Circle of Distinction Honoree: Keiko Hirano, MCC
The ICF Circle of Distinction program celebrates the best of the coaching profession and ICF. Circle of Distinction members are experienced coach practitioners who have made their mark on ICF and the coaching profession. This year, ICF inducted the first Circle of Distinction class during the 2018 ICF Midwest Region Coaches Conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. In the coming weeks, we will profile each of this year’s honorees here on Coaching World.
A leader in the Japanese community since the 1990s, Keiko Hirano, MCC (Japan), is an accomplished coach practitioner and trainer of coaches. She is a founding member of Coach 21 (now merged with COACH A), started an online coaching magazine with more than 140,000 subscribers, helped develop the first coach training program in Japan, and was the first Asian coach to serve on the ICF Board of Directors. Keiko has been a champion for coaching in Japan and wrote one of the first books about coaching in Japan. She currently writes about coaching for the website AllAbout.
“The most memorable ICF experience is the first on-site meeting we had when I served on the ICF Board of Directors in 2001. I was so nervous going into the meeting room. The moment I opened the conference room door, there were rubber ducks on the table, balloons flying all over the place, and various toys were there for fun. I cannot forget the pleasant, welcoming and enlightening atmosphere in the room,” said Keiko.
Keiko said that being a coach requires ongoing learning. In order to grow and serve different clients, you must realize that you’re constantly changing.
“I would like to question myself: What do we need to develop? Where do we go from here? What impact can we make?” [As] very experienced coaches [we] can continue moving forward to make new findings to further develop the profession of coaching.”
Congrats Keiko!
You have always been a shining star of Keio ESS OB/OGs. Keep shining!