Thursday, April 15, 2010

What's Style Got to Do With Group Coaching?: Part 1

I've been doing a lot of in person group work in recent weeks, some of which has revolved around working with styles - communication, leadership, and work styles.

Have you ever stopped to think about your style as a coach? What your style is when working 1-1, or what your style is with a group?

Exercise:
Take a moment and write down 3 adjectives (for each category) which describe your:
- Coaching style with 1-1 clients;
- Coaching sytle with group clients;
- Communication style;
- Facilitation style

Reflect on the following questions:

  1. What common adjectives are showing up across these categories?
  2. What strengths do you bring in terms of sytles you employ?
  3. What are your blindspots? (Remember, an overused strength can be a weakness)?

So why are styles important to group coaching work?

Your own personal style as a group coach will have tremendous impact on how you lead groups, ask questions, and even how you select your exercises.

To maximize your impact with your next group spend some time thinking about the different style preferences which individual group members bring, and how this aligns, or does not align, with your style. What changes/modifications might you want to make to your own style to meet the needs of your groups.

Stay Tuned for Part 2 of this post, where I will share some of my favorite style tools for those who are interested in exploring this topic more fully.

Cheers,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC
Author of Effective Group Coaching
Potentials Realized
Phone: 416.996.8326
Email: info{at}potentialsrealized{dot}com

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