ICF MN PRISM Award for Excellence in Coaching
Each year ICF Minnesota recognizes organizations that use coaching to develop their leaders and strengthen their culture. PRISM is a recognition, not a competition, and more than one organization can be recognized in a year. The ICF MN Outreach committee reviews each nomination and meets with program leaders to vet the accuracy and impact of the work.
This year ICF Minnesota recognizes the University of St. Thomas Opus College of Business, which partnered with The Bailey Group on its coaching initiative.
The Opus College of Business teaches leadership, culture, and change to students and corporate partners. Dean Laura Dunham noticed the College had built a philosophy of human development and applied it only to its students. So the College turned its own tools on itself.
About twenty leaders took part, from the Dean's leadership team to directors and managers. Each started with a Hogan 360 assessment. Then each worked one on one with a Hogan-certified executive coach to choose two to three specific leadership goals. Leaders practiced together in a Leader as Coach workshop focused on listening deeply, asking powerful questions, and giving motivating feedback. Common themes from the group became shared leadership expectations across the College.
The early results are encouraging. Among survey respondents, 92% said coaching gave them meaningful insight into their leadership. 85% said they better understood how others experience them, and 93% finished with clear leadership goals. Leaders now describe delegating as a way to develop people, asking before answering, and treating listening as a deliberate leadership act. The College is building these practices into its broader leadership development strategy and plans to expand coaching further.
The University of St. Thomas Opus College of Business was recognized at ICF Minnesota's 2026 Celebration of Excellence in Service & Coaching on September 29, 2026, at Gatherings at Station 10. Dean Laura Dunham accepted the recognition along with Jessica Cooley, Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Programs, and Kristina Schatz, Director of Strategic Grant Initiatives.