Friday, December 31, 2010

Happy New Year - Cheers to Greatness in 2011


Happy New Year to all. I hope that this year will be full of the success, magic and prosperity you desire!


"Let this coming year be better than all the others. Vow to do some of the things you've always wanted to do but couldn't find the time. Call up a forgotten friend. Drop an old grudge, and replace it with some pleasant memories. Vow not to make a promise you don't think you can keep. Walk tall, and smile more. Don't be afraid to say, 'I love you'. Say it again. They are the sweetest words in the world." - Ann Landers

I want to thank all of you for your support over this last year and I look forward to continuing to serve as a resource for you with your group coaching work, retreats, workshops and teleclasses as you move through 2011.

Peace and blessings to all!

Warm regards

Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC
Group Coaching Essentials
Effective Group Coaching
Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/jennbritton

Photo copyright of Billy Frank Alexander. Thanks Billy!

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Group Coaching Day 12 of 12 - 7 Considerations for Coaches

On our 12th day of the 12 days of the holidays, I wanted to share with you what I have seen as 7 Essential items and Considerations for Coaches, which I hope you will reflect upon and integrate as you move into the New Year:

1. Being clear on what you want to focus on and create in your work. In today's world there is a lot of noise about what coaches should focus on and do. Where do you want to spend your time in your business? Who do you want to serve? What unique offerings do you want to create with your work.
2. Continued Investment in refining your skills -Working with groups is an art and science. What investment have you made lately in refining your skills? What courses would you like to take during 2011 to add onto your tool kit? What new skills will benefit you, and your clients?
3. Getting into action - As important as it is to keep abreast of the latest trends, with group coaching, training and working with groups, the most important thing is to get into action and actually work with groups. Don't fall into the trap of over-educating without practice. Look for, and create opportunities in the new year to work with groups - in person, or virtual.
4. Knowing what tools you have at hand - When was the last time you took stock of what coaching tools you have at your disposal? Take a quick inventory of what you have at hand, and what you may want to budget for in the new year.
5. Look at the sytems you have in place and what you need to not reinvent the wheel. What can become standard practice for you and your business? What systems do you have in the areas of tracking your coaching hours, invoicing, tracking expenditures, budgeting, registrations etc?
6. Track your results - What were the activities during 2010 that really gave you inpact or brough in business? Which ones sucked up a lot of time and have not given any return (now or perceived in the future). Focus on those tasks which will give you more impact and results.
7. Ask about the impact you are having - Quantifying and qualifying the benefits of coaching can sometimes be nebulous. Regularly ask your clients what impact and benefits the coaching is having for them. Feedback, both positive and constructive, can serve to point you in new and continued directions.

I hope that you have enjoyed all the holiday specials this year. They will all be available until December 31st - you can check them out here.

Wishing you a wonderfully prosperous, happy and healthy 2011.

Warm regards
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC
Group Coaching Essentials.com - Next Group Coaching Essentials class starts January 13th

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Group Coaching: Day 11 of 12: 5 Key Questions To Ask

Knowing your clients is critical for success, and holding the group's agenda as a coach. Today's post is not a special in terms of product offering, but 5 key questions to ask group members before the start of a program, or during a first call. These questions will give you a better sense of "who" your group is, as well as the specific needs and preferences that exist.

Prior to your next group coaching program, or workshop, or retreat, consider asking participants/clients the following:

1. What led you to enroll in this program?
2. What would you like to get out of the program?
3. What are your primary questions/challenges regarding (the topic/theme/program)?
4. What should I know about how you learn best?
5. How can I best support you during the course of this program?

I hope that you are continuing to enjoy some space for reflection and rejuvination this holiday season. Stay tuned tomorrow as I cover 7 key considerations for coaches in their work for 2011.

To access our previous specials this holiday season (which will be avaialble to December 31st) click here, or click on the 2010 holiday special tag here at the blog.

Warm regards
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC
Group Coaching Essentials.com

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Group Coaching: Day 10 of 12 Holiday Celebrations

I hope that you and your loved ones have been able to take some "down time" and spend some quality time together. over the last few days.

We're into the homestretch of the 2010 Holiday Celebrations and specials for professionals who focus on group programs. You can see a listing of the other daily specials throughout December here, which include an Early Bird savings of over $200 for the April 2010 Group Coaching Intensive program (until December 31st), discounts on program licensing, as well as special pricing on the Effective Group Coaching book - 20% off and a personalized autographed copy, until December 31st.

Today's special is a discount on the January 2011 BizSuccess Group Coaching program. This 3 month program is geared to provide coaches, trainers, and other service professionals with tools and an accountability structure to focus in on, and build their businesses. Until December 31st, I will be offering a $150 discount on the January 2011 program, which includes 7 group calls, 3 individual coaching sessions, and the BizSuccess manual.

Course details are as follows:
January 2011 - Thursdays 2-3:15 pm Eastern/New York:
Classes meet on:
Jan 13, 27, Feb 10, 24, March 10, 24 and April 7, 2011
Regular pricing: $497 US or CDN (plus HST)
Special 2010 Holiday Celebration pricing: $347 US or CDN until December 31, 2010

Click on over to learn more about the program and to reserve your spot at this special rate. Spaces are limited to 6-8 business owners per session. This special rate is only available until December 31, 2010.

I hope that you will continue enjoying your holidays!

Looking forward to connecting with you soon
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, MES, PCC, CPCC
Group Coaching Essentials.com



Thursday, December 23, 2010

Group Coaching: Day 9 of 12 Days of Holidays - 8 Favorite Tools this Year

It is day 9 of the 12 days of holiday specials and I will be returning to post again next week for Days 10 - 12 in lead up to the end of the year. For now, I want to wish you and yours a very wonderful holiday season. For those who celebrate Christmas and Kwanzaa, I hope that the day is special and celebrative for you.

During this 9th day of holiday specials geared to professionals and coaches who work on group programs, I wanted to share 8 of my favorite tools, books and other resources I found enjoyable, and important, this year in my work:

1. MindJet's MindMapping Software - For years I have used MindJet's software to support me with program design as well as brainstorming with marketing and other business issues. Another great mindmapping tool, this one free, and open source, can be found at MindMeister.com.
2. Post It Notes - Yes, the simple tool of post-it notes has so many applications, from serving as a structure or visual reminder for clients, or as a great brainstorming tool.
3. Visual Explorer - I continue to bring this tool into many of my in person work, and coaches are starting to also explore how the digital option can be integrated into their virtual programs. Check out Visual Explorer from the Center for Creative Leadership.
4. The Coaching Game - Many of you may be familiar with a similar coaching tool entitled The Coaching Game. Great opportunities for application within the group coaching context as well as with individual coaching work.
5. Cindy Huggett's Book Visual Learning Basics. I continue to love the books put out by ASTD press for their practicality. One of the best ones I read this year was Cindy's Visual Learning Basics, a book I consider a must-read for coaches holding teleclasses, teleseminars, webinars or group coaching programs by phone. You can purchase a copy at Amazon as well as at ASTD's online store at http://www.astd.org/.
6. Vistaprint's phenomenal marketing materials available at low cost. Whether you are looking for business cards, letter head or banners, VistaPrint provides great quality and quick turnaround at a reasonable price.
7. Ordering from Amazon - this year coaches continued to enjoy the recommendations I've made around books (see the right column Bookstore at my Group Coaching Essentials website). As my book Effective Group Coaching has been rolled out this year to the market place I have been amazed by how it facilitates global purchasing as well as digital consumption through the Kindle and other e-readers.
8. FreeConferenceCalling.com - Looking for a reliable and free teleconferencing service? FreeConferenceCalling.com is one of my favorites as I continue to find the recording services of very good quality. I also enjoy the web dashboard I have as a facilitator to keep tabs on the call
(muting, hands raised etc).

I look forward to connecting back with all of you after Christmas as we wrap up days 10-12. You can view all of the specials over the last two weeks here at my site.

Happy Holidays all!

Warm regards,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Host of the Group Coaching Essentials Program: An ICF Accredited CCE Program
Potentials Realized

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Group Coaching Day 8 of 12: Individual Coaching Sessions

I hope that your holiday preparations are coming along well! Are you a coach wanting to grow their business during 2011 or a coach or other professional looking to develop their own group program - workshop, retreat or group coaching program?

Today's holiday special is a 10% discount on a 2.5 hour individual coaching package with me. Whether you want individual business coaching, or 1-1 consults on designing, marketing and implementing your group program, this package is geared to give you a jump start for 2011. These one-on-one sessions can be booked in 30, 45 or 60 minute blocks and need to be used by April 30, 2011. Special pricing of $500 US or CDN.

You can access a special payment link, as well as a listing of our other holidays special here. Scroll down to Day 8 to purchase your own individual coaching block of time with me.

Have a great day!

Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC
Group Coaching Essentials
Phone: 416.996.8326

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Group Coaching Day 7 of 12 Days of Holidays: Advanced Group Coaching Special Pricing

Today's Day 7 of the 12 Days of Holiday specials, which will stretch into the middle of next week. It's been great to see people take advantage of both the free and for-fee resources over the last week. All of these items will be avaialble up to December 31st for those eager to make items 2010 expenditures.

Today's special is $25 off the registration cost for the Advanced Group Coaching January teleseminar program which will start on Thursday January 20th (Thursdays 12-1:15 pm Eastern): Jan 20, 27, Feb 4, 11 and 17, 2010. Regular pricing is $325, special rate to year end is $300 US Dollars.

The program is open to Alumni of the Group Coaching Essentials program, as well as very experienced group coaches.

In addition to providing participants with hands-on practice in facilitating part of one of the calls, we will cover advanced issues in group coaching including:

Advanced Design and Marketing Approaches - other modabilities and newer technologies
Pitfalls and Tricky Issues in Group Coaching
Dealing with Difficult Clients
Boosting Engagement and Impact for Your Clients
Systems for group coaching to leverage your time and results
Advanced issues for virtual program delivery (phone/web)
Building Your Unique Platform - Leveraging the Programs you have in place for additional revenue streams
Advanced Marketing Issues
More Group Coaching Exercises!

Space for the January program is limited to 6 coaches, as this is a hands-on program, during which you will receive feedback on your skills from me and other coaches.

Click here for more information about the Advanced Group Coaching program and to access the special year end pricing of $300 US.

Hope your festivities and preparations for the holidays are coming along well!

Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC
Author of Effective Group Coaching
Host of the Group Coaching Essentials program (Accredited for 6.25 CCEs - next program starts January 13th - Thursdays 10:30 - 11:45 am Eastern/New York)

Monday, December 20, 2010

Year End Group Program Call - Day 6 of 12 Days of Christmas

I hope that your holiday preparations are coming along wonderfully and that you are starting to wind down with your work.

On this 6th Day of Christmas I hope that you will enjoy listening to two of my recent year end calls:

You can access the 2009 Annual Year End Call for Group programs here

You can listen to this year's group call - 11 Tips for Making 2011 Great!

Links to both calls are better using Firefox.

Enjoy!

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

Friday, December 17, 2010

Are you Dreaming Enough with your 2011 Plans?

I'm running my year end Virtual Business Planning Retreat today and am having a blast. Part of the day has been spent on envisioning and planning around where people want their business to go during the course of 2011.

Have you started your planning? Are you dreaming as well as setting goals? Are you really creating a big enough vision for yourself during 2011?

I'm reading a great book right now called the Orange Revolution by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton. For those who work with teams it is an absolute must-read.
I also really love what they say about the difference between Goals and Dreams:

“Let’s not get confused by the difference between a goal and a dream. A goal is something measurable, trackable and is built on analytics. Goals have realistic timelines, are measured by weighing out the data, the risks, and the current assets. They are essential to success, but they follow dreams. A dream is bigger – it has no boundaries, rules or past history. It’s focused on transforming business as we know it, and approaching from a direction never pursued- or at least never attained. In dreams, we seek the outstanding change – not just within the products we create but in the results those products inspire”

The Orange Revolution, Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton, pp.91 and 92


If you missed today's Year End Virtual Business Planning Retreat, don't worry! I'm going to be running it again in the new year for those who are eager to create some time and focus on their business.

Have a terrific weekend,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC
Author of Effective Group Coaching

Your Balanced Life Program License - Day 5 of 12 Days of Christmas

Today is Day 5 of the 12 Days of Christmas. How are your preparations coming?

I regularly get requests from coaches who are looking for programs which they can roll out right away themselves. This fall I started offering two of my own group programs as a Program License. Coaches can now obtain their own license to run the Your Balanced Life! 90 Day Group Coaching Program, as well as the 90 Day BizSuccess program.

Each program license includes:
    • Participant Materials for Each Module (Biz Success has 7 modules, Your Balanced Life! has 6 module)s
    • Overall Agenda and Time-line with key suggestions for coaches/facilitators to use
    • Individual (1-1) Coaching Sheet – potential questions which you may want to ask in individual coaching conversations (or bring into the group coaching context
    • FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) for Learners
    • Tips for Making Your Program Implementation Smooth
    • Program Checklist
    • Suggestions/Ideas for Marketing


Click here to learn more about these two program licenses and to download information sheets about both licenses.

Cost: $395 US/CDN for Your Balanced Life!, $450 US for 90 Day BizSuccess Program

Holiday special to December 31, 2010: $795 US for both. You can access the special holiday link at our site. Look for the red text!

Enjoy!

Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC
Group Coaching Essentials.com
Author of Effective Group Coaching

Thursday, December 16, 2010

20% off Effective Group Coaching Book: Day 4 of 12 Days of Christmas


Here's your chance to pick up your own autographed copy of the Effective Group Coaching book. Through to the end of the year, I am offering through my site 20% off the cover price of my book. Published earlier this year by John Wiley and Sons, I continue to be amazed by how the book is being received around the world.

The 20% discounted rate applies to books only purchased through my site here. The discount will be in effect until December 31st. Note that Amazon.com now only offers a 15% discount on the book.

Enjoy!

Warm regards
Jennifer

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

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Early Bird Rate Group Coaching Intensive: Day 3 of 12 Days of Christmas

Today's special for the 12 days of Christmas is a special Early Bird Rate for the April 3-4, 2011 Group Coaching Intensive, a two day in person group coaching training program which will be held in the Toronto area next year. The focus of the program is on your skill development and practice, in addition to key tips and tools for virtual facilitation, program design, marketing and implementation.

Until December 31st you can save over $200 off the regular pricing of $995 CDN (plus HST) for the April 3-4 program. The Early bird rate is $775 CDN (plus HST).

Over the course of the program we cover:
  • What Group Coaching Is, How it Can Be Delivered (in person/by phone);
  • The Continuum of Small Group Processes;
  • Fundamental Principles of working with groups
  • Competencies of Group Coaching including:
    Group Coaching Core Skills
    Group Coaching Best Practices
  • Creating Your Vision for Group Coaching
  • Tips for Designing Your Own Group Coaching Programs
  • Essential Tips for Marketing Success
  • Tricky Situations - Dealing with Difficult Participants, Ethics
  • Avoiding the Pitfalls - Tips for Smooth Implementation
  • Exercises for Group Coaching (which you will experience and be able to facilitate yourself!)
  • Group Coaching Skill Practice and Feedback

Click here to access the Special Early Bird Rate (only until December 31st), and to learn more about the program. An application will be submitted to the ICF for this program to be considered for CCEs (approximately 14-15 hours).

I look forward to having you join me in person this spring for the program!

Warm regards
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC
Group Coaching Essentials
Author of Effective Group Coaching

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

2011 Virtual Biz Planning Retreat: Day 2 of 12 Days of Christmas

It's day 2 of the 12 Days of Christmas and today's item is this Friday's one day Virtual Business Planning Retreat.

Have you set aside time yet to plan for your business for 2011?

Are you eager to create some space and work through a series of structured exercises designed to support you to focus and take action on your business planning and activities for 2011?

There are still a few spaces available for the 2011 Virtual Business Planning Retreat which will be held this Friday December 17th from 10-4 pm Eastern/7-1 pm Pacific by phone.

Regular cost is $175 US or $175 CDN plus HST. Register with a colleague for Friday's program and you both save $30 each (total $145 US or $145 CDN).

The program includes the six hours of the business planning retreat, a Retreat Manual (delivered by email), as well as a group follow up call in January. Jennifer will also be available throughout periods of the day to coach you.

Click here for more information about the program. Email Jenn at info{at}potentialsrealized{dot}com or phone her at 416.996.8326 to take advantage of this special colleague rate before the end of the week. You will be sent a special registration link to pay online. Visa payments can also be made offline.

I look forward to having you join us!

Warm regards
Jennifer

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

Monday, December 13, 2010

Engaging Exercises Manual: Day 1 of 12 Days of Christmas

As we move through the holiday season this year I will be offering 12 specials for coaches, business owners and other group facilitators throughout the 12 Days of Christmas.

Today's item is the Engaging Exercises for Teams and Groups manual. Designed for professionals looking for activities and other exercises to spice up their next meeting or off-site, this electronic manual includes more than 25 activities to use with teams and groups, as well as 19 pages of additional templates to support you with your next group program. Originally published in 2005, this e-manual includes many of my favorite tried and true exercises.

Cost: $25 US or CDN (plus HST)

The manual is delivered as 6 separate PDF files which you can add to your toolkit.

Click here for more info, to view the Table of Contents or to purchase Day 1s holiday special.

Enjoy!

Warm regards,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, CPCC, PCC
Group Coaching Essentials
Author of Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2010)

Friday, December 10, 2010

7th Annual Year End Group Programs Call

Thanks to all who joined me for my 7th Annual Year End Group Programs Call today. From emails that I have received, I know that some had challenges getting on the line.

Here is the link to 11 Tips for Making Your Group Programs Great in 2011. Whether you are running a group coaching program, a workshop or a retreat, I hope that you will keep these tips in mind as you design, market and implement your own programs. (Note this is best listened to in Firefox, the browser in Internet Explorer may not work properly)



I hope that you enjoy these 11 tips and I look forward to any comments you have. As always, please feel free to comment below.

Warm regards,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Group Coaching Essentials
Author of Effective Group Coaching
Join me Friday December 17th for a one day Virtual Business Planning Retreat


Early 2011 Program dates:
Group Coaching Essentials starts January 13th (Thursdays 10:30 - 11:45 pm Eastern/New York)
Advanced Group Coaching starts January 20th (Thursdays 12 - 1:15 pm Eastern/New York)
Special Early Bird Discount for April 3-4 Group Coaching Intensive which will be held in Toronto. Discount on until December 31st.