Why did you choose South Asia for your first project?
Three words: Strategic, Strategic, and Strategic! Of course, we were also invited by the partnering organization. But, consider: Over half of the world’s least reached people live in South Asia. India alone has the highest concentration of unreached people groups of any country in the world. Coaching mission leaders here has far reaching strategic significance at a time of dynamic regional change. We believe the model we develop in South Asiawill play an important role in how missionary leaders are cared for, developed and supported in this new century.
So, what exactly is coaching?
Coaching is the art of engaging leaders in a conversational process that results in levels of growth and performance they would not have achieved on their own. While it typically focuses on growth and change, it is not primarily about fixing under-performing leaders. It’s about taking good leaders and making them great, and helping great leaders access and utilize their full abilities. By believing in them and encouraging responsibility, instead of giving advice, the coach helps a leader clarify and take action toward the growth and change goals that they themselves have set. These may be personal or organizational. A helpful contrast is with mentoring. While a mentor draws on what they have to give from their own experience and expertise, a coach focuses on drawing out what’s already inside the leader being coached, and then maximizing their own insight, gifting and ability.
How does coaching work?
Coaching provides a relational support structure that intentionally fosters growth and change through regular “phone appointments” with the coach. It provides a blend of challenge, encouragement, perspective and accountability that helps leaders fulfill their unique potential. Coaching is growing explosively in the business world, and is also widely used with small group leaders and church planters. In all these spheres, coaching has been found to greatly increase leadership effectiveness and development. Because it is normally done at a distance, professionally certified coaches with cross-cultural experience and a heart for the nations can provide high-quality individualized coaching to multiple missionary leaders in several different countries at the same time.
Does coaching work in non-Western cultures?
Because a coach doesn’t tell people what to do, but rather draws out what God is already doing in them, it is uniquely suited for working cross-culturally. Each CMI coach has personal, first-hand exposure to missions and cross-cultural issues, as well as special training in applying coaching approaches into non-western settings. As such, coaching is a dynamic method for helping frontline leaders grow, change, and become more effective in a variety of cultural; contexts.
What kind of leaders do you work with?
At Coaching Mission International (CMI), we believe that one of the most powerful ways to increase mission effectiveness is to invest in leaders who are already on the front lines, reaching the nations for Jesus. Coaching provided by CMI aims to multiply the impact and longevity of those who are already on the frontlines by helping them lead more satisfying, balanced and productive lives, while dramatically reducing the all too common burn out and attrition that drain skilled workers from the field. We do this by partnering with organizations to provide their frontline leaders with the proactive support and development they need, and which too often the mission organizations themselves are unable to provide.What other services do you provide?
In addition to coaching, we provide training to equip an organization’s expatriate and national leaders with coaching skills themselves. We also work with them to develop peer coaching systems and specialist coach services within their organization. For missionaries who have to leave the field due to retirement, health, children’s schooling or other reasons, we also provide coach training. These off-field missionaries can then redeploy their mission, leadership, language and cultural skills back into the field through an off-field coaching platform. In such ways CMI both helps support leaders personally and multiplies their impact both on and off the field.
How is CMI structured to ensure quality and accountability?
The CMI Executive Director, Tina Stoltzfus Horst, M.S., under board supervision, is in charge of day to day operations as well as recruiting and supervising coaches. Each coach is professionally certified and has first-hand cross-cultural experience. In addition, the CMI Board includes highly experienced coaches, a master coach and coach trainers, as well as veteran mission leaders, business persons and a member of a midwest state legislature. Together they oversee strategic direction, planning and implementation. This includes ensuring faithfulness to CMI Vision and Values, as well as adherence to the highest in professional, ethical and quality standards in relation to coaching. They assist the Executive Director in raising prayer and financial support through grants and donations to fund administrative and operational costs, startup costs for new initiatives, and in some cases to subsidize part of coaching session costs, depending on the project.
Is Coaching free to those being coached?
No. CMI has a Pay-for-Coaching Policy where each Missionary Leader pays a context-appropriate portion of the costs for each coaching session. This is typically from $5 - $15 per session. In addition, they commit to a minimum number of coaching sessions depending on the program, typically 12 - 24 sessions over a 6 to 12 month period. Each one also is responsible for maintaining by their own means a broadband connection for making calls over the internet.
What does it cost to provide coaching to frontline leaders and how is it paid for?
The financial cost varies by project, location and coach. Each coach provides their services at substantially reduced rates, and takes responsibility to personally raise the balance of any costs not covered by the leader, grant funding or scholarship funding. This amount may range from $80 to $110 per month per leader. The coach typically raises this through business, church and personal sponsorships. Their coaching services are then reimbursed monthly as funds are available in their coaching account, and only for actual coaching sessions provided. Whatever the project, we seek to develop them in cost effective, financially sustainable ways that allow maximum participation by those who may benefit most.
What is the vision of CMI beyond this first South Asia Project?
To maximize and multiply mission leaders….by coaching them to greater effectiveness, stronger personal lives and the fulfillment of their callings, and to accomplish this through strategic partnerships with mission organizations around the world. In addition to individual coaching, we will continue to provide training to equip partnering missions’ expatriate and national leaders with coaching skills themselves, as well as develop peer coaching systems and specialist coach services within their organization. Additional projects are slated to start in 2009. One of these will train veteran missionaries who can no longer be on the field and redeploy them as Leadership Coaches; thereby, keeping their years of cultural understanding, leadership experience and language abilities active on the frontlines even though they can’t be there themselves.
