Coaching
A structured conversational partnership supporting awareness, choice and action without taking ownership of the client’s decision.
Read reference →CPQ™ Knowledge Centre
CPQ™ Professional Glossary - 50 Terms
CPQ institutional definitions for core coaching, practice and credential terms.
Coach
A practitioner who uses coaching skills within declared competence, professional boundaries and ethical requirements.
Read reference →Client
The person or team receiving coaching and retaining ownership of decisions and responsibility for choices.
Read reference →Coaching Session
An agreed period of professional work with a purpose, context, boundaries and reviewable outcomes.
Read reference →Coaching Agreement
An agreement defining goals, roles, confidentiality, fees, communication, cancellation and service scope.
Read reference →Professional Presence
The coach’s capacity to remain attentive, flexible and non-defensive during the session.
Read reference →Awareness
An increased ability to notice patterns, assumptions and options that were previously unclear.
Read reference →Active Listening
Listening for meaning, context, tone and silence while checking understanding without imposing premature interpretation.
Read reference →Powerful Question
A concise, non-leading question that expands thinking, surfaces an assumption or turns awareness into choice.
Read reference →Feedback
Specific information or observation offered respectfully to support learning without judging personal worth.
Read reference →Action Plan
Client-owned steps with timing, review criteria and accountability.
Read reference →Accountability
Reviewing what the client committed to and learned from action or non-action without punishment or rescuing.
Read reference →Psychological Guidance within Coaching
Use of supportive psychological knowledge to understand behaviour and awareness without diagnosis, treatment or unheld licensure claims.
Read reference →Cognitive Awareness
Noticing relationships among thoughts, interpretations, emotions and behaviour to expand choice.
Read reference →Behaviour Change
Designing experiments, environments and cues that support new behaviour or reduce unwanted behaviour within non-clinical scope.
Read reference →Neuroplasticity
The nervous system’s capacity to change with experience and learning; used by CPQ as an educational concept without therapeutic claims.
Read reference →Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP)
A communication and self-development framework used in some coaching contexts; CPQ does not present it as medical treatment or a substitute for clinical evidence.
Read reference →Mental Flexibility
The capacity to revise assumptions and change strategy when new information or context emerges.
Read reference →Intrinsic Motivation
Motivation linked to meaning, choice and values rather than external reward or pressure alone.
Read reference →Self-Awareness
The ability to notice one’s thoughts, emotions, biases and their influence on choices and behaviour.
Read reference →Business Coaching
Coaching within business, decision and leadership contexts while remaining distinct from technical consulting.
Read reference →Executive Coaching
Coaching for leaders requiring clear organisational contracting, confidentiality and stakeholder management.
Read reference →Coach Educator
A practitioner qualified to design and deliver coach education and assess learning against defined standards.
Read reference →Mentor Coaching
A development process focused on coaching performance and competencies through review and feedback.
Read reference →Professional Supervision
A regular space to review cases, ethics, practitioner impact, blind spots and professional learning.
Read reference →Continuing Professional Development
Documented post-qualification learning that maintains competence, ethics and current practice.
Read reference →Scope of Practice
The boundaries set by education, competence, law and contract on what a practitioner can safely provide.
Read reference →Professional Referral
Directing a client to another professional or service when needs exceed coaching scope or require different expertise.
Read reference →Confidentiality
Protecting client information from disclosure except with consent or a pre-explained legal/safety exception.
Read reference →Conflict of Interest
A situation where personal or organisational interests may affect objectivity or trust and require disclosure, management or recusal.
Read reference →Dual Relationship
An additional relationship with a client that may increase exploitation, pressure or loss of objectivity.
Read reference →Code of Ethics
A set of principles and conduct rules defining professional expectations and accountability mechanisms.
Read reference →Professional Credential
A professional status awarded after meeting education, experience, assessment and ethics requirements and maintained through renewal.
Read reference →Certificate of Completion
A document confirming completion of a programme, module or educational assessment and not automatically a professional credential.
Read reference →Accreditation
A quality-assurance or recognition relationship applying to an organisation or programme and stated with its awarding body and scope.
Read reference →Professional Membership
Affiliation with a professional network or community with conditions and benefits separate from a credential or qualification.
Read reference →CPQ-T Tier
A level in CPQ’s proprietary professional credential system based on education, practice, supervision and assessment evidence.
Read reference →LCS™ Diploma
CPQ’s Life Coach Specialist education pathway; an advanced educational qualification, not an automatic professional credential.
Read reference →CPD™ Diploma
CPQ’s integrated foundational Practitioner Coach diploma, distinct from the generic concept of continuing professional development hours.
Read reference →PCA™ Diploma
CPQ’s Coaching & Psychological Guidance pathway with explicit coaching boundaries, referral and non-diagnosis requirements.
Read reference →CTTA™ Diploma
CPQ’s Advanced Coach Trainer pathway for designing and delivering coach education and group training.
Read reference →CPQ™ Ecosystem
The system connecting CPQ’s professional organisation, academy, standards, credentials, knowledge, research and community.
Read reference →Change Makers Club
A CPQ professional community providing membership, networking and activities; membership does not equal professional credentialing.
Read reference →Electronic Verification
A public mechanism for checking a certificate or credential using a number or code recorded in the registry.
Read reference →Practice Log
A dated record of coaching hours, clients and work type used as evidence for credential application or renewal.
Read reference →Performance Assessment
Review of a session or practice evidence against a published rubric measuring competencies and behaviours.
Read reference →Ethics Acknowledgement
A documented commitment to read and follow the Code of Ethics and provide truthful information.
Read reference →Individual Coaching
A coaching relationship between practitioner and individual client with agreed contract, confidentiality and goals.
Read reference →Group Coaching
A coaching process for a group requiring explicit safety, confidentiality and role agreements among participants.
Read reference →Digital Coaching
Coaching delivered through digital channels with additional privacy, security and consent requirements.
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