Coaching Model: 4 P

A Coaching Model Created by Pam Vas
(Career Coach, SINGAPORE)

As a career consultant and coach, I often come across clients who are in a confused state of mind, unsure about what their next steps might be or what they should or should not do while they are in career transition. Some are young, barely 2 months into the job. Some are more senior – with over 20 years of experience. Some have held senior positions in their previous companies. Others more junior. It doesn’t really make any difference.

I personally have been there.

Inevitably – some move on after a while. Others either stay put or choose a different path. And some succeed and later look back to say it was a blessing in disguise.

It was Steve Jobs who said that

being fired from Apple was the best thing that happened to him because it freed him to enter the most creative periods of his life. He founded 2 companies – NeXT which was later acquired by Apple, and Pixar which became the worlds’ most successful animation studio.  And he found love. His mantra was this – when life hits you on the head like a brick, don’t lose heart.  Have faith and always do what you love.

So while he encountered LOSS (being fired) he found LOVE.

Love – he found his wife and started a wonderful family together with her.

Love – he found what he loved to do.

It often goes hand in hand.

While pondering on a coaching model that would help my clients overcome their self-doubt and fear, as well as to quell their negative thoughts – I’m too young, too old, too inexperience, overqualified, underqualified, too expensive, whatever it may be, I came up with this 4P coaching model which I believe will help them make the shift.

Present Situation

Allowing my clients to share about their Present Situation is itself very empowering. They all have an exit statement – what happened, why are they in this situation – and not rushing them to move on always seem to help them overcome any negative feelings that arose out of that situation.

For many, they saw it coming. The company was downsizing, announcements have been made public.  For some their bosses have hinted at it and so they saw the writing on the board before they were handed the letter. Whatever the case, it always helps to devote some time to sharing about their Present Situation.

• What happened to the company and your role?
• How are you using your free time?
• What positive things can you think of that being in transition could bring?
• What opportunities awaits you now?

Past Experiences

After the client has shared his present situation, it is always beneficial to look back at his past experiences. Here, we are looking at what experiences he can draw upon. This helps him to put a framework around his job hunt. Our past experiences define who we are today.  There are always some experiences in the past that we can draw upon for our future.

• What skills or expertise did he gain as a result of that experience?
• How did he use those skills or expertise to add value to his company?
• Can we observe any trends?
• Can you list all the things that you are good at?
• What have people said that you were good at?
• What served you well? What didn’t serve you well?

Passion and Potential

The next thing we look at is always what his professional objective is. I always tell my clients – make sure that they align what they are good with what they love for greater job satisfaction. It’s really worthwhile spending more time pondering this area because many have just been working so hard they have not had the time or energy to look at this.

Passion for your job is so under-rated. So many professionals believe that a day job is just to pay the bills. Therefore as long as it doesn’t rob them of their time with family and time to pursue their hobbies, they have a decent boss, and colleagues, that’s more than we can ask for.

But think about it?  You’re going to spend 1/3 or more of your day’s hours working – how beneficial would it be if you spent some time evaluating what you really like to do? Evaluate your passion alongside your potential. If you want to be a rocket scientist but you have been baking cakes all your life, you would want to know what your potentials are in a spacecraft.

• What does your ideal job look like?
• If you earned less than before, what would make up for the shortfall?
• If you had 2 companies to choose from, what would be the deciding factor?
• Can you see yourself doing this day in and day out?
• If you could create your dream job what would it look like?

Purpose

After we have evaluated his passion and potentials, we want to move on to align everything to his overall life’s purpose. What good would it serve if your job is in conflict with your overall life’s purpose? It would serve a great deal if your profession complemented your purpose.

When you have found a profession that aligns with your overall life’s purposes, you find that no matter what obstacles come your way you will likely succeed and overcome with victory.

• What truly motivates you?
• If you had a magic wand, what would you ask for?
• What would you want in life that makes it all worthwhile?
• What tools do you have to help you to move forward with your plans?
• Are there people that you can reach out to for help and support?
• Knowing the networking avenues open to us how are you using these to your advantage?