Wishing all of us a joyful and prosperous 2022!

No matter where we may be located in the world at this moment, we have all been impacted by the pandemic and also the current surge of infections through the Omicron variant. As I observe conversations with my colleagues, friends and family, I notice the prevalent need to self-preserve dancing simultaneously with the longing to be free. Anticipatory anxiety is all pervasive. Communities that are resilient have brought in hope and strength to each other and bring in wisdom and wit to tide over what has been a challenging time.

How can coach training and learning processes embody hope, courage and a quantum shift in consciousness for coaches? Is this a worthwhile dialogue for us to engage in?

At ACTO, we are proud of the contribution we have made and continue to make to furthering excellence in coach training through ideas, practices and community building. As a board, it is our commitment to introduce one or two powerful ideas this year that will shape the coach training paradigm and take us collectively closer to embracing a plural, multicultural and a multidimensionally connected world. As coach trainers, our students and communities we serve often provide us insights into what might be needed next in our course-rooms and how do we challenge our basic assumptions.

The incredibly talented and diverse board @ ACTO is focused on designing some great experiences and dialogue spaces through 2022. Here are some key highlights of what is to come next:

  1. We are excited to offer a virtual conference this year and some of our speakers as well as keynote will focus on challenging and inquiring into our fundamental assumptions around coaching and coach training. We are also excited to offer perspectives around how consciousness work impacts coach training and coaches and includes emergent paradigms that we must take into cognizance. The virtual medium has worked well over the last two years and we are committed to designing innovative ways to conference this year.
  2. ACTO will pilot a ‘Train the trainer’ competence development workshop in the next few months. This is a ‘first’ in identifying a set of trainer competencies and offering focused orientation and development along these competencies. We at ACTO are grateful to Marcia Reynolds and her task force that has worked on this relentlessly over the past four years.
  3. There will be some very interesting research and dialogue around ‘decolonialising’ coach training as well as transformational identity and culture work. We will of course be reaching out to you to engage with us on these research initiatives. Please do reach out or write to me should you have interesting research areas that you would wish for ACTO to look into.
  4. The monthly English forums will be reactivated starting February 2022 and we have an exciting set of speakers and education initiatives we would love for you to engage in and contribute to.

As members, we invite you to partner us in expanding ACTO and its reach through your ideas, voice, contribution and connecting us with those who are not yet aware about ACTO.

Through 2022 – I will reach out and request for your partnership through the following anchors.

  1. Connect: Build deep and learning connections leading to synergistic cross-pollination.
  2. Co-create: Co-create powerful ways to dialogue, teach and embrace what is emergent in our shared world.
  3. Contribute: through radical and transformative ideas and practices that support excellence and innovation in coach training.

With respect and anticipation, Vikram Bhatt