[Note: the photo provided in the banner to this document is of the first gathering of the International Consortium for Coaching in Organizations–which John Lazar helped to establish. John is kneeling at the lower right corner of this assembled group.
Note: most of the photos in this series of essays paying tribute to John Lazar have been provided by Phyllis Arceneaux]
We have set aside our planned theme for this issue of The Future of Coaching to honor a friend and colleague, John Lazar, who recently passed away after a long and courage fight against Cancer. We have titled this issue “Living and Leading in Professional Coaching” because John provided many forms of coaching over more than forty years and often served in a leadership role in coach-related organizations and associations.
John worked with client organizations in a range of industries including aerospace, environmental services, food manufacturing, financial services, manufacturing, medical waste management, oil and gas, professional services, pharmaceuticals, retail, and telecommunications, as well as federal governmental agencies and departments. John was a founding member and past President of the Board of Directors of the International Consortium for Coaching in Organizations (ICCO). He was also actively involved in the International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI).
I am also pleased to note that he was co-founder, co-owner, and co-Editor with me of The International Journal of Coaching in Organizations (IJCO). In addition to writing articles and chapters for professional publications, he made more than 80 presentations to local, national, and international audiences in the U.S. and eleven other countries on topics including human capital management, leadership and sustainable leadership, executive team alignment, management skills, coaching, blended interventions, coaching program design, emotional intelligence, communications, evaluation, and ROI.
My Personal Note of Commemoration
I wish to offer my own note of commemoration before setting the stage for contributions made to this issue by other colleagues of John, as well as contributions made by John himself and the articles he wrote for two publicatons. I was asked (as were many other friends, colleagues and family members) to contribute a brief statement of commemoration and celebration of John’s life to be incorporated in his funeral. I prepared the following statement:
John Lazar was a dear colleague with whom I built a remarkable international journal. Together, we published a quarterly publication that focused on principles and practices associated with the art and science of professional coaching in organizations. Published for more than a decade, the International Journal of Coaching in Organizations (IJCO) was envisioned during a dinner I had with John in Chicago after an executive coaching conference. We both were committed to serving as stewards of this newly emerging field of professional coaching. Emboldened by some fine wine (which John knew how to order), we agreed that the two of us could best serve this field by producing a high-quality quarterly journal.
And high quality it was! Under John’s very challenging leadership, IJCO became a beautifully prepared publication containing essays written by thought leaders and senior practitioners in the field from throughout the world. My many coaching colleagues still treasure the issues of IJCO that John produced. IJCO is never thrown away!
The only problem concerned the timing of IJCO. The world was starting to turn from printed to digital formats. We were a little late in entering the field and eventually had to close down the journal. But what a joy it was to join with John in preparing this prized document four times a year. And what an honor it was to collaborate on this project with a visionary craftsman like John Lazar. I will miss John and the prospect of future colleagueship and work together.
Setting the Stage
Our celebration of John comes in three parts. First, we offer several essays written by friends and colleagues of John who comment on his character and their friendship with John. The second set of essays come from John’s work with me as co-founder and co-editor of the International Journal of Coaching in Organizations (IJCO). I offer a third set of essays that have appeared in this digital library. Each of these sets offers a slightly different perspective regarding this remarkable man.
Section One: Friends and Colleagues
We first offer a tribute to John that is made by Bill Carrer—the co-editor of The Future of Coaching. Bill focuses on John Lazar’s generous guidance. For Bill Carrer “John’s generosity and kindness, as well as his passionate intentionality, made his coaching and friendship great gifts for so many.”
Some Memories of Our Friend, John Lazar
The second tribute comes from four of John’s colleagues: Phyllis Arceneaux, Kim Frerichs, Gail MacDonald and Lynnette Yount. They write about “holding the space” for teaching and learning, about John’s ability to “receive” from others as well his willingness to help other people. John was “truly present to other” people and did an exceptional job of encouraging and opening the way to those who were beginning to coach. These colleagues of John Lazar wrote of his “irrepressible spirit, resilience and optimism.”
Coach and Friend Extraordinaire
Section Two: John’s IJCO Contributions
As co-founder of the International Journal of Coaching in Organizations, John Lazar often served “in the back room” providing the often-unrewarding task of managing the finances of IJCO, as well as its marketing and production. As his colleagues have noted, John was also filled with generosity—he often edited an issue rather than writing an article himself. He interviewed other people to ensure that their insights (rather than his own) were offered to the professional coaching community.
John was someone who built foundations. He joined me in launching IJCO. This meant that he not only took a lead in establishing IJCO as a free-standing organization, but also rolled up his sleeves to author or co-author articles for the initial two issues of the journal.
I co-authored one of the first IJCO articles with John. This article has been widely viewed and referenced. In this essay, John and I offered the first version of a taxonomy that was to be further modified many times and cited in many subsequent publications. An important distinction was also drawn for the first time by John and me between puzzle, problems and mysteries. These differing issues are often being addressed during coaching sessions.
Alignment Coaching: The Missing Element in Business Coaching
The second article by John helped to kick off our series on coaching schools. John wrote about the coach training program that was being offered by the Newfield Network. John had graduated from this program and was a strong and articulate advocate for the distinctive coaching strategy offered by Julio Olalla, the founder of Newfield.
The Newfield Network’s School of Coaching
The third article was written by John several years later. It provides evidence of John Lazar’s generosity and commitment to promoting the perspectives and practices of other experienced and successful professional coaches. In this case, the interview was conducted by John with Agnes Mura, a noted international coach with an impressive set of experiences in both coaching and leadership roles.
Coaching in Financial Institutions: Interview with Agnes Mura
[I would also point to the change in IJCO covers from the first years to the later years. John was primarily responsible for this vast improvement. Many people today mentioned that they have kept and treasured the many issues of IJCO for not only their content but also their covers and artful composition.]
Section Three: John’s LPC Contributions
The Library of Professional Coaching (LPC) grew directly out of IJCO. Suzi Pomerantz and I, as the founders, envisioned a digital library that would provide many of the insightful essays that John and I had published in IJCO—but without the expenses of a printed publication. While John was not involved in the operations of LPC, he was now free to make his own contributions to the library. A total of four essays were prepared by John. I know that he would have prepared many more if Cancer hadn’t cut short his life and his valuable contributions to the field of professional coaching.
Each of John’s essays that we published in LPC came at our request. They were all published in The Future of Coaching (a digital magazine co-edited by Bill Carrier and me that is published inside LPC). John’s first LPC contribution came in the form of an interview. We turned the tables and believed it was time to elicit some of John Lazar’s own perspectives on professional coaching. Bill Carrier conducted an interview with John for an issue of The Future of Coaching that focused on the history of professional coaching. This interview primarily concerned John’ insights regarding coaching institutions and influences on the coaching enterprise.
The History of Coaching: Institutions and Influences
The second and third essays prepared by John concerns the evaluation of coaching programs and assessment of coaching outcomes. This was an area of particular interest to John Lazar. The first of these documents was the introduction prepared by John as a “guest editor” (alongside Bill Carrier) of an issue of The Future of Coaching that focused on program evaluation—and in particular the application of Return of Investment (ROI) analyses to this evaluation:
Evaluation of Coaching Programs
The second essay was prepared by John himself. He provides four perspectives on the evaluation of coaching programs including the role of stakeholders, the process of contracting and the type of measurement being taken:
Four Perspectives on Program Evaluation
Finally, there is a fourth essay written by John that he prepared for an issue of The Future of Coaching concerning the marketing of coaching practices. John provided an insightful perspective on trends in this marketing enterprise.
Marketing of Professional Coaching: An Eleven Year Perspective
I am honored to have had the opportunity to put this issue of The Future of Coaching together with major assistance from Bill Carrier, the co-editor of Future. John played an important role in my own life and work–as he did in the life and work of many other members of the professional coaching community.
Bill Bergquist
Editor
The Future of Coaching