In the 1960s Bucky, as Mr. Fuller was called, envisioned a “World Game.” Keep in mind this was before the Internet and the worldwide web, the 24x7 news cycle a la CNN and personal computers. He envisioned a time when citizens could come together to share knowledge and see the systems of the world holistically. Doing this could generate new mindsets and worldviews that could adopt approaches for governance and social problem solving, subverting the pyramidic power structure in today’s have and have-not society. His ideas and those of the thousands of innovators and leaders who engage through the BFI propel regenerative approaches at the intersection of design, art, and science.

I am sharing this as my way to acknowledge the passing of Earth Day in April and turning our attention now toward the month of May, which in many spiritual traditions means well-being, wisdom, and self-empowerment. In our field of coaching, the month of May offers an annual celebration called International Coaching Week. Envisioned by ICF Master Certified Coach, Jerri Udelson from Canada in 1999, this week-long celebration about the amplifying power of coaching at the intersection of art, science, and practice, represents one way we make the world work for 100% of humanity.

Of course, answering Bucky’s question is a marathon and not a sprint, and requires every human alive today to engage with this big question. I know deep down and suspect you do too, that we must make ‘we’ real or we, the human race won’t survive, let alone thrive and flourish. Possessing a sensitivity to life purpose is shared cross-culturally. The field of coaching, global in reach and composition, serves the world as a bridge, creating spaces to hear and engage in empathetic and compassionate listening, exactly what is needed for life purpose to fully and generatively manifest.

I feel deep gratitude for the shoulders that today’s coaches stand upon to bring the coaching mindset and skillset alive around the world. According to the 2020 Global Coaching Study released by the International Coaching Federation, the coaching field has grown to more than 70,000 people engaging in the practices of coaching to maximize personal and professional potential. As a coach educator, I am enlivened every day to witness people choose to become a coach and/or build coaching capability so that the quality of life and experience of relationships has greater wholeness, creativity, and harmony. For me, the art, science, and practice of coaching is both a calling to contribute to generating a better world, and a responsibility to overcome the illusion of separateness, no matter how complicated and challenging this may be. In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, "An individual has not started living until [they] can rise above the narrow confines of [their] individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity."

Each year since 2006, inviteCHANGE has showcased International Coaching Week through a variety of initiatives. Partnering with not-for-profits to offer coaching, hosting educational events and awareness building open house experiences, and showcasing studies about the efficacy of professional coaching in many different contexts and life endeavors. This year we continue our tradition with the theme, “Where are YOU inviting change in 2021?” Our experiences and stories from 2020, navigating a global pandemic, and the rippling effects on economic well-being and social injustice reveal opportunities for new choices. Listening deeply to your innately creative life force rests at the heart of the post-pandemic climate we are hopefully entering. A coaching mindset, engaging a coach, becoming a coach, being an artful leader and coach based upon the principles, models, and skills of the field of professional coaching provide resources to anyone with the courage to step toward those new choices.

What’s in store for this year?

42 hours of learning across seven days, accessible in any time zone either live or via recording so you may access over time, again, and again.

• Systemic thinking and teaming,
• resilience,
• equity,
• social consciousness,
• sharing your voice and wisdom through writing and speaking,
• living and leading authentically and
• strengthening quality through mentor coaching and coaching supervision

All of these topics are covered in the content of these sessions... and much more!

Be one of the first 100 to register and receive:

• Free Kindle of my E-book InviteChange 2020: The Year of No Return.
• Free issue of choice Magazine.
• Discount code for 25% off a subscription to choice Magazine.

Coaches, clients, educators, writers, publishers, and researchers are coming together to create a learning community that welcomes everyone to directly experience the uplifting effect of professional coaching and receives well-being, wisdom, and empowerment. I look forward to being with and learning with you during the month of May and anytime you choose to invite change into your life.