4 Cornerstones – 5 Contexts – 3 Principles

The Co-Active® Model is a philosophy, a methodology, a skillset and a communication form that is applied to business, education, medical institutions, government and communities across the globe. It is about ‘how we are’ and ‘what we do’ and the important connection between the two. Whether you are leading at work or leading at home, this methodology recognizes that leadership is all one.

By embracing personal accountability and becoming aware of our impact and – equally as important – our unintended impact, we begin to be the leaders of our lives and of our world. Allowing ourselves to be authentic in all areas of our lives nurtures our being (the how we are) while allowing us to take inspired action (the what we do).   Ask yourself, who am I, as a leader? Very simply, authentic leadership lives inside – who you are is how you lead. What then is the vision for our world when we are leading from our best self?

The Co-Active® Model is based on 4 cornerstones, which directly connect to 5 contexts, at the core of which are 3 principles. This video provides a detailed explanation of the Co-Active® Model and below we’ve described each of the primary points as concisely as possible, so that you can get a clear – and whole – sense of the methodology that we use for all of our workshops.

Co-Active’s 4 Cornerstones

These cornerstones are dependent on each other to complete the whole:

1. People are naturally creative, resourceful, and whole. People are not broken and do not need fixing, and have their own innate wisdom on how to live life.
   
2. Dance in this moment is a metaphor for the capacity to deal with anything and everything that arises in a relationship, elegantly and powerfully.
   
3. Focus on the whole person and work with the full range of our humanity, rather than seeing only a particular circumstance, challenge or opportunity.
4. Evoke transformation is about calling forth radical, evolutionary changes, and not making small incremental changes.

Co-Active’s 5 Contexts

These contexts are part of every relationship and every interaction:

1. Profound curiosity relative to what is happening and what is important, rather than judgement and opinions.
   
2. Listening that is focused on the other person and the broader field of emotion and environment.
   
3. Intuition is about the use of innate inner wisdom and experience, expressed directly through the body.
4. Capacity to forward action without which nothing changes, while deepening learning, to increase awareness, self knowledge, capacity, and resilience.
   
5. Self-Management which allows us to drop opinions, judgements and evaluations so that we can remain in powerful contact and communication.

Co-Active’s 3 Principles:

These principles make up the core of the methodology:

1. Fulfilment is about vision and values, and the exploration and implementation of what brings us to life and makes us sing.
2. Balance is relative to exploring how we see each and every situation; exploring other perspectives and choosing a perspective that encourages and enables action.
3. Process is all about allowing ourselves to be with the full range of our emotions (joyful and sad, peaceful and angry) so we have the capacity to be resilient and alive no matter what our circumstance is.

“Nothing ever becomes real until it is experienced” – John Keats

While all of this may seem like a lot to process in theory, the Co-Active® approach has a strong emphasis on learning through experience. In our experiential workshops, you won’t find traditional powerpoint presentations, instead you’ll experience interactive games and role playing on real life issues – sparking curiosity and making it fun!

The Co-Active® Model is one of  the most effective methods of coaching, using experiential tools to empower the natural leader within and to evoke transformational, lasting change across all areas of life. Watch this short video and hear first-hand what our participants felt following one of our workshops.

Leadership Coaching is dedicated to spreading the principles of CTI’s Co-Active® Model in Greece (link to other blog post about Co-Active in Greece) and we do this by offering tailored workshops, retreats, and one-to-one coaching for family businesses, corporate companies, and educational institutions.

Get in touch with us today and let’s discover how the Co-Active® Model can mean change in your life!