Co Active Coaching Kimsey House
One book, placed in its field — what this book gets right, where it goes further than the rest, and what the rest of the field adds.
Mike West, Editor · HR Leader Guide · careleader.guide/guides/profile-co_active_coaching_kimsey_house
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Co Active Coaching Kimsey House
One book, placed in its field — what this book gets right, where it goes further than the rest, and what the rest of the field adds.
Mike West, Editor · HR Leader Guide · careleader.guide/guides/profile-co_active_coaching_kimsey_house
The problem
Fulfilling, balanced, fully lived life erodes when it is left to instinct instead of method.
You were taught the moves piecemeal, never the whole model.
Co Active Coaching Kimsey House · Mike West, Editor · HR Leader Guide
The model
- 01Co-Active Cornerstone Stance
- 02Safe and Courageous Coaching Environment
- 03Designed Alliance
- 04Coach Contexts and Skills
- 05Holding the Coachee's Agenda
- 06Coachee Empowerment and Awareness
- 07Accountable Action and Learning
- 08Fulfilling, Balanced, Fully Lived Life
Co Active Coaching Kimsey House · Mike West, Editor · HR Leader Guide
Step 1 of 5 · Co-Active Cornerstone Stance
The cornerstones are behavioral commitments, not affirmations—each one forbids a specific coaching move.
Misconception
Practitioners treat the four cornerstones as inspirational language to recite, not as an operational filter that governs how they behave in real time.
Reality
The stance is enforced by your moment-to-moment choices: believing a client is 'naturally creative, resourceful, and whole' means you literally stop yourself from offering advice, because advice implies they are broken.
Co Active Coaching Kimsey House · Mike West, Editor · HR Leader Guide
Step 2 of 5 · Safe and Courageous Coaching Environment
A container that only feels safe, never courageous, will not move a client through resistance.
Misconception
Coaches assume safety means being gentle, non-confrontational, and comfortable at all times.
Reality
Safety and courage are paired precisely because a truly safe container is what allows you to say the hard, risky thing; over-comfort produces a pleasant conversation that changes nothing.
Co Active Coaching Kimsey House · Mike West, Editor · HR Leader Guide
Step 3 of 5 · Designed Alliance
Power belongs to the relationship, so challenges come from the agreement, not your authority.
Misconception
Coaches treat the designed alliance as a one-time contracting conversation covered in the intake session.
Reality
The alliance grants power to the relationship itself, not to either party, which means it must be renegotiated whenever the work changes—when a client stalls, you return to the alliance rather than pushing harder personally.
Co Active Coaching Kimsey House · Mike West, Editor · HR Leader Guide
Step 4 of 5 · Coach Contexts and Skills
The five competencies matter more as a set than as individual party tricks.
Misconception
New coaches focus almost entirely on asking clever questions and treat the other competencies as secondary.
Reality
Level III listening, intuition, and self-management do the heavy lifting—a mediocre question delivered with full attention outperforms a brilliant one delivered while you are rehearsing your next move.
Co Active Coaching Kimsey House · Mike West, Editor · HR Leader Guide
Step 5 of 5 · Holding the Coachee's Agenda
Your opinions and answers are the primary thing you set aside, not just your topics.
Misconception
Coaches think holding the client's agenda means passively following whatever topic the client raises.
Reality
Holding the agenda is active and demanding—you hold the client's larger life agenda even when they wander into a smaller one, and you set aside not just your solutions but your assessment of what they 'should' work on.
Co Active Coaching Kimsey House · Mike West, Editor · HR Leader Guide
A framework to use
Co-Active Coaching Framework
This framework is part of the full guide. See the guide →
Co Active Coaching Kimsey House · Mike West, Editor · HR Leader Guide
The cheat sheet
- Co-Active Cornerstone StanceThe cornerstones are behavioral commitments, not affirmations—each one forbids a specific coaching move.
- Safe and Courageous Coaching EnvironmentA container that only feels safe, never courageous, will not move a client through resistance.
- Designed AlliancePower belongs to the relationship, so challenges come from the agreement, not your authority.
- Coach Contexts and SkillsThe five competencies matter more as a set than as individual party tricks.
- Holding the Coachee's AgendaYour opinions and answers are the primary thing you set aside, not just your topics.
- Coachee Empowerment and AwarenessA client leaving with new awareness but no action plan has still had a successful session.
- Accountable Action and LearningThe client accounts to themselves; you hold the structure, not the judgment.
- Fulfilling, Balanced, Fully Lived LifeFulfillment is values-alignment, not accomplishment—success can feel empty and still be 'successful.'
Co Active Coaching Kimsey House · Mike West, Editor · HR Leader Guide
Sources
- Co Active Coaching Kimsey House
Co Active Coaching Kimsey House · Mike West, Editor · HR Leader Guide