A Coaching Model by Miklós Horváth
Organizational Coach, HUNGARY
Miklós is an Organizational Coach based in Hungary and a graduate of the Advanced Coach Training Program at ICA. With a passion for empowering teams and leaders, Miklós specializes in guiding organizations through change, fostering resilience, and enhancing collaborative culture. His approach combines strategic insight with a deep commitment to personal and professional growth, helping clients achieve lasting transformation.
Government officials (target market) face more issues than a broken photocopier on deadline day. Public servants work in highly complex and regulated environments, often characterized by bureaucratic hurdles, politically sensitive minefields, and accountability-driven structures that can be quite challenging.
And while psychological support may be offered in some cases, a coach would be an even better fit. Unlike solving your problems for you, a coach helps you find the tools, strategies, and mindset to solve them yourself. The coach guides you in navigating challenges, empowering you to take charge and tackle them with confidence and clarity. The goal is not just to cope but to grow, adapt, and lead more effectively in these complex environments and ultimately liberate yourself from feelings of heaviness, allowing you to achieve a sense of lightness.
Common challenges for public servants? Sure, we all face them. But what’s your unique way of handling them? After all, your approach is what makes the difference!
- Work-Life Balance: well-being, time management, burnout, and stress, pressure.
- Emotional Intelligence: understanding and managing own emotions, conflict resolution, more organic interpersonal relationships.
- Ethical Dilemmas: own value system, commitment to integrity, navigating conflicts of interest.
- Team Dynamics: finding yourself in the team, effective collaboration, professional challenges, different opinions, the importance of communication, and decision-making.
And your unique journey starts right here…
The P.R.O.B.L.E.M. linear, process coaching model is aimed at offering a structured approach for helping individuals identify challenges, create actionable strategies, and execute plans effectively. It is designed to address problems holistically while promoting continuous evaluation and growth. Focuses more on personal growth and transformation with the aim to help individuals overcome barriers, enhance skills, and unlock potential. It encourages deep exploration and results in specific, actionable solutions and measurable goals. While it is a unique concept, it draws on established concepts from problem-solving methodologies, coaching frameworks, and management practices that are widely recognized, eg.: Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA), and GROW Model.
The PROBLEM Coaching Model
The name P.R.O.B.L.E.M. for a coaching model may initially seem unconventional, but it serves a significant purpose. At its core, coaching often revolves around helping individuals identify and navigate challenges. The term “problem” acknowledges that difficulties are a natural part of life, and by focusing on them, you encourage clients to explore solutions and develop resilience. Each letter of the acronym represents a structured approach: Plan, Research, Organize, Brainstorm, Leap into action, Evaluate, and Measure. This structure provides a clear pathway for clients to follow, and this unusual acronym choice may spark curiosity. Studies in educational psychology suggest that memorable frameworks can improve retention and application of concepts (Mayer, 2009).
The P.R.O.B.L.E.M. acronym is composed of the following elements:
Plan, Research, Organize, Brainstorm, Leap into action, Evaluate, Measure
This model is designed with several steps to provide clients with the opportunity to explore their topics, and strengths, and open new perspectives for thinking and feeling. It offers a clear, step-by-step process that enables clients to navigate challenges systematically, fostering confidence and trust. This approach cultivates a sense of ownership and empowerment, enhancing self-efficacy. Given the model’s complexity, it is particularly well-suited for coaching public servants. The sophistication of the model allows for a nuanced exploration of the multifaceted challenges that public servants often face in their roles. It gives ample space for reflection, helping clients gain deeper insights and explore various perspectives. This structured yet flexible process encourages personal discovery while guiding clients toward actionable solutions.
By incorporating continuous evaluation, the model encourages regular reflection and emphasizes the importance of taking practical steps, which promotes accountability and reinforces the idea that action and practice lead to meaningful change and progress. As clients evaluate their experiences and outcomes, they gain valuable insights into themselves, their motivations, and their approaches, facilitating personal growth. This not only enhances professional development but also improves the ability of public servants to serve the public effectively in their social responsibility.
Steps of the P.R.O.B.L.E.M. Model in detail:
A. Opening the session, clarifying the issue and the goal
Establishing the Agreement: Plan and Research
- Plan
Objective: The client defines the problem he/she is facing.
Questions:
- How are you feeling today?
- What topic are we looking at today?
- What is the core issue we need to address?
- Can you share more?
- What makes this important for you?
- Research
Objective: If not all the relevant information is provided, gather more from the client. Establish short-term or long-term goals. Set priorities and timelines.
Questions:
- What would be an ideal outcome for you by the end of this session?
- With what feelings you would like to walk away by the end of this session?
- What would be different for you if you got that?
- What would success look like?
- By the end of the session, how would you know that you have succeeded in reaching your goal?
B. following the successful partnering with the client move to exploration
Evoking Awareness: Organize and Brainstorm
- Organize
Objective: Support the client on his/her journey to structure information, find linkages, explore herself/himself better, putting the puzzle pieces together.
Questions:
- What is the challenge for you here?
- What beliefs or assumptions do you hold about these challenges that may be limiting you?
- How heavy do those emotions show up for you?
- What might be a source of feeling that way?
- How do your values align with your current actions and decisions?
- If you could change one thing about your approach to this challenge, what would it be?
- If you faced such a situation in the past, how did you respond to such a challenge?
- Brainstorm
Objective: Dig deeper, explore alternatives, and check on feelings.
Questions:
- What other feelings?
- What else do you need?
- What other options can you think of that you haven’t considered yet?
- How do you feel about these alternatives?
- What resources or support do you have that could help you explore these alternatives?
- Where do you feel we are at this point of the session?
- (If happens…) I noticed some energy shifts going on here. What was happening here?
C. heading slowly but firmly to the commitment and accountability phase wrapping up the session, exploring and summarizing the learnings
Facilitating Client’s Growth: Leap into action, Evaluate, Measure
- Leap into Action
Objective: Encourage decisive, manageable action(s) with accountability measures. Set time framework.
Questions:
- What / who can support you?
- What action could you commit yourself to as a next step?
- When can you start implementing that action?
- How can you start with small, impactful steps?
- How could this action help you?
- How could you make sure you will stick to these actions?
- If anything, what could be a potential obstacle to hold you back?
- If that obstacle comes, how will you respond?
- What motivates you to keep pursuing these goals despite any challenges you may feel?
- Evaluate
Objective: Follow up on what was learned during the session.
Questions:
- What did you learn about yourself during today’s session?
- What have you learned about the situation?
- How could you apply what you have learned to the current situation?
- How could your learnings be used in other areas of your life?
- Measure
Objective: Checking upon the feelings of the client and the goals she/he set at the start of the session.
Questions:
- How do you feel about your progress toward these goals?
- You mentioned at the start of the session you would like to achieve the goal of…. How do you feel now?
- How are you feeling about the goals you set at the beginning of our session?
- What thoughts or feelings came up for you as we discussed your goals today?
- What would you like to celebrate regarding your progress or insights gained today?
Resource
Mayer, R. E. (2009). Multimedia learning (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.