Team Coaching or Group Coaching - What's the Difference?

For many coaches reading this blog, it's likely that you undertake both team coaching and group

coaching with different clients. Sometimes, when we are brought in to work with a grouping at an organization, we're asked to coach a group, and we find out it's really a team. Likewise, we may be engaged to coach a team and find out it's a group.

Consider these examples - a coach is asked to coach and handful of new leaders at an organization. They all come from different parts of the business and don't report to each other. In fact, many of them are just meeting each other for the first time.

Second, a team coach is engaged to work with a group of professionals who are being brought together to execute a special project. Over the next 2 months they are expected to design and implement a new process.

So, which is which?
Example 1 - a group.
Example 2 - a team

What's the difference? When we are coaching a team there's a web of relationships, history and common purpose that we are stepping into. When we coach a group, it's likely that the group is starting to form.

A significant different as well is the type of entity and focus we bring to the conversation.
As a team there is, or aspirationally there is, is a shared purpose, mission and vision. They exist for a reason. Teams exist to produce results. The relationships and people which make up that body are central in creating the results they get  even a remote team. The focus in team coaching is on supporting alignment across the team. It's about helping people see their connectivity and alignment together.
In group coaching in contrast, there may not be a significant amoutn of connection or even similarity in their work, their focus, yet, group members can benefit significantly from connecting with and exploring topics of similar interest together. Going back to the examples above, it can be very valuable to connect with other leaders in different parts of an organization, or even across an industury.

When coaching a team, it can be advantageous to explore the various factors which makes a team excel. From Hackman and Wageman -- check this publication, to Katzenhach and Smith, we know that there are several elements which help make a team excel. From clear roles and goals, to a shared vision, and regular practices like team meetings, to everyone understanding what success looks like and how they are measured. These become even more pronounced in the remote and virtual space. For more on this check out the new Remote Pathways Podcast I co-host. We are just at Episode 5 and delve into the different people, places and pathways to remote work. You may also want to check out the Expanding Your Group and Team Coaching Toolkit post I wrote a few months ago on Team Effectiveness

Consider how you might leave space for a team to explore where they are along each of these areas.

For a more detailed look at the difference between group and team coaching, please check out thees articles I have written in the last few years for choice Magazine.

Here's a link to "Group and Team Coaching - The Landscape of Many" as published in Choice Volume 19  - Click here to download 
or  Group and Team Coaching - Valuable Modalities for Today's Organizational Context, Volume 16 of Choice. Click here to download


We go into greater detail around the similarities and differences throughout the Advanced Group and Team Coaching Practicum (10 CCes), and to a lesser extent in the Group Coaching Essentials program (8.75 CCEs). I hope you will consider joining us for an upcoming virtual learning group.

With best wishes,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, MES, CPT, PCC
Author of Effective Group Coaching (2010), Coaching Business Builder (2018), Effective Virtual Conversations (2017) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013). Check out my author page on Amazon for all publications.
Email: info@potentialsrealized.com

If you are looking for  coaching skills development through CCE approved programs - The next Group CoachingEssentials CCE approved program starts on Monday February 3rd from 9 - 1015 am ET - group calls will be held on February 3, 10, 24, March 2 and 9, 2020. This 8.75 CCE program also includes weekly 1-1 time with me (15 min each week). Is 2020 your year to get your groups going or expand the number of groups you are doing? Whether you are new to group coaching or stepping into your next year, there’s always something to learn – I hope you’ll join us. Reserve your spot here.

Also starting on February 3rd is the Mentor Coaching Group (10 hours for ACC/ PCC). Join me for 10 hours of mentor coaching for your credential. This group will be held on Mondays from 12 - 1pm Eastern from February 3 - May 4, 2020.

The 60 Day Coaching Business Builder will also kick off a new cohort on February 1st. This hybrid live and on-demand program supports you in 60 days of daily steps, also with a weekly 1-1 time with me!

Coaching Business Builder - What's Your Service and Product Offering Mix?

Recent research from the ICF has discovered that 94% of coaches offer more than just coaching

(Coaching World, May 2013). What is your mix of product and service offerings?

Whether we are new or experienced coaches and/or business owners it can be very useful to  consider what we are offering through our business. It’s very useful to consider what you are using at different price points, for different types of clients across the spectrum of the people you serve.

For coaches, it is possible that some of your service offerings may include:

• Coaching Services. Do you offer individual, team, group ccoaching? Partnership coaching (for business or relationships)
• Speaking Services
• Workshop or teleclass services
• Retreats
• Service areas in other areas of your expertise - list these:

Questions to Consider

What service offerings do you currently have? What additional services would your clients like you to offer? What would it take to create these?

Product offerings may include:

• White papers
• E-books
• Manuals
• Journals

The CoachingToys.com site showcases the creative spectrum of what is available to coaches as products. 

Questions to consider:

What products do you want to develop in your business? What are your clients looking for right now?

What is currently available in the marketplace or for your clients? What is not?

What would it take for you to develop new products?

Consider what products you may offer at no cost, low cost and higher price points.

What products and services do you have to offer at each price point?

  

I touch on the idea of considering your overall product and services offerings and funnel as in the digital marketing chapter of my new book, From One to Many: Best Practices for Team andGroup Coaching. We also explore it in one of our group calls during the 90 DayBizSuccess for Coaches program, starting again this September.

In closing, what are the core mainstays of your business right now? What do your clients really, really want? What changes may you make in the upcoming months? What do you want to be doing more of?

Have a great weekend!

Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, MES, CPT, PCC, CPCC

Group Coaching Essentials | Potentials Realized

Phone: (416)996-8326

Why Coaching - Several Benefits

Why Coaching Works infographic by swrightcreative.

This is a great iconograph out from the International Coaching Federation (ICF) which talks about the value of coaching. I thought that I would share it with you today.

Research from the ICF has identified increased productivity, increased positivity and return on investment (ROI) from coaching.

Increased productivity measures include:
Improved work performance (70%)
Improved business management (61%)
Improved time management (57%)
Improved team effectiveness (51%)

Improved positivity measures include:
Increased self confidence (80%)
Increased relationships (73%)
Improved communication skills (72%)
Improved work life balance (67%)

What do you see as the benefits of coaching?

Have a great start to your week,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC
Author of  Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2010)
GroupCoachingEssentials.com
Phone: (416)996-TEAM (8326)
Upcoming programs include the Group Coaching Essentials teleseminar (6.75 CCEs starting Thursday March 7 at 10 am Eastern/New York) and the Mentor Coaching Group starting Friday March 1 at 1:30 pm Eastern (for ACC Renewals and ACC/PCC portfolio routes - 10 hrs). Join me in Toronto on April 6 and 7 2013 for the Group Coaching Intensive (15 CCEs)

Coaching on the Rise: 6th Annual Sherpa Executive Coaching Survey

The 6th Annual Sherpa Executive Coaching survey has just been released and can be downloaded here.

Some of the highlights of the survey report include:
-Training budgets for 2011 will be increasing at a higher rate than we have seen in many years (Chief Learning Officer, November 2010)
- After a pull back in recent years, organizations are again offering coaching to all levels of management, instead of restricting services to include only top line executives.
- Demand for executive coaching on the rise
- A vast majority of business professionals see the value of coaching as very high. The creditbility of coaching increases every year.
- Coaching is used more and more often for leadership development as opposed to problem-solving.
Source: Sherpa Executive Coaching Survey 2011, pp. 4

Interestingly, two of the areas they identify as next wave are: team coaching, and coaching skills training for managers, two areas I've done a lot of work in over the past five years here in Canada and internationally. I agree and continue to see great scope for increased growth in these areas.

I hope that you will take a look at the survey results yourself at http://www.sherpacoaching.com/survey.html.

As always, feel free to comment below.

Warm regards
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC
Potentials Realized
Author of Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2010)
Group Coaching Essentials (ICF CCE Accreditation: New programs start Feb 8 and 17)
Phone: 416.996.8326

Participate in the 2nd Group Executive Coaching Survey

Many of you will know that I am a real advocate for enhanced research in the coaching profession, and am always eager to hear of, and spread the word on, research related to Group Coaching. When I wrote Effective Group Coaching last year I found that there was really not a lot of research out there.

Jacki Nicholas of the Air Institute is undertaking the 2nd Group Executive Coaching Survey. The first one was published last year and provides an important overview of group coaching.

If you are a coach who is undertaking group coaching work, I would strongly encourage you to participate in this 20 minute online survey. It will help to boost the knowledge base of this emerging work in our profession.

You can complete your own survey at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/29N3WVL.

I look forward to hearing about the results Jacki - thanks for your leadership on this! I look forward to seeing the results and hope to spotlight these here down the road.

Warm regards,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2010)
Email: info{at}potentialsrealized{dot}com

PS - Next Group Coaching Essentials program starts Tuesday October 5th (8-9:15 pm ET) - 4 spaces still open! Accredited for 6.75 CCEs (ICF). Hope you will join us!

Case for Coaching: When Training is Not Enough

I was originally attracted to coaching years ago in part due to the opportunity I saw in having it as a support mechanism to "bring the learning home" after a training program or workshop. My work over the last 7 years, both as coach and trainer, has reconfirmed that coaching (group and/or individual) is an essential element in supporting individuals to integrate new learning and behaviors more quickly into their life and work.

In writing Effective Group Coaching I was quite intrigued with exploring what did the research say about transfer of learning? At the same time, I was very interested in identifying what really are the benefits of group coaching from the client's perspective as well as the coaches perspective. In fact, a whole chapter of the book explores the Business (and Learning) Case for Group Coaching.

I'm always on the lookout for great, and succinct, research. One summary of research on the Transfer of Training was written a few years ago over at the Winning Teams Blog by Judy Hollis, entitled Why Training Doesn't Work - 50 Years of Research. It's a great summary of some of the major findings around retention and transfer of learning.

Enjoy!

Warm regards,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC
Group Coaching Essentials: Next program begins May 11th (Tuesdays 10:30-11:45 am ET)
Email: info{at}potentialsrealized{dot}com

What happens after training?

Many readers will know my story of what brought me into coaching years ago - namely the question around boosting rates of transfer of training back to the workplace. As a manager and director who also wore a trainer's hat for my team, I consistently noticed how even with the best of intentions, the transfer of learning was never 100%. I continue to advocate for coaching, including group coaching, as a way to boost learner integration of these new skills and ideas. In fact, we've seen already this year in all of the projects I have led, how important group coaching is in what I call "keeping the learning alive" once people are back at work.

There was a great article recently published in the Guardian which focuses on the outcomes of a 3 year evaluation study by Knowledge Pool which analyzed the "transfer of learning to the workplace" and the impact on performance, of over 10,000 learners. You can read it here.

Here's what Kevin Lovell of Knowledge Pool writes,
"The results show that 69% of learners use what they learn and experience significant performance improvement from training. A further 6% don't use what they learn, yet they experience performance improvement anyway. 25% of learners doe not experience significant performance imprvement as a result of learning. Of these learners most also say that they did not use what they learn.

We can conclude, firstly, that a quarter of all training fails to deliver a significant performance improvement. Secondly, line manageer support to help learners use what they learn is a major factor in tackling the lack of performance improvement. The study found that where learners do receive line manager support, 94% go onto apply what they learn, and performance improvement invarably follows".

So, how are you engaging managers in the training and/or coaching work you are doing? What do you notice about the transfer of learning - do you see it as high within the industries, sectors and locations you work in? How are you "keeping the learning alive"?

As always, I would love to hear your thoughts. Feel free to post below.

Have a great week
Jenn

Jennifer Britton
Author of Effective Group Coaching
Email: info@potentialsrealized.com

Annual Sherpa Coaching Survey Now Open

A quick reminder that the 5th Annual Sherpa Coaching Survey is on until this Friday, December 18th. Visit http://www.sherpacoaching.com/executive-coaching-survey.html to have your opinions counted as a coach, HR professional or other involved in executive coaching.

Warm regards,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC
Group Coaching Essentials

Group Coaching Questionnaire Now Available Online

I want ,to thank all of the coaches who have contacted me in recent weeks to participate in my own rearch on Group Coaching for my upcoming book - Effective Group Coaching (Pfeiffer/Wiley, Jan 2010).

I am still looking for a few more case studies from around the world - particularly Europe and Australiasia. If you know of coaches who are undertaking group coaching work, please have them contact me.

I am also attaching a link to the group coaching questionnaire I am using to gather further insights and materials from coaches. If you are undertaking group coaching work and would like to participate in this questionnaire, please click here. The questionnaire should only take 5-10 minutes to complete. I will be following up on completed questionnaires directly with you.

I will be wrapping up my interviews in the next few weeks and would love to hear from you! - please take a few minutes now to complete this online questionnaire.

Thanks in advance for your participation!

Warm regards,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, PCC
Group Coaching Essentials
Phone: (416) 996-8326 (TEAM)
Email: info{at}potentialsrealized{dot

Calling all Group Coaches for Global Case Studies

Many of you will know that I am in the midst of writing Effective Group Coaching which will be published in Early 2010 by Pfeiffer/Wiley. Part of the book will include case studies from around the world spotlighting coaches and their work.

Over the next 3 weeks (June 1 - 19th) I am collecting case studies from around the world through questionnaires and interviews to include in the Effective Group Coaching book. I am wanting to hear from as many group coaches as possible on the group coaching work that you undertake - whether it's virtual, in person, with individuals or businesses. I would love to connect with you and get your input into these global case studies. I am also wanting to spotlight the work of coaches at different stages of their business lifecycles - so those of you who are just starting out, as well as those who are more experienced.

If you, or someone you know, would be interested in being interviewed or completing the questionnaire, please contact me directly at (416) 996-8326, email me, or leave me a toll free voice mail at 1-866-217-1960 and I will send you a copy of the questionnaire and will contact you to set up a time when we can hold the interview.

I look forward to hearing from you and thank you for spreading the word with your colleagues!

Warm regards,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC
Group Coaching Essentials
Ph: (416) 996-TEAM (8326)
Voice Mail: 1-866-217-1960
Email: info{at}potentialsrealized{dot}com

4th Annual Sherpa Executive Coaching Survey Now Available

The 4th Annual Sherpa Executive Coaching Survey has just been released and is now available for download. You can download your own copy of the survey here.

The survey answers questions including

• What is executive coaching?
• Who gets a coach?
• How are services delivered?
• Who becomes a coach?
• How do they get their training?
• How much does coaching cost?
• Is it worth the money

1500 participants, primarily executive coaches, participated in the survey. Participants came from the US, Canada and 40 other countries, showing the global nature of executive coaching. The survey also highlights some interesting differences about the background, training and type of work executive coaches are doing on both sides of the Canadian and US border.

I hope that you will take a look at the 4th Annual Sherpa Executive Coaching Survey .

If you are aware of other surveys on coaching which have been released recently, please feel free to comment below. The need for more research on the profession continues to be a major issue - as such it is always wonderful to hear of new survey results being published.

Have a great week!

Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC

Toll Free: 1-866-217-1960

Email: info{at}potentialsrealized{dot}com

New Group Executive Coaching Survey

A number of subscribers have contacted me to see where they can get a hold of research on group coaching. And - as many of you know, there's just not a lot of information out there. Here's your chance to participate in the creation of some research for our field.

Jacki Nichols of the Air Institute is hosting a survey on Group Executive Coaching until September 30th which will be part of a book the ICF is publishing. You can access the survey here. If you are a coach who undertakes group coaching work -- click on over and complete it today!

Warm wishes,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, PCC, CHRP, CPT
Potentials Realized
Group Coaching Essentials
Email: jennifer{at}potentialsrealized{dot}com

Participate in some real coaching research on group coaching

I always get really excited when I hear about real live research that is going on about the coaching profession - its the academic in me.

I 've been contcted by a wonderful researcher, Andrea Anderson, who is currently working on some research around the area of group coaching. If you have experienced a group coaching process as a a client, please consider completing the following survey. If you lead group coaching sessions your self, I hope that you will consider passing this link on to your clients.

Group Coaching Research - If you have been a group coaching client
The link to the following survey (http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=C02C69OM_2bqw56MvhXDc7jg_3d_3d) is intended to tap into the experience and knowledge of people who have experienced life coaching in a group setting.

By completing the survey and sharing your insights, you will help coaches who conduct group sessions learn what is powerful about coaching in a group setting and understand what they can do to improve the experience and learning for their clients. The survey is a quick 10 questions and enables you to remain anonymous.

If you are interested in obtaining the survey results, please email aanderson@in-vocation.com. This survey will remain active through March 21, 2008.

If you are a coach who delivers group coaching programs, Andrea would love to hear from you and have your insights feed into the research. She can be reached at aanderson@in-vocation.com.

I've spoken with Andrea and she is really excited about this research, as I am to hear about the results!

Have a great week!
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, PCC, CHRP
Potentials Realized
Group Coaching Essentials
Toll Free: 1-866-217-1960
Email: jennifer@potentialsrealized.com

Sherpa Executive Coaching 2008 Survey Results Just Released

The 2008 Sherpa Executive Coaching Survey results have just been released this afternoon. You can download your own copy of the entire report here.

This survey focuses specifically on executive coaching and the trends in this part of our industry. This year, almost 1300 professionals participated ( a mix of executive coaches, HR and training proessionals, life/personal coaches, trainers/consultants, and some purchasers of executive coaching).

Executive Coaching is defined in the survey as "regular meetings between a business leader and trained facilitator, designed to produce positive changes in business behavior in a limited time frame"

Some of the key findings included:
* The trend in executive coaching to shorter, limited engagements of 6 months or less
* Use of coaching primarily for leadership development purposes (50%), to address a specific problem or challenge (32%) or for professionals in transition (19% - promotions, transfers andnew hires)
* Adoption of industry standards for training and certification (ICF etc).

It's an interesting read, and again, limited to the field of executive coaching. Click the link to download your complimentary copy of the 2008 Sherpa Executive Coaching Survey.

It's encouraging to see the growth of more research in our profession. What interesting research have you come across lately? Feel free to comment below.

Warm regards,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, PCC, CHRP, CPT
Potentials Realized
Toll Free: 1-866-217-1960
Email: jennifer{at}potentialsrealized.com