Co-Facilitation - Who Has Your Back

This month, my newsletter focused on co-facilitation in the spirit of love and relationships. Co-Facilitation is a really important relationship to foster whether you are a coach, trainer or professinal leading programs with another. We often spend more time focusing on our program development, rather than focusing on the relationship amongst ourselves.

Here's what I wrote in this month's Group Coaching Newsletter:

"I continue to see more and more coaches incorporate co-facilitation into their work. Whether it is with a another coach, or another professional, what do you do to make it really work?

Here are a couple of thoughts:
1. Number one rule - make sure you have each others back. Through the good and the bad make sure your trust each other to have each others' back at all times. If the trust isn't there, you need to ask why not, and act on it.

2. Know where your strengths lay - individually and collectively. What are your strengths as a partnership? What are your blind spots or gaps?

3. Spend time up front focusing on your relationship, not just getting the work done. See where your values are aligned. How do you define "quality"?Know what each others buttons are.

4. Practically, map out the program together. Know where you can accordion - where you can expand, where you can contract. Share a common understanding of what's a need to have, and what's a nice to have.

5. Check your ego at the door - remember that it is about the group or team you are working with, not you!"

Which of these five activities have you invested time and energy on so far? If you are planning an upcoming partnership, what do you want to have some discussion around?

Read other posts I've written on Co-Facilitation in the past here.

Have a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Warm regards
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Author of Effective Group Coaching: Copies ordered through my site include a bonus digital chapter on Co-Facilitation
Host of the Group Coaching Essentials program
Twitter: http://twitter.com/jennbritton
Contact us to learn more about our coaching services for co-facilitators

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Author of Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2010), Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC supports coaches and other professionals eager to undertake their own group coaching work through the Group Coaching Essentials program, an ICF Accredited CCE program. She works with corporate groups and teams to accelerate their results, as well as with business owners who wish for greater impact and success. Jennifer has designed award winning mentoring training programs for the financial services sector, and brings more than 20 years experience in developing and delivering high impact group programs. For tips on group coaching visit the Group Coaching Ins and Outs blog at http://groupcoaching.blogspot.com. For tips and ideas around leadership and business please visit the BizToolkit blog at http://biztoolkit.blogspot.com.