Co-Active Coaching
"Co-Active Coaching is an experience of personal and professional development unlike other kinds of coaching. Based on the Co-Active Model, it begins by holding the coachee as naturally creative, resourceful and whole, and completely capable of finding their own answers to whatever challenges they face. The job of a Co-Active Coach® is to ask powerful questions, listen and empower to elicit the skills and creativity a client already possesses, rather than instruct or advise. Co-Active coaching uses an array of proprietary tools developed by CTI'." ("The Co-Active Model." thecoaches.com.)
Co-Active Coaching is a powerful relationship created through an open, courageous conversation between the client and the coach. The difference between a Co-Active Coaching conversation and any other open conversation and powerful relationship lies largely in the coach's training. As a coach, I am trained to deepen my awareness of my own life choices. I can then apply the knowledge gathered to the work I do with clients.
Coaches are trained to ask questions. Questions are like arrows: they point to where you're coming from (motivations, yearnings, history, beliefs) to where you're going (your goals, yearnings, expectations).
By asking the right questions, I deepen a client's self-awareness, then encourage them to act on their discoveries and make choices that differ from the ones they made in the past. The process of self-development continues in a spiraling motion: as the client makes new choices, they get unexpected results, which leads them to learning new things about themselves. As their self-awareness grows, they experiment with new choices and act in even more novel ways. Again, surprising results encourage them to expand their self-perceptions, nudging the process of self-growth in an ever-spiraling motion.
