ICF Recognizes Organizations that Grow Middle East and North African Businesses and Professionals through Strong Coaching Programs
Beirut, Lebanon (April 23, 2019) — The International Coach Federation (ICF), an organization dedicated to advancing the coaching profession, hosted its third annual Middle East Prism Awards on April 17 at the Cairo Marriott Hotel & Omar El Khayyam Casino, Zamalek in Cairo, Egypt. The event celebrated the impact of professional coaching and the success of integrating a coaching culture into an organization, and honored businesses and organizations in the Middle East with coaching cultures that offer employees the opportunity to grow their skills, enhance their value and reach their goals.
“Since 2005, the ICF Prism Awards have honored the coaching programs developed by businesses and organizations that fulfill rigorous professional standards, address key strategic goals, shape organizational culture and yield discernible and measurable positive impacts,” said Magdalena Mook, ICF CEO and Executive Director. “With the region’s meteoric economic growth, coaching can help professionals and businesses capitalize on the many opportunities available to them.”
The awards honored organizations with professional coaching standards and strategies that create positive impact in the region. Those with a strong coaching culture that reflect ICF competencies and produce positive outcomes were recognized. Participants were nominated by ICF-credentialed coaches who were involved with the companies’ coaching program.
“Coaching in organizations has evolved significantly over the years and its impact is incremental. Coaching is no longer considered a luxury but has proven to be a necessity to ensure consistency and sustainability,” said Shahira Rifaat, PCC, President of ICF Egypt. “A growing number of organizations in the Middle East are shifting their perspective as they begin to realize the positive impact of coaching on leadership performance. It is our role to continually raise awareness of the importance of how a coaching culture can transform organizations.”
This year’s keynote speaker was Dr. Sally Bonneywell, an award-winning ICF Professional Certified Coach (PCC) who has worked across various industries and research projects as an expert in the fields of coaching and organizational development. Dr. Bonneywell shared her success establishing coaching as a best practice inside GSK globally. In her remarks, she discussed the discipline and time it takes to establish a credible coaching program that will generate positive results.
She currently serves as the lead coach for the executive MBA program at the International Institute for Management Development (IMD). Dr. Bonneywell also set up the Coaching Centre of Excellence in GSK, combining external and internal executive coaching. Her industry accolades include the Coaching at Work Internal Coach of the Year and the ICF International Prism Award for Excellence in Coaching for GSK.
Also present were executives from the International Coach Federation Global organization. Veronica Lysaght, Strategic Regional Director of the ICF, shared the tremendous growth of coaching in the Middle East. Since 2015, ten ICF chapters have been established in the Middle East with nearly 800 member coaches.
In addition, Ann Rindone, Senior Director, Membership and Global Development of the ICF, talked about the benefits of being an ICF coach and the impact they make in part because of their guiding principles of core competencies and a high standard of ethics.
The event culminated with the announcement of the Middle East Prism Award winner for superior coaching in organizations. The 2019 nominating coach award winner was Aisha Rawert from Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company from the UAE. The honorable mention for this year‘s award went to nominating coach Ghada Shana’a from Bahrain Institute of Public Administration.
ICF Egypt is doing extensive work in expanding its reach through partnerships with reputable organizations. Their latest successful partnership was finalized in 2018 with the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt’s Career Development Center (CDC) to serve the business community and mutually increase awareness about coaching by promoting, developing and implementing training programs in different fields to enhance productivity, efficiency and generate measurable effective impacts. The chapter also helps to raise awareness around ICF-credentialed coaches in Egypt and the Middle East.
For more information, go to https://coachfederation.org/prism-award
About the International Coach Federation
The International Coach Federation (ICF) is dedicated to advancing the coaching profession by setting high ethical standards, promoting independent certification, and building a global network of credentialed coaches in various area specialties. ICF is active in representing all types of Coaches, including Executive, Life, Leadership, Relationship and Career. Its 35,000-plus members in 145 countries work toward the common goal of raising awareness about coaching, upholding the integrity of the profession and promoting continuous learning.