Coaching Model: CPS-Coaching Positioning System

A Coaching Model Created by Claudia Purpura
(Career Coach, FRANCE)

One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things. – Henry Miller

My coaching model

What is coaching
How does it work for The Coach
How does it work for The Client
What is the Coaching Positioning System
What is coaching to me

Coaching

Coaching is partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential (ICF definition)

In a coaching relationship you have the Coach and the Client connecting physically or virtually at a specific time and place.

I see the coaching relationship as a journey initiated and led by the client in the company of the coach of his/her choice.

The Coach

The term of ‘coach’ was used once for carriages as in the pictures.
When you were taking a ‘coach’ you were settling on a journey to a specific destination.
A ‘coach’ was a private mean of transportation with a driver and one or few other passengers.
A ‘coach’ carried luggages but not bulky staff…you could only take what was needed for the travel.
Sometime a ‘coach’ was used by several people so there were rules to respect for its use.
Usually, the ‘coach’ was not a free-ride.

The Client

The client is physically and emotionally healthy.
The client seeks to fulfil his/her self-actualization needs (Maslow, 1943, 1971).
The client trusts that the coach will provide the time, space, and privacy to enable him/her to achieve his/her goals.
The client engages actively and respectfully in the relationship as per the contract agreement stipulated with the coach.
The client provides honest feedback to his/her coach.

Coaching as a virtual journey

Extending the metaphor of the ‘carriage’ to the present time, a coach is now more similar to a GPS where the driver sets the destination and the device proposes several options.
The client chooses the path that is going to take. The client also sets the criteria for the journey (speed, length, cost, or other).
GPSs have become increasingly sophisticated and even allow cars to be self-driven.
I see the coaching relationship as a Coaching Positioning System (CPS) where the coach allows the client to get to his/her destination through a constant re-positioning process.

The Coaching Positioning System (CPS)

The CPS describes what happen in a coaching relationship.
The CPS is programmed around the client’s position, with the coach taking into account at all time the client’s perspective, culture, beliefs, and personal circumstances.
The underneath maps in the CPS may be taken from various coaching models depending on the circumstances.
Different coaches may upload different models (maps) depending on the client’s location and culture. There is no best map, but only the map that represents better the client’s position.
The coach proposes paths (questions) to the client to locate his/her position with respect to the desired goal or objective.
The client selects the preferred path by answering to the coach’s questions.
In case of deviations from the final destination, the CPS asks questions to re-calculate the itinerary or change of destination.
The coach spots out obstacles in the journey such as traffic, but also low batteries, refuelling, time for rest.
It also acknowledges how many km were already travelled and all the details of the journey.
The CPS is not for well known and automatized paths but only for those who are new and/or challenging.

The mechanics of the CPS

The client chooses the CPS according to their criteria (model, cost, user-friendliness, reviews, etc.)

Each client is unique with its own ‘longitude’ and ‘latitude’.
As a map is not the territory, the client’s map is just a partial representation of him/her.
The coach zoom-in or zoom-out in the client’s map to allow the client to have different views of his/her map.
As with Google maps, the coach can place the client -avatar on the map to see how it would really look like.
Every coaching experience is a unique, safe, and judgement-free space.

The CPS

Step 1: Connecting…

Step 2: Setting the direction…

Once the CPS is set, the client identifies his/her direction.

The coach positions the client on the map and proposes several paths as well as the related characteristics: the shortest, the cheapest, the safest, or the fastest.

The client chooses the path to follow. The coach acknowledges the client as he/she moves on towards his/her destination.

Step 3: Re-calculating…

On the road there may be obstacles such as traffic or simply the client may want to deviate slightly from the final destination.

In any case the utility of the CPS is that it allows for a review of the itinerary or the destination; changing the pace or the criteria for re-calculating a new path.

Sometime though it may be that the road taken is not updated in the map. The client may think that a deviation is needed. However, the coach can re-position the client on the map using different satellites or update the maps.

Step 4: Reaching the destination.

CPS is a journey in the mind but with tangible actions and results.
Every journey is different and unique as it is set in a specific time and location.
Every journey takes the client safely to his/her destination, unless he/she decides not to pursue it.
Every journey is made of little journeys each one taking the client a step closer to his/her destination.
Every journey has good and bad surprises so the client is aware of the risks of the journey.
In every step of the journey the client is not alone and there are celebrations and encouragements all along.

Coaching is connecting

Connecting is one of the oldest human instinct.
Already 40 000 years ago, in different parts of the world, human ancestors left the trace of their existence through hands stencils in caves.
Researchers do not know the meaning of the hands on the rock. Still, today we all post our Likes or Thumbs Up in the social media thanks to our devices.
When the coach and the client connect they travel together in the client’s dreams, values, beliefs, culture, and mind in a very precise time and place.
Every time the client reaches his/her destination, the trace of his/her accompanied journey is like a pair of hands on the rock beyond time and place.