Co-Journeying:

Co-journeying is a shared growth journey between equals, where one (the Co-Journeyer) walks alongside another (the Journeyer), to support, guide, and facilitate their personal development. It is an approach of facilitating one’s journey, through walking with them with genuine care, deep listening, without judgment, mutual learning, and shared growth.

Like a trusted traveling companion, rather than taking the role of an expert or authority, the Co-Journeyer helps the journeyer by being fully present, offering sincere support, and serving the other’s growth needs while growing themselves. Both commit to exploring life’s questions together, with the Co-Journeyer respecting the Journeyer’s choices and direction, while authentically walking with, every mile.

Key principles & Approach

Shared growth, support, guidance, facilitation, care, deep listening, full presence, non-judgmental, respect and embrace, mutual learning

What's the difference?

Mentoring is “is a learning relationship, involving the sharing of skills, knowledge, and expertise between a mentor and mentee through developmental conversations, experience sharing, and role modelling. The relationship may cover a wide variety of contexts and is an inclusive two-way partnership for mutual learning that values differences.”

(EMCC Global)

Coaching is “partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.”

(ICF)

Co-Journeying is “an integrated approach that encompasses both mentoring and coaching competencies while transcending beyond them. It is a shared growth journey between equals, where one (the co-journeyer) walks alongside another (the journeyer) without judgment, supporting their personal development through deep listening and genuine care. The co-journeyer flexibly employs mentoring wisdom and coaching skills when needed, while maintaining the fundamental stance of an equal partner in the journey. Like a trusted traveling companion, the co-journeyer helps by being fully present, offering sincere support, and serving the other’s growth needs while growing themselves. Both commit to exploring life’s questions together, with the co-journeyer respecting the journeyer’s choices and direction while authentically sharing in the journey.”.

(Ender-Buyukbay, Shirli, PhD, 2024)

The Co-Journeyer

Who is a Co-Journeyer? What do they do?

Like a trusted traveling companion, rather than taking the role of an expert or authority, the co-journeyer supports and serves the journeyer. Metaphorically functions as a mirror, a candle, a floaty, and a time capsule.

A Co-Journeyer seamlessly moves between roles:

Co-Journeyer is a Candle:

Enlightens the journeyer with knowledge, wisdom, and perspectives, while get enlightened themselves. (A candle gives light to its surrounding only, and does not have the power to enlighten itself. Enlightening another candle, through its flame, gets enlightened)

Co-Journeyer is a Mirror:

Reflects and facilitates journeyer with the ability to see themselves through others’ eyes.

Co-Journeyer is a Time Capsule:

Stores the past events, emotions, actions or achievements the journeyer shared along the journey, and brings back as memory and reflection for future actions.

Co-Journeyer is a Floaty (Life jacket):

Aids the journeyer in their early stage of journey, for gradually gaining confidence, competencies, and skills, until maintaining themselves on their own.

The Journeyer:

Who is the Co-Journeying process for? Who may be a typical Journeyer?

Individuals, groups/teams, professionals, professional and/or self-development seekers, lifelong learners, executives, managers, leaders, parents, students, teenagers.

More specifically a Journeyer may be:

The soon graduating knowledge-bearer, who is thinking of their career path.
The young talent, who has stepped off to real life and searching for career opportunities.
The experience-gatherer, who is in the journey of building their career.
The career-trapped in plateau state, who is searching for reawakening passion for work.
The late-career journeyer, who is seeking to stay in the course and put their skills to use.
The life-long-learner, who is in search of self-awareness and self-mastery.
The talent recruiter, who wants to bring out the hidden potential of their clients.
The line manager, who is looking for ways to direct and navigate their teams and members.
The entrepreneur, who is striving for meaningful goal and direction in investment.

The Journey

Co-Journeying is a process. What does it look like?

Discovery phase:

Co-Journeying begins with the first session of chemistry building or exploration. The Journeyer and Co-Journeyer establish understanding on the journey, express their needs and expectations, and set the boundaries. They get aligned and agree.

This is the phase which they identify the Journeyer’s purpose, need, concern, or goal for the Journey, and a road map.

Initial connection:

A 15 to 30-minute meeting, defining and clarifying the Co-Journeying process.

In and between sessions:

Each session lasts 60 minutes.

The Journeyer can reach out the Co-Journeyer in between sessions, 7/24.
The Co-Journeyer may give tasks, self-assessment, self-awareness and self-mentoring tools, as independent work in between sessions, to keep the transformation process going.

Ongoing process:

The Journey begins by setting the frequency of sessions (weekly or every-other-week), in accordance to the urgency and need of the Journeyer. Co-Journeying process focuses directly the Journeyer, once the topic, nor the initial purpose, goal or need is set.

Central premise is that at each session the Journeyer brings whatever topic they have at their agenda; this serves for advancing towards the main purpose of the Journey. Hence, there are regular checks and reflections on progress towards initial intention, on transformation in thinking and actions, on achievement of specific milestones, on quality of insights and decisions made, on growth in personal and professional areas.

The Co-Journeyer shares resources, reading material, video links, talks, or research/study results, as self-guided options to intellectually stimulate the progress.

Reflection and checks take place as ongoing process until the initial goal is achieved, challenge is overcome, or the concern is no longer an issue, where full sense of self-sufficiency is present. From this point, the Journey may come to an end.

Closure:

A final session terminates the Journey. Both parts reflect their acknowledgements and conclude the partnership.

Do you prefer Solo-Journeying?

“If you want to go fast, walk alone.

If you want to go far, walk with a Co-Journeyer.

If you want to do both,

The Solo-Journeying Guidebook here awaits.”

– Dr. Shirli Ender-Buyukbay