The Gauss-Jordan method is an algorithm for solving systems of linear equations. It transforms the initial matrix of coefficients into an identity matrix with the solutions along the main diagonal through a series of row operations. The method works by choosing a pivot element from each row and performing elimination to clear all other elements in the column, with the goal of leaving only non-zero elements along the main diagonal at the end. An example applying the Gauss-Jordan method to a system of 4 equations with 4 unknowns is shown step-by-step.