Welcome to COACHd for Friday 9 October.

This week has been the International Congress of Coaching Psychology (ICCP) conference. This has consisted of several 4-hour workshops. Today consisted of a full day of half-hour thought leadership from some of the leaders in the coaching psychology space. Resilience has been a major topic as you might expect and a workshop led by Ilona Boniwell introduced the SPARK model. Ilona is a great presenter in Positive Psychology if you get a chance to see her in the future.

The SPARK model is another mnemonic.

S – Stressful situation – what are the facts? What has happened?
P – Perception – what is your perception of the situation? How do you interpret what is happening?
A – Affect – what do you feel? What are your emotions like?
R – Reaction – What do you do? What is your behavioural response?
K – Knowledge – What is your learning? What are you walking away with?

Ilona made this real by splitting us into small virtual groups with people we had had very little in common with. She then asked us to complete a Peta Kucha presentation in 60 minutes on the subject of Positive Psychology in an Online Context. A scary but rewarding experience that I am certainly going to build into my deliveries. There were some significant learns from the conference for me.

• Firstly, a celebration that despite what is happening outside in the world around us, humanity will triumph. Generosity and humility will create an opportunity for those around us.
• Second, there is a definite link between positivity and what was called psychological flexibility that has a positive impact on our mental and physical wellbeing.
• Third, we have a lower barrier to achieving better wellbeing when in a positive state of mind.

Some great take-outs and a firm reminder of the need for us to spend time engaging in our development.

As we move into October, with the Autumnal fall getting more and more beautiful, take a chance to go for a walk to enjoy the peace. Enjoy the vivid colours, and enjoy the wildlife. Octobers co-coaching on 23 October is going to be different as we go for a walk together but in isolation in our own space. Check out here for more details and get booked on. You will be guided by Zoom, and connected to the group as you explore areas that perhaps hold the answers to some challenging questions.

I am also looking to form up some new coaching development and supervision cohorts based on a similar formula that has worked so well over the past 12 months. Thank you to those that have already responded – I will be in touch shortly. If you are interested in this, please make contact, and we can arrange a chat.

Have a great weekend.

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