Chair of ICF's Independent Review Board honored for thought leadership and years of volunteer service.
LEXINGTON, Ky., Dec. 26, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — Kees de Vries, PCC (Netherlands), has been honored with the 2014 International Coach Federation (ICF) President's Award. Each year, the leader of ICF Global presents an individual or group with the ICF President's Award in recognition of outstanding work to promote coaching in a humanitarian capacity.
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An ICF Global Member since 2000 and a co-founder of ICF Netherlands, de Vries was recognized for his numerous contributions to ICF through the years including, most recently, two years of service as chair of ICF's Independent Review Board (IRB). During six years of IRB membership, which also included a two-year term as Vice Chair and Complaint Manager, de Vries has helped enhance ICF's efforts to raise the standards of ethical practice in the rapidly growing and evolving coaching industry.
"Kees is a global proponent for and thought leader on coaching ethics and one of ICF's most-valued volunteer leaders," said 2014 ICF Global Chair Damian Goldvarg, Ph.D., MCC. "His efforts have changed the conversation around coaching ethics from, 'This is what coaches can't do,' to, 'This is the way a professional coach should be and behave.' His outstanding example and mindful, respectful approach to leadership have helped drive ICF's evolution into an ethically mature organization."
De Vries is a seasoned Executive Life Coach with more than 25 years of experience as a coach practitioner and coaching supervisor. He served on the board of ICF Netherlands for three years, has been a presenter for and member of ICF's Ethics Community of Practice, serves on the ICF Code of Ethics Review Team, and was co-driver of the ICF High Performance Organization (HPO) Ethics/IRB Extended Team, which evaluated ICF's organizational infrastructure as it pertained to the IRB, ethics and ethics education.
"I feel tremendously honored that Damian chose to present me with the 2014 ICF President's Award; however, I share this award with IRB Vice Chair and Complaint Manager Sue McMahon, PCC (USA); ICF Global's Assistant Executive Director in charge of ethics and regulation, Todd Hamilton; and all of my IRB colleagues," de Vries said. "This award is recognition for our collective commitment and efforts, and for the supportive community we have built together."
He added, "This recognition comes at the right moment, because the subject of ethics needs a higher profile, both within the coaching industry and with the general public. … The past two years have been a period of tremendous growth for ICF and for coaching. Growth means living, developing and moving, and as ICF and coaching evolve, so does our conception of ethics. This is an exciting time to be part of ICF's IRB, as we engage in the ongoing pursuit of ethical maturity for our organization and for the coaching industry."
The International Coach Federation is the leading global organization for coaches, with more than 24,000 members and 15,000 credentialed coaches in more than 100 countries worldwide. ICF is dedicated to advancing the coaching profession by setting high ethical standards, providing independent certification and building a worldwide network of credentialed coaches. Coaching is a distinct service and differs greatly from therapy, consulting, mentoring or training. ICF defines coaching as partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential. For more information, please visit our website at www.coachfederation.org.
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