Coaching Philosophy
Coaching from QuestUnique is beyond the good foundation of professional coaching methodology, tools, and structures. It is that, and it goes beyond the partnering of individuals to achieve movements of perspectives and shifts of paradigms. Our coaching philosophy is anchored in a holistic triad: 1)The individual as Human Being, 2) the individual in his or her Relational world of key relationships, and 3) the Vocational or Professional individual whose quest is to sustain their Relational self, through which may be achieved that sense of fulfillment in being a human.
About QuestUnique
QuestUnique is a professional coaching service founded by Joseph D’Souza. It follows a strong philosophical perspective that the individual’s unique needs are a critical success factor to them tapping into even more of their own asset of potential. It seeks to highlight synergy in the uniqueness of the human being, their relational world and their vocational and professional aspirations.
The ROQUE Model is a cornerstone for setting this scene. ROQUE helps individuals achieve clarity in their goals while also helping them reflect, respect and understand their current context of perspective and motivation.
Both client and coach must have Will and Trust to acknowledge and the Rapport to:
- Consciously Know – not just tentatively, that Now is the Right TIME.
- That you are in the Right PLACE – of space and circumstance and experience – even if it is one of transition.
- That you have the Right INTENTION – of commitment where there must be congruence of Head and Heart.
- That without any shadow of doubt, YOU are the Right PERSON – the UNIQUE you.
- That through CLARITY about the What and Why, you take the Right ACTION.
Our Lead Coach
Joseph D’Souza serves as the lead coach at QuestUnique. He is the developer of The ROQUE Model. Joseph has an extensive background in a range of local, national and global businesses and is also accredited to deliver a variety of psychometric inventory and assessment instruments. He has worked extensively with Associate Executive Coaches and other business mentor institutes on both a paid and volunteer basis.
“Every Individual is respected as unique from the perspective of the person’s life’s journey to date.
What they choose to aim for is equally a unique quest for the individual and therefore treated with respect.”
-Joseph D’Souza
Logo Symbolism
A highlight and most significant milestone of my professional life was entering and graduating from the IBM Consulting Group school (1992-3) at the International Executive Education Centre in the then location of La Hulpe Brussels.
In the foreground and entrance to the main building was a stunning Monumental equatorial solar clock sculpture by Henry Moore. “The work, about 4 meters high, is patinated bronze, composed of two crossed crescent moon shapes, the gnomon is a cylindrical bar of about 3cm thick, and the time portions are worth 5min”.
Thanks to digital artist Will Deragon, this sculpture has been interpreted to reflect its communication with me as the logo for QuestUnique.
My professional Executive and Business Coaching career started in 2003 and I proudly acknowledge the experience, education and learnings, events, people, organizations and roles throughout my entire working life and during my multiple universities years in all the continents and across many countries. This is symbolized by the QuestUnique logo.
Our Values
Respect for the Individual as Human Being.
Respect for the Individual’s Life Journey to where they are now.
Respect for the Individual’s Potential.
Integrity
Personal Growth
Contribution
Learning
Courage
Peace
The Pursuit of Excellence.
Openess and Beyond One-Sidedness.
Emotional and Spiritual Intelligence.
We live in a Global Village of borderless Knowledge and Wisdom exchange.
When the pupil is ready, the teacher will be found…
The trigger may be an experience or event, a book or film, a moving story or a flash of inspiration. When that moment comes, we become motivated and focused to do something. Emotionally charged from the heart of our being, we integrate rationale and logic and we subconsciously just perform. It is not the attraction of the outcome, rather in the zone of being, in the present moment, that we become lost to a quest. And the choice is always ours!
Here, alive in our own unique quest, we become at one with our highest aspirations, transcending the material yet striving to fulfill through what we manifest. We become in-tune with the infinite and what is abundant.
Reproduction of Mid-century sculpture by G. Ruggeri. Shows a young boy carving wood.
Sometimes a friend, a mentor, a coach or a trusted adviser offers that gateway to help us move forward. However, in order to achieve this, we need to reach inside ourselves – to declare passionate intent – to welcome any Mirror of Reflection which can show us what we do not always see . . . yet usually can, if we will but only look! A good example might be the sculptor who disowns the inspiration that led to the beautiful sculpture: “It wasn’t me“, he said: “All I did was to help remove the interference and reveal the clarity of a masterpiece trapped within!”
“All I did was help remove the
interference and reveal the clarity
of a masterpiece trapped within!”
This statue helps capture the philosophy of QuestUnique’s business coaching services. Through reflection, analysis and discussion we help to unveil the leader that was already within. To not only give you advice, but to teach you in the ways of critically analyzing challenges and tasks yourself to find the right answers for your unique situation.
At QuestUnique our coaches’ mind set reflects a wisdom which
respects that the individual has choice and will.
Our Values, philosophy of Coaching and personal business
experience are at the core of our services. Helping people on their
own journey is the outcome of our work.
The Journey of our Coaching Philosophy
Stories, metaphors, allegories, tales, fables and myth are probably the best vehicles to share how we have arrived at why we operate the way we do. They summarize yet open windows of the mind, sometimes differently for every individual. Perhaps some of the following may communicate an understanding.
The QuestUnique journey uses the metamorphic process in rock formation as a symbol of its foundation.
Technically metamorphism is the transformation of a pre-existing rock type. Prolonged time, temperatures, moisture and pressures are key process ingredients. This maps well to the concept that as human beings, we are subject to pre-conditions such as genetic make-up, geographic location, social and philosophical conditioning. In addition, our life and history of event-shaping experiences colour our perspectives. In particular, our unconscious passive acceptance of changes and challenges when we do not or are unable to make decisions from choice only show up as obstacles or apparent luck only in hindsight. Sometimes we have dared to go where our families and peers hesitated! We were proactive and conscious in our motivations. We are who we have become so far. We must acknowledge this reality. At QuestUnique we refer to this as the MetamorphiQUE acceptance.
A key companion metaphor we use at QuestUnique is that of the caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly.
We refer to this transformative experience as ChrysaliQUE. From pre-existing form i.e the individual at their current journey stage, the ROQUE process is about the individual building the transformative chrysalis journey. This is about the trials of evolving thought and mind processes of reflection (cf QuestUnique’s ROQUE Mirror of Reflection). Then a resilient and strong butterfly is released. ROQUE becomes in effect the safe pupa that offers protection to the evolving coachee inside. Sometimes the chrysalis is wrapped in silk – metaphorically the delicate or sensitivity from respect, nurture and caring mindset of the coach.
Invoking the essence of the Eagle, we add a further metaphor to the allegory.
The eagle appears to have the instinct to live in the realm of the higher atmosphere, but still remain connected and balanced to the Earth. In native American tribes, eagle feathers are treasured as sacred and addressed in healing practices. “The Eagle is seen as living in a state of grace that can only be achieved by completing the steps of initiation through hard work and awareness. The message of the eagle may be prompting you to gather your courage and soar above the mundane.”
This eagle symbol reflects the ultimate aspiration of the individual and the supporting coach for that unique individual. In psychological terms it has been well expressed as the stage of: “. . . the elimination of the encumbrances, a process of liberation from our complexes, our illusions and from identification with the various parts we play in life, the masks we assume, with our idols, etc. It is a release in the etymological sense of the term, a freeing and activation of latent potentialities.” (Roberto Assagioli , M.D.; Transpersonal Development)..
The black swan and reflection symbolizes our ‘inner’ explorations whilst the white swan and reflection represents our experiences in the ‘outer’ world.
In Jungian understanding, this is how we derive and focus our energies between Extraversion and Introversion. We do both and some of us tend to focus more on one direction than the other – both being valid for the individual. According to Swiss psychiatrist Carl G Jung, in trying to understand differences in behavior, he concluded that our orientation results from inborn tendencies. The swan is rich in symbolic attributes in various cultures and ancient wisdom traditions. Respecting this ‘vehicle’ and ‘grace’ of the swan image in individuals offers additional levels of perspectives in the conversation between individual and coach.