Six Ideas for Field Work in your next Coaching Engagement

Accountability is a critical part of any coaching process, whether we are working with groups, teams or individuals. Here are six ideas which you may consider as you co-design field work with your group and/or team members:

1. Provide group or team members with a reading, weblink or podcast as a follow-up to some of the topics you worked around, or as pre-work for the next session. Coaching is not about teaching content, however, groups and teams can benefit from having a common framework.

2. Assign buddies or learning partners who meet between your group or team calls. In today's world of budget constraint, learning partners can help sustain the conversation, while bilding peer coaching skills. Peer partners/buddies/learning partners can benefit from a  suggested focus and possible questions they may want to explore in each call. Check in with peer partners at the start of the next group/team session to have them share their best practices. Again, this helps to build coaching skills and capacity for better listening, questionning and relationships amongst the group or team.

3. Create with individual group members or the team an activity to support the coaching competency of "DO IT NOW". Perhaps team has been putting off a particular task and would benefit from  accountability around this before your next meeting.

4. Co-create a coaching challenge with the team and/or group members. Remember, a stretch for one is not a stretch for all.  Coaching challenges serve to provide a supportive stretch in action. What will provide challenge for each group member.

5. Have group or team members use a MindMap to collect their learning, insights and action plans.

6. Use journaling as a way to provide opportunities for group members to deepen their awareness around the issues you are working on. You may go low tech or explore online platforms such as  Journal Engine.

What are some of your favorite field work activities which you have used with teams or groups?

With best wishes,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, MES, PCC, CPCC, CPT
Potentials Realized
Phone: (416)996-TEAM
Author of Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2010) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (Jossey-Bass, 2013)


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2. The Group Facilitation Intensive in Toronto (for trainers and facilitators) on December 18-19
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