What is Co-Active Coaching?

Co-Active Coaching is unique, powerful and will transform your life

"It is a truly holistic approach designed to address the client's whole life, at every level of consciousness."

-Henry Kimsey-House (April 2004), one of the founders of co-active coaching, International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring Vol. 4, No.2, Autumn 2006, page 68

Co-active coaching is a partnership of a willing client and a capable coach committed to the client's agenda that is at the heart of the model. To be most effective, we need to understand the respective roles and contributions of the client, the coach and the coaching relationship.

The model includes the client's fulfillment, balance and process within five contexts from which to work: listening, intuition, curiosity, moving forward and deepening and self-management. This coaching model is unique in that it teaches you to maintain an equal focus on who you are being as much as what you are doing as you work towards your goals.

Being involves the clarity of your intention, your beliefs, vision, calling, motivation, and inspiration. Doing includes techniques, processes, and actions. Once you are consciously aware of and choosing who you are being, your doing has much greater impact.

Each client is unique, with a unique set of circumstances, unique goals and desire for change, unique abilities and interests. The coach is cognizant of this context at all times and responds in a manner that supports the client by clarifying choices and making changes.

The (Co-Active) coach:

• Facilitates the exploration of needs, motivations, desires, skills and thought processes to assist the individual in making real, lasting change.

• Uses questioning techniques to facilitate client's own thought processes in order to identify solutions and actions rather than take a wholly directive approach.

• Supports the client in setting appropriate goals and methods of assessing progress in relation to these goals.

• Observes, listens and asks questions to understand the client's situation.

• Creatively applies tools and techniques that may included a variety of methods to facilitate growth and accomplish goals.

• Encourages a commitment to action and the development of lasting personal growth & change.

• Evaluates the outcomes of the process, using objective measures wherever possible to ensure the relationship is successful and the client is achieving their personal goals.

• Encourages clients to continually improve competencies to achieve their goals.

• Work within their area of personal competence.

• Manages the relationship to ensure the client receives the appropriate level of service and that programs are neither too short, nor too long.