On boundaries

Yesterday I had a great day at the British Racing School near Cambridge where I was invited to contribute to a coaching seminar with medical doctors.

As ever it was an exercise in mutual learning.

With my geospatial background I offered the fractal nature and fuzziness of the British coastline as a metaphor for boundaries in coaching. (Any excuse to show a map!)

Boundaries are not well covered in the coaching literature (as least not explicitly). In the ensuing breakout and group discussions we were surprised to discover the many different ways in which boundaries show up in our coaching practice.

Conversely I felt inspired by how doctors engage with coaching. For example, coaching is definitely not therapy and yet it can provide therapeutic benefits. Peter Bailey described the “three graces of therapeutic presence” offering the client 1. Focused attention 2. Open awareness and 3. Kind intent. In other words, being client-centred can have a therapeutic effect – even if it’s not therapy.

A day that has left me with much to ponder about. With great thanks to Akeso Coaching CIC and Jeff Matthews for inviting me. Looking forward to further collaborations!