Well, it is not exactly typical of collaboration since you are working to help the other person with their own goals rather than working together on a common goal, and it is not specifically for the purpose of creating something (it could be just to get healthier). I think it combines the benefit of having some accountability plus the feel good factor of helping someone.

If you are interested, here's the short post I wrote about it  a while back: https://steemit.com/life/@plushzilla/you-don-t-need-a-life-coach-but-you-should-try-to-co-coach-in-life