January 2010 Group Coaching Training Classes

The Group Coaching Essentials program turns 5 in January. This ICF Accredited program is eligible for 6.25 hours of Continuing Coach Education Units for ACC, PCC, and MCC coaches who are needing CCEs for recertifcation.

The Group Coaching Essentials program is a hands on program structured to support coaches on the design, marketing and implementation of their own group coaching programs. The program includes 5 x 75 minute calls, an 80 page manual and pre and post course 1-1s with me.

Topics include:
· The Foundation of Group Coaching – What Group Coaching Is, How is it similar to and different from your 1-1 coaching work, Adult Learning Principles, Best Practices of Group Coaching
· The Nuts and Bolts of Developing Group Coaching – Technical issues, Techniques and Templates for Developing and Running Your Program
· Marketing Group Coaching – Tips and Tools for Filling Your Programs - Knowing Your Audience, Exploring mainstream and social marketing approaches
· Filling Up Your Toolbox – Exercises and Other Resources for Group Coaching

New classes will be starting:
Tuesdays 10:30 - 11:45 am (EST) (Morning)
January 5, 12, 19, 26, February 17, 2010
OR
Tuesdays 7-8:15 pm (EST) (Evening)
January 19, 26, February 9, 17 and March 9, 2010

February 2010:
Thursdays 10:45 - 12 noon (EST):
February 11, 18, 25, March 4 and 25, 2010

Spaces are limited in each program to 6-8 coaches. Calls are recorded if you can't make a session.
Cost: $275 US or Canadian

Click here for more information or to register online. Space still remains in all three programs. Alternatively you can email me or call us at 416.996.8326.

For those who didn't quite manage to fit in their business planning before the end of the year, no worries, join me virtually by phone on Friday January 8 and 15 from 1- 4 pm (EST) each day as I take you through a structured business planning retreat in the first 2010 BizSuccess Virtual Biz Planning Retreat. This program is geared for small business owners in the service industry (trainers, coaches, consultants, health professionals). Over the six hours of the retreat you will have the opportunity to focus in on your business, and create some powerful goals for 2010.
Click here for more info or to register for the Biz Planning Retreat. The program costs $150 US and includes the Virtual Business Planning Manual and a group follow up call. We spend approximately 15 minutes of each hour as a group online, with the remaining 45 minutes of each hour left for you to undertake your planning work from your own office.

Looking forward to having you join us for one of our upcoming programs!

warm wishes,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC, CHRP
Author of Effective Group Coaching
GroupCoachingEssentials.com
Phone: 416.996.TEAM (8326)
Email: info{at} potentialsrealized.com

Taking Stock of Your Group Programs at Year End

Happy New Year everyone! I hope that your holiday season has been terrific so far.

In lead up to the start of the new year, and the new decade, I wanted to share some of the year end reflection questions I have included in this month's newsletter, and my 6th Annual Year End Call.

When you sit down to take stock of your work this year, think about the following:

My accomplishments this year have included (insert these)
I am most proud of achieving .....
The opportunities that are facing me/my business/my programs right now are....
The challenges that are facing me/my business/my programs right now are....
I want to keep the following on my radar screen next year (insert these)
I want to put more
attention on ___________ next quarter/month/year.
My priorities for the next six months/quarter are ........
I want to be energized/fuelled by .... in 2010.
By ________(insert date)____________ I will have.........
My next steps are.....
I will be accountable to.....

Wishing You and Yours a terrific start to our new decade.

I look forward to continuing to serve you, and support you in your efforts to design and deliver high impact, top quality workshops, retreats and group coaching programs.

Warm regards,

Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC, CHRP

Group Coaching Essentials.com

Phone: 416.996.8326

Email: info{at}potentialsrealized{dot}com

Author of Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2010)

My Favorite Group Coaching Tools This Year

Every year at this time, I like to look back and take stock of some of my favorite tools and resources of the year, and share them here on the blog.

This year, five of my favorite tools and resources are:

• Visual Explorer from the Center For Creative Leadership. Those of you who joined me in Orlando know the power of this visual tool. I continue to bring it in to team and group coaching sessions, along with workshops and seminars as a conversation starter, and awareness builder. Visit www.ccl.org to learn more about the tool in its many different forms.
• Facilitative Coaching by Dale Schwarz and Anne Davidson. This book is chock full of exercises and resources for your coaching work. Although geared primarily for a 1-1 setting you could adapt many of these for a group context.
• MindMapping seems to make my list each and every year, but I do so love this tool for program design, brainstorming and getting clients unstuck. Check out the tag MindMapping for some ideas on how I use it. Once again, MindJet.com is the best computer based MindMapping tool around. Try out their 21 day free trial at http://www.mindjet.com.

Two new tools which hit my radar screen, but I have not used yet, but am very intrigued by are:

Points of You - The Coaching Game - www.thecoachinggame.com. This very visual tool is described as "designed to foster clear communication and broaden points of view". Part of the tool are brilliant photos in a card deck. It could be a very interesting tool to bring into your group coaching work, in addition to 1-1 work with clients.

MindBloom - a neat computerized goal setting and tracking tool. Viist them at www.mindbloom.com. They have a 14 day trial.

I recently came across both of these later tools in Orlando at this years ICF Conference and feel that they both have great potential for group coaching work. They were so intriguing that they've made my list this year.

What have been some of your favorite tools and resources for group coaching, workshop, and retreat work this year? I'd love to hear - please feel free to comment below.

Warm regards,

Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC

Group Coaching Essentials

Phone: 416.996.TEAM (8326)

Email: info{at}potentialsrealized{dot}com

Thanks for Joining Me for the 6th Annual Year End Programs Call

I would like to thank all of you who joined me on Friday for my 6th Annual Year End Group Program call. We had a great representation of coaches from across North America on the call, and I had several RSVPs from coaches from Asia and Europe who could not join us. Every year at this time I hold the call for coaches, trainers and HR professionals who are leading great workshops, retreats and group coaching with clients around the world.

I hope to make the call recording available in the near future as we covered quite a bit of ground. The call included :
- Five of my favorite group program tools for 2009;
- Seven Reminders of core essential practices for group programs;
- Taking stock of your own work - questions to reflect on and take forward into 2010.

I look forward to continuing to serve you into 2010, and to speaking with many of you in my current year end programs and virtual retreats which are wrapping up in the next few days. Missed them and still are eager to plan? Join me in early January for the 2010 BizPlanning Retreat on Friday Jan 8 and 15/10 (1-4 pm ET each day). The Group Coaching Essentials program also returns on January 5th (Morning est program) and 19th (Evening EST program).

My book, Effective Group Coaching, will be out on January 11th, so please circle the date. It will be available at Amazon.com, Wiley.ca as well as through a link here at the blog. From comments at the Orlando ICF Conference it should be well received as coaches have noted how more resources are needed in this area.

Have a great week!

Warm wishes,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC
Group Coaching Essentials
Phone: 416.996.TEAM (8326)
Email: info{at}potentialsrealized{dot}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

6th Annual Year End Group Programs Call - You are invited!

I'm back from Orlando to our first snowfall here in Toronto. I had a blast at this year's ICF conference and wanted to thank the coaches who joined me on Saturday for my session on Group Coaching. I will be gettin the materials out later this week to you as promised.


In the meantime, I wanted to remind everyone about my 6th Annual Year End Group Programs call. The call will be held this Friday, December 11th from 12-1 pm ET at (218)862-1300, access 503003. No charge to join other than your own long distance phone charges. Do join me for some time to reflect on where you want to take your group programs next year (workshops, retreats and/or group coaching), as well as some of my favorite tools from this year.

Looking forward to having you join me on Friday!

Warm regards,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC
Group Coaching Essentials
Phone: 416.996.8326
Email: info{at}potentialsrealized{dot}com

PS - I've got two other programs happening this week if you are eager to get programs starting in January. The Group Program Virtual Intensive will be held this Wednesday evening from 7-10 pm ET as well as on Wed December 16th. I'm also offering an accelerated version of the Group Coaching Essentials programs starting this Friday at 10:30 am ET for coaches who are eager to launch their programs in January. This program is accredited for 6.25 CCEs, and 4 of the calls will be held in December, with the final call in early January. Contact me if you'd like to join either program.

ICF Orlando Updates

Greetings from Day 2 at the 2009 ICF Orlando Conference. I flew in late last night and am just back from a full day of sessions and events at this year's annual international conference.

Some of today's highlight's included:

• An inspirational morning Keynote by Getrude Matshe about her life's journey, and important work with orphans from HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe.
• Discussions about the proposed ICF Credentialing ISO process;
• A phenomenal presentation by Charles Feltman on Coaching to Trust. I really enjoyed Charles session which was practically focused on supporting and coaching organizations and teams on this critical issue. It seems like TRUST is a foundational issue for most client groups I am working with at the moment. Anyone else?
• Robert Middleton's session on Marketing High End, Outcome Based Programs.

You'll see my tweets on several of these topics over at http://twitter.com/jennbritton.

I also heard great feedback on many of the other sessions today including the Aikido for Leadership as Praxis, and Karyn Greenstreet's Call to Action session this afternoon, aimed at supporting conference attendees in taking their learning forward.

If you are here in Orlando, what was your favorite session today? I'm presenting tomorrow afternoon at 2 pm and look forward to meeting many of you.

Warm regards,

Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC

Group Coaching Essentials