders.
2010 Prism Award Winner: National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (Dianne Rankin, SENSA Solutions, nominating coach) more ...
2010 Honorable Mention: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services (Angela C. Charles, Comskil, nominating and lead coach) more ...
2009 Prism Award Winner: The National Institutes of Health Clinical Center (Deborah Gardner, Chief of the Clinical Center Office of Organizational Development, internal program lead; Cynthia Way, PCC, nominating coach) more ...
2009 Honorable Mention: National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (Fred Nassauer, Human Development Consultant in the Office of Human Development, internal program lead) more ...
2008 Prism Award Winner: U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration (Bill Pullen, BPA Coaching and Consulting, Lead Coach) more ...
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2010 Prism Award Winner: National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, one of the five major U.S. agencies dedicated to intelligence gathering, is responsible for geospatial intelligence in support of national security. The NGA Leadership Coaching Program is now established as a strategically focused program in support of leadership development, which has had significant impact on the organization’s culture. In selecting NGA, the jury was impressed with the program's maturity, breadth of participation, organizational focus and executive-level involvement.
The nominating coach, Dianne Rankin of SENSA Solutions, supported the program with a diversely talented cadre of 20 external coaches. Each coach had to be ICF certified and hold a security clearance. More than half of the coaches hold a PCC or MCC credential.
The NGA Leadership Coaching Program provided individual, team and group coaching with the objective of accelerating leadership development for strong performers. In 2010, the coaching program saw its first year of high-repeat coaching clients as well as an increase in unsolicited first-time coaching clients. A true coaching culture has started to emerge at NGA. In addition, this year the Leadership Coaching Program furthered its objectives by kicking off two new programs in support of NGA leaders: 1) Coaching in support of key talent as identified by NGA Succession Planning; 2) Coaching in support of Deployer Team Leads prior to and following overseas deployment.
2010 Honorable Mention: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services
An Honorable Mention went to the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. This organization identified coaching as vehicle to support organizational goals and leadership development. Nominating and lead coach Angela C. Charles of Comskil said, “Through the coaching initiative, one by one and team by team, the leaders are deepening an awareness of the vital traits that are required from them to be successful.” The jury felt that this coaching initiative showed tremendous progress for such a young program.
The coaching services provided to senior leadership includes:
- Support in developing a personal vision and plan for professional and personal growth
- Guidance with goal setting and accomplishments
- Useful feedback
- A sounding board to discuss personal and professional challenges
- Assistance in developing strengths
- Improved confidence and techniques for effective communication
2009 Prism Award Winner: The National Institutes of Health Clinical Center
The National Institutes of Health Clinical Center is the recipient of the chapter’s 2009 Prism Award for excellence in leadership coaching initiatives. The center's coaching program is led by Deborah Gardner, Chief of the Clinical Center Office of Organizational Development and is supported by a partnership with eight external coaches: Arleen LaBella Ed.D., MCC; Hany Malik, MBA, Psy.D., PCC; Frank Ball, MCC; Paula Lowe, ACC; Cynthia Way, PCC; Leah Kadar, MS, ACC; Wendy Swire, MA, PCC; and Fred Mael, Ph.D. The program is designed to address key workforce issues such as succession planning, retention of high performers and development of a leadership culture where the practice of the science of management is just as important as scientific knowledge when it comes to leadership success. According to Gardner, coaching has enabled Clinical Center leaders to appreciate that in a culture of science, there is an art and science to management.
2009 Honorable Mention: National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
The chapter awarded an Honorable Mention to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency for its coaching program, led by Fred Nassauer, Human Development Consultant in the Office of Human Development.
2008 Prism Award Winner: U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration
The ICF Metro DC chapter's first Prism Award went to the U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration, with former chapter president Bill Pullen, MCC, as lead coach. Coaches provided tools to ITA leaders to improve employee engagement and productivity. The program began as a pilot with 50 managers, each receiving nine hours of coaching, and soon there was a waiting list and requests for extended coaching services. The program had four specific, measurable goals:
- Ability to identify and leverage personal strengths
- Increased ability to identify and leverage strength of the team
- Increased self-awareness
- Improved transparency and communicationIn accepting the award, Michelle O’Neill, ITA Acting Undersecretary, indicated that coaching resulted in improved employee relations and growth of new leaders.
