Energy and Intimacy: The Exciting Return of In-Person Coach Training

CTI, like many training and development organizations, started out with in-person learning. And, as everyone else had to, we pivoted quickly to online learning. Did you know that our very first online course had only 5 participants? It was new, it was unfamiliar, and, at the time, people didn’t want to replace a rich, in-person experience for something that appeared to be a poor substitute. How times changed! It wasn’t long before our online courses were bursting with registrants, and the learner feedback for online courses was as strong as it had ever been for in-person. 

It’s been a journey filled with learning and growth for us, and now, after a period of exclusively online courses, we’re thrilled to announce the eagerly awaited return of our in-person coach training courses! Today we’re celebrating that once again participants can step into physical classrooms to dive into the transformative world of Co-Active coaching. 

  

How Is In-Person Training Different From Online Training? 

The content of our in-person courses is essentially the same as our online courses. Learners experience much the same conversations, activities, and coaching practice. 

What’s different is the learning environment. It’s important to acknowledge that, for many, virtual learning has been an enriching and effective mode of learning, allowing people to access limitless content and experience and connect with experts and peers across the globe. It’s convenient and accessible, and it allows people to fit their learning around their lives, work, and responsibilities. However, the yearning for the rich experiences that in-person interactions provide remained strong in our community. There has been huge demand from our learners for in-person training, because, quite simply, there’s an energy and an intimacy to being face-to-face that some learners thrive on.  

Here are 4 ways the learning environment of in-person Co-Active courses is different: 

Energy

The learning environment created in an in-person classroom allows participants to tap into the energies in a room using senses and social cues that are possible only in this format.  Through body language, eye contact, and the unspoken understanding that arises from being physically present, participants are able to have more powerful group interactions. There’s chemistry at work — both at a physical level and an energetic level — that anyone with a strong preference for in-person learning will recognize. 

Receptiveness

Neuroscience dictates that a change of scenery is hugely beneficial in the learning process and creates new neural pathways that make you more receptive to change and growth. Some people are also able to focus more intently on their learning when removed from the distractions of their home environment. 

Intimacy and connection

Spending time with your course leaders and peers in person helps establish strong connections and shared experiences. There’s a reason many online cohorts of Co-Active learners seek to meet in person after their training: the desire and need to meet offline transcends the classroom and extends into our lives and workplaces, in recognition of the truth that while technology can bridge distances, nothing quite replaces the intimacy of human connection. 

Amplification

Coaches are generally people people — they value human-to-human interactions and depth of connection. We know that coaches don’t need to deliver their coaching in person to have a profound impact on their coachees — online coaching and online coach training have been working successfully and harmoniously for many in recent years — but coaching is one of the professions that will get the most out of in-person training. Being fully present with your coachee, listening at 3 levels, leading embodiment and somatic exercises: all of these essential Co-Active coaching skills are amplified when witnessed in physical proximity. 

  

In Person vs Online Training: Giving Learners More Choice 

As we reinstate in-person coach training courses we make a commitment to continue to deliver the very best in experiential virtual learning, so that however people choose to learn with us, they’re promised a holistic and transformative experience. 

We want to give power to the learner to choose what’s most conducive to their learning, and where they want to discover and apply their emerging Co-Active skills. We’ve given some examples of what in-person training offers that’s different, but everyone has their own unique circumstances and preferences for learning. We’re glad we’re now able to meet our learners where they want to be and offer more flexible or hybrid pathways. 

  

Where In-Person Coach Training Is Happening 

Our in-person coach training courses for the rest of 2023 are taking place in Toronto, San Rafael, Seattle, Washington DC, London, and Singapore. In fact, our very first in-person course since 2020 recently happened in San Rafael, where we welcomed 21 budding Co-Active coaches into a 3-day Co-Active Fundamentals of Coaching course. The course co-leaders were no less excited about getting back in person than the learners, and we know something special happened in that classroom this weekend.  
 
The full calendar of in-person courses for 2023 and beyond is available now. Outside the regions of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Singapore, we have a network of Co-Active partners who deliver courses in-person and in local languages. Their course calendars can be viewed on their websites for learners all over the world. 

  

Returning to our Roots 

Our efforts to resume in-person coach training courses were spurred on by our eager community, but there was a deep-felt need in our system to return to our roots. In-person coach training isn’t just about giving learners more options; it’s about coming home to our origins as a company — where our founders stepped into a room and were received with open hearts and minds by the earliest coaches. The energy in that space made magic happen, and more than 30 years later, we’re proud to know that the Co-Active model still fuels growth and transformation. 

  

To those learners out there who have been waiting for in-person coach training, welcome back! We can’t wait to see you in a real-life classroom soon!