Group Facilitation Tip: Preparation

Preparation is a trainer or coaches best friend. With today being back to school for many in North America, the whole topic of preparation has been forefront in the media. Today I am spending a large amount of my day getting prepared for a very exciting corporate contract I am working on - one that will have me travelling next week to Calgary, Vancouver and Victoria on the West Coast of Canada.

I often get asked how much time do you need to prepare for a group program. Industry standards in the area of classroom based training have often used a 40:1 ratio, that is for every one hour of classroom based training that is created, 40 hours of work goes into the development (including session outlines, facilitators guides etc). But does this hold true for group coaching?

One of the main distinctions between group coaching and workshops is the difference in who holds the agenda, which from my experience, seems to have a large impact on my preparation time leading up to either a group coaching session or workshop. In traditional training, the agenda or objectives are typically set by the organization, and often participants (in more participatory learning environments), according to the KSAs (Knowledge, Skills and Abilities) that the program is to achieve or improve. Preparation in this case involves setting the objectives, developing the sessions and evaluation structure, and really keeping the goals/objectives out front during the entire session.

Group Coaching takes a different tact and I find has a softer focus. In keeping aligned with the coaching profession, the coach/facilitator is there to hold the client's agenda (the client in this case being the individual members of the group). Practically speaking what this usually means for my preparation is a focus on getting to know the participants as much as possible prior to the group coaching session. For the more extended programs I run (1 month - 90 days) I meet with each participant by phone to find out more about their expectations about the program, what they want to acheive and take away. This then gives me an idea of the clients agenda, which we can dance with, within the context of the program.

I often get asked what's the balance bewteen structure and the client's agenda in group coaching. From personal experience, I tend to structure my programs along thematic lines (i.e. worklife balance, business success, leadership, organization issues), finding that this gives the group more tractiion and a common purpose. There is still lots of room for going in many different directions. While each week has a different theme there is still flexibiltiy in meeting the clients' agendas as we move through the session. Again, it's a softer focus and less reliance on a hard "schedule".

As a group coaching facilitator it's always a fine balance and dance between the structure, and meeting the needs and agendas of the clients in the hear and now of the session. It's about being unattached to the actual timeline of the session, while creating a framework for the clients to explore and move forward with their own agendas. Just as you will find as a coach each session is going to turn out differently.

I'm going to get into more practical preparation tips in future blog posts. What's your greatest question related to preparation for workshops, retreats or group coaching programs? Please feel free to comment below.

Have a great week,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, PCC, CHRP, CPT
Group Coaching Essentials
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