Co-active coaching
Co-active coaching was is also referred to as ‘whole person’ coaching and ‘work-life coaching’. It works on the basis that the client is the expert in their own domain and puts the client firmly in the driving seat.
Through co-active coaching the client becomes more self-aware, creating their own goals and norms. The coach might offer perspectives but the responsibility for design of goals and actions lies firmly with the client.
Co-active coaching has four main principles:
- The client is naturally creative, resourceful and whole. They do not need to be “fixed”. They have all the answers they need and can achieve their goals by drawing upon their strengths rather than focusing upon their weaknesses.
- Coaching should address the entirety of the client’s life, not just one issue or problem. Decisions made in one area of their life will have an impact on other areas, so it makes sense to look at the entire picture. Coaching helps the client progress towards a more balanced existence.
- The agenda is the client’s – they decide what to talk about, when and how. They also choose what they do about issues they examine – they are responsible for making themselves more or less effective. The coach simply helps them keep their goals in focus.
- The coach and coachee form a developmental alliance, in which the learning processes reflect the preferences and choices of the coachee, who is more “in charge” of the coaching process than in many other approaches to coaching. The quality of the relationship is therefore important in helping the coachee progress and take responsibility for changes in their life.
Further reading:
Whitworth, L, House, HK and Sandahl, P (1998) Co-Active Coaching Davies Black, CA
© David Clutterbuck, 2014
Prof David Clutterbuck
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