The ASPIRE Mastery Coaching Model
Surely the world doesn't need yet another acronym based coaching model...
My aim here has been to come up with a structured approach to supporting a person’s progress on their path of mastery from a holistic perspective. A tool that can be used in coaching situations or simply as a prompt for someone who is working alone on themselves.
Specifically, I have asked myself:
How can I create a template for facilitating coaching conversations with a coach, manager, teacher or ‘ordinary’ friend that would be genuinely helpful for someone on their path of mastery?
I’ve researched a number of pre-existing coaching models for personal development and growth1 which can be applied to different needs and situational contexts. While it may sound a little arrogant, none of them quite fit the need I have in mind. While these tools have been successfully field tested by others in generic coaching environments, especially in the workplace, I need something that is centred around systematic practice - the routines and rituals that keep you on the path of mastery, even when your progress dips and plateaus.
Some of my criteria:
I wanted to avoid certain words that, to my admitted prejudices, have been sullied by their misuse/overuse in corporate environments. Specifically words like Goals, Targets, Objectives, Results, Performance and Outcomes - pardon the vulgarity but there is nothing more vomit-inducing to me than being asked by someone from HR whether I have set SMART Goals for my team. Ugh!
It needs to be flexible enough to work in both work and non-work environments.
It should be simple enough and accessible (open source) so that any ordinary person can use it, without needing to go through an expensive coaching training programme.
Must spark deep conversations and challenge all participants to be open, vulnerable, honest, and brave.
It must be genuinely helpful to people pursuing a path of mastery. It should inspire them, give them ideas, and motivate them to act.
It must be adaptable over time.
I also wanted to stay clear of a cheesy-sounding acronym-based model but failed when I stumbled across the acronym ASPIRE.
A is for Aspiration
Our aspirations, direction, higher ideals, and passions.
Inspired by how philosopher Agnes Collard distinguishes between aspiration and ambition. Aspiration refers to a desire for an inner purpose in life with certain values, qualities, or activities that have impact. By contrast, ambition refers to a desire for a certain kind of status, recognition, power, or success - the kind of things people gloat about on LinkedIn. In terms of Erich Fromm’s “To have or to be”, aspiration relates to the mode of being, rather than the mode of having.
S is for Systems
Our regular dedicated practice, habits, routines, and rituals.
Influenced by the likes of Scott Adams who emphasises Systems over Goals, the thoughts of James Clear on Atomic Habits, George Leonard on Practice and Shunryo Suzuki on The Beginner’s Mind and Zen practices. Commitment to ordinary mundane practice is key to this model.
P is for Paths
The future pathways available to us, possible directions and a plan for the next steps.
Influenced primarily by the ideas of Mastery as a pathway from George Leonard, but also from the lyrics of Led Zepelin’s Stairway to Heaven, suggesting we always have choices: “Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run, there's still time to change the road you're on”
I is for Internals
Exploring us as an individual ego, our inner world, our identity and self-awareness, our principles and the ignorance of our blind spots.
Influenced by Socrates’ assertion to Know Thyself as well as various ideas of the ego and individuation, from the thinking of Carl Jung, Adler and others. How we create our personalities and identities from our life stories, and how we must face our inner beast. There will also be a degree of Ayn Rand’s selfishness and Nietzsche’s ubermensch mixed in here which will no doubt stir up some people’s prejudices about these thinkers.
R is for Reality
The objective truth of our situation and our subjective reality tunnels. Concrete evidence and measurements. The obstacles or challenges we face and the wisdom to manage them.
Influenced by both the need for sensemaking and truth as well as Robert Anton Wilson’s concept of Reality Tunnels and how we struggle to see things objectively. Inspiration also comes from Timothy Galway’s “The Inner Game of Tennis”, where a serve into the net is simply data, seeing things as they are without emotional attachment. I’m also drawing on the concept of sharing reality during stand-ups and removing blockers/impediments as part of Agile Software Development ceremonies.
Reality, perceiving it and dealing with it, is wisdom.
E is for Externals
Our wider ecosystem or environment. Our relationships with others and society. The chaos of the uncontrollable.
Influenced by Systems Thinking, zooming out and seeing the whole, seeing the interdependencies of the elements in a complex ecosystem. Acknowledging the chaos of our predicament. Drawing on our place in nature, the world, the cosmos and the interbeing of everything, to draw on the thinking of Thich Nhat Hanh and Charles Eisenstein.
“To be is to interbe. You cannot just be by yourself alone. You have to interbe with every other thing” - Thich Nhat Hanh
And the same thing in a grid format:
The arrangement of the model in a grid format of 2 rows and 3 columns draws out a few useful perspectives which I will explore below:
#1 Systems are central to everything else
Our systems of regular practice, are the key to staying on the path of Mastery. Commitment to repeated ‘doing’ of Ordinary actions, working on our backhand with mindful intent is the biggest factor in fulfilling our Aspirations. Our future Pathway options and our Internal / External Realities will be heavily influenced by our work in the dojo.
#2 The central column is the AXIS of TRUTH
Doing the practical work of systematic practice, gathering feedback as data, assessing the concrete truths of a situation, behind honest about the reality of your progress, and the obstacles in your way, and being aware of the limits of your perception - this is where you are dealing with the hard truths of where you are now.
“Just ask the axis… He knows everything” - Jimi Hendrix
#3 The first column is the REALM of the SELF
It may take a little explaining, but here I will be presenting the idea of the self as something quite abstract, a bunch of stories we tell ourselves about who we are, and what our experiences mean to us. Our internal world. Pure naval gazing, and introspection. Exploring our flawed but brilliant selves. And from our idea of ourselves, our aspirations emerge as we unfold to open up our highest potentials.
#4 The third column is the DOMAIN of the COMPLEX and the UNKNOWN
There are things over which we can have some control and other things over which we have less control but still affect us massively. The right-hand column is all about our external worlds, our environment, where we find ourselves - all the ‘slings and arrows of outrageous fortune’ that Shakespeare talks of that may derail our efforts. Here also lies events of the future, the pathways which are yet to unfold, and over which our decisions now will affect the probabilities of meeting our aspirations.
#5 ORDER and CHAOS
The central column represents our efforts to create order from the chaos of the outer columns.
The first column of, the realm of the self, is somewhat chaotic, it is the abstract ideas we have about our self, our values and our aspirations. The third column is also chaotic, the complex and uncontrollable nature of the ecosystems we exist in and our future pathways yet to be followed.
The central column, the axis of truth, is where we create order, through our systems of practice and the concrete reality of where we are now.
Trial and error
Subsequent posts will look at each letter of the proposed ASPIRE model individually, thinking about the kinds of questions and insights which might arise from its application to coaching scenarios.
My intention is to try this model out with the teams I work with professionally, willing friends (or strangers), and myself. I will slowly expand the idea according to experience and feedback. I can see myself coding up a little app based on these ideas, once I’ve fleshed them out a little further.
Critique and feedback are always welcome.
A survey of the most popular coaching and performance models, each of which might be used in conjunction with the proposed ASPIRE model:
GROW Model - The GROW model is a goal-setting and problem-solving approach that stands for Goal, Reality, Options, and Will/Way Forward. It is a simple coaching model that helps individuals set and achieve their goals. The GROW model was conceived by Sir John Whitmore and colleagues in the 1980s - see Performance Consultants GROW Model
However, the Performance Consultants website states “the copyright of the GROW Model is held by Performance Consultants International and the Estate of Sir John Whitmore. To use the GROW Model you require formal permission and or a licence to run any programmes internally or externally” - that really really sucks, if you want people to ‘grow’ then make it available, make it inclusive, make it open source!
Adaptations of the GROW Model:
TGROW, attributed to Myles Downey and covered in his book Effective Coaching. The T prefix is for Topic, to bring focus to the GROW conversation.
REGROW, which adds Review and Evaluate to the GROW model, explicitly links self-regulation theory to the GROW Model. Paper a Is it time to REGROW the GROW model?
CLEAR Model - The CLEAR Model is a coaching model that helps individuals to clarify their goals, identify obstacles, explore options, and take action. It stands for Contracting, Listening, Explore, Actions, and Review. The CLEAR Model preceded the GROW Model and was developed in the early 1980s by Professor of Leadership Peter Hawkins, who was with the Bath Consultancy Group
OSKAR Model - The OSKAR model stands for Outcome, Scaling, Affirm & Action, and Review. With a focus on behaviours and ways of working in the workplace, it helps people find ways to bridge the gap between their current and desired states. The model was developed by Mark McKergow and Paul Z. Jackson and published in "The Solutions Focus: Making Coaching and Change SIMPLE"
The OKR (Objectives and Key Results) Model - The OKR model is more of a framework for corporate goal-setting than a coaching model. Introduced by venture capitalist John Doerr in ‘Measure What Matters: How Google, Bono, and the Gates Foundation Rock the World with OKRs’. My experience with the use of OKRs in the workplace is that they can be the dreariest, most uninspirational energy-sapping means of getting things done, the conspiracy idea that they are a Google psyop to slow down competitors sounds highly feasible, as Ben Bear humorously alludes:
The LifeWheel Model - The LifeWheel Model and similar Coaching Wheel models are a more holistic coaching approach that takes into account all areas of an individual's life, including personal, professional, and spiritual domains. They may help people to identify and balance the different aspects of their life, leading to greater overall well-being and satisfaction.