Coaching at Work road-tests Points of You
Fresh out of the box
1 The tool
What is it?
The Coaching Game, developed by Points of You, is a creative tool that can be used within coaching sessions to help clients see things from different perspectives. Launched in 2007 and sold worldwide, designers Efrat Shani and Yaron Golan describe it as a “workshop in a box”, one which helps clients think outside the box.
It contains 65 high quality photographs, each depicting different topics. The set of cards is accompanied by a book, offering a selection of perspectives, insights, thoughts, questions and stories surrounding the topics; plus a layout chart, and a booklet of coaching notes.
Also available online are alternative coaching processes that can be downloaded and printed out for
self-coaching, one-to-one or group coaching. The set comes bound in a cloth folder made in Israel, manufactured in rehabilitation centres or in prisons by inmates who are going through rehabilitation. All materials used are recycled or biodegradable.
How does it work?
The tool aims to speak to both the left and right sides of the brain – the words on the cards speak to the left hemisphere and the visual aspects speak to the right side of the brain. The client chooses an issue from day-to-day life, ideally something they’re presently dealing with. The topic is then written on one of the coaching notes.
The user then opens out the supplied layout chart, choosing a process that most suits the issue chosen for discussion. The client or group is asked to focus on the topic they wish to discuss while the cards are shuffled. The cards are laid out face down in front of the client, and they are requested to select a number of them intuitively, in line with the chosen process. This could be anything between three and six cards. The cards are placed face down on the chart in keeping with the order presented.
One by one the cards are turned over and the client is requested to pay particular attention to the thoughts, emotions, associations and/conflicts the images evoke in them. The coach leads the client through articulating the card’s connection with the issues they have chosen to discuss, lingering at times to ensure the client connects fully with the image and all that it brings up.
The coach poses questions, including “What do you understand?”, “What are your thoughts about this image?”,
“How does this feel?”
The accompanying book has suggestions for relevant quotes, thoughts and questions. Once the cards have been explored fully, the client is encouraged to make a real commitment to take action, writing down the action they will take within 24 hours, the next week and the next month.
Visit: www.thecoachingame.com
2 Using the tool
The experience
Points of You find its place when being different from the norm helps the client move forward. My experience when coaching executives and senior professionals is that they’re expecting a structured approach.
Using Points of You with clients such as these, changes their mental geography, connecting them much more deeply to the unspoken elements of where they may be stuck. It is an adaptable tool that can be used in multiple aspects, from one-to-one coaching to a corporate setting, from the stuck client to an ice breaker at a group workshop. It can be used by managers when they wish to explore a new perspective and by counsellors during sessions.
I have successfully used it with diverse clients – with great results.
It is particularly useful when establishing an initial relationship, as it helps the client articulate the deep-seated concern they have struggled to address.
Points of You has helped my clients get to the core of their issues, and take action very quickly. It provides a conduit for people to take risks in a super-safe, fun environment.
For the coach it facilitates your being with the client fully while they explore aspects of their chosen topics that are hidden and/or harder to articulate.
In a group setting, when presenting an Emotional Intelligence workshop,
I have used it to elicit discussion around emotions experienced. The cards are of good quality and the size is great. The pictures have been carefully considered and I get results every time. Clients love it and it is reasonably priced, too.
Points of You is a tool I would strongly recommend to all coaches, counsellors and learning and development professionals.
The verdict
Points of You has extended the repertoire of tools I use with my clients, injecting more fun and curiosity into the coaching session.
It has a multitude of applications and settings to which it can be applied. It can be used with individuals, professionally and in businesses for personal, organisational development experiences.
My personal feeling is that every coach should have one or more in their kit bag – it will always be useful.
Christine Alexander-Smith is founder of the Diversity Coaching Initiative
3 The experience
The client
I was very surprised at what the cards invoked in me during a coaching session in which I’d become very stuck.
The cards were useful in moving my thinking and connecting me to what was really holding me back. They gave me access to a sort of vocabulary that I had not thought to use prior to the cards being introduced. It was fun to use and made me think about many more possibilities. The photographs were good too.
A senior manager
Points of You:
pros and cons
UPSIDE
Easy and intuitive to use
Greatly effective in any setting
Ethically produced and made
Aimed at left and right side of brain
Moves even the most stuck client
Sensibly priced
Additional process sheets online
Share process sheets with community
DOWNSIDE
Cloth folder can become grubby
Nothing yet available for iPad, etc
Coaching at work, volume 8, issue 1