November 1-2 Group and Team Coaching Intensive (15 CCEs) - Now join us virtually or In person

I'm so excited to be welcoming many of you to Toronto next weekend - November 1 and 2 (Saturday and Sunday) for the two day Group and Team Coaching Intensive program. We have just opened 5 spots for virtual attendees to attend the two day program. For those of you have always wanted to attend but don't have a passport, are too busy to travel, this is the time!

Virtual attendees will be ACTIVE Participants and will be joining us around the table via Group Video Skype as well as conference call and other technology programs. We're going to be innovating ourselves

with this blended live and virtual learning environments.

I'm so excited about this that I've recorded a short 6 minute audio about what we are doing and what you can expect with the program.

Listen to it here:

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Some of the things we'll be covering include:
What is group and team coaching exactly?
How do you structure your sessions?
Core skills for group and team coaching?
Growing Your Toolbox - Exercises, resources and tools for group and team coaching
How do you do this work virtually - We're going to be modelling it.
Positioning this work
Tricky issues and group development

Whether you are in the room or on group skype you will be an ACTIVE participant. No dialing in and sleeping, you will be facilitating some of the sessions and gaining feedback and confidence. It's a small group learning experience of 10. Past participants have found the connections, and conversation invaluable in their work!

In addition to the two days of training you'll receive

• A binder full of resources, exercises and a place to put all your learning
• A copy of one of my books - Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2010) or From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (Jossey-Bass, 2013)
• A pre-call with me (15 min one-on-one)
• A follow-up group call
• 15 CCEs upon successful completion of the program (including 13 hours of core competencies)

Cost: $1095 CDN plus HST for in person (register with a colleague and each save $200 plus tax) OR $850 US for the virtual option

Register at GroupCoachingIntensive.com (and also download more about the virtual option there.

Questions? Please call me at (416)996-8326 or email me at info@potentialsrealized.com

Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC
GroupCoachingEssentials.com

Virtual Facilitation Tips 9 and 10

We're continuing in the vein of virtual facilitation. Increasingly learning and other events are going online. Just today I added a virtual attendee option for those who want to join me for the Two day Group and Team Coaching Intensive training program but can't travel to Toronto for it next weekend on November 1-2 (approved for 15 CCEs with the ICF).  I'll be bringing to live many of these tips, especially around engagement as the in person and virtual participants connect to create learning over the two days. Click here to read more about it.

Virtual Facilitation Tip #9 is to always have a back up. Make sure you know, and your group members know, what to do in the event of technology failure. Bridgelines can go down, skype can freeze, people can have challenges accessing the online environment. What are the issues you are concerned with? What are your back up plans? Don't just consider back up plan one, but consider contingency two and three.

Virtual Facilitation Tip #10 is one that I pay particular attention to, especially since details are not always my strong suit. Virtual Facilitation tip 10 gets you to think about double (and triple) checking bridgeline access codes, dates, times, links and other details you send out.

From a quality perspective, run it by a co-worker, or if you work alone, draft it in the morning and review it later in the day. Check the links and make sure they work!

Nothing is more frustrating at the start of a call then sitting on a bridgeline where no one else is, and realizing that you don't actually have the right access code. If you plan on sending out a reminder email just before the call (or in the hour leading up to it), make sure it's right!

What do you need to do to build in a quality review to your work?

Have a great week!

Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, MES, CPT, PCC, CPCC
Author of Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2009) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (Jossey-Bass, 2013)
GroupCoachingEssentials.com | Potentials Realized
(416)996-8326
Email: info(at)potentialsrealized(dot)com

Join us for an upcoming program including:
Group and Team Coaching Intensive (15 CCEs) - Saturday/Sunday November 1-2 (8:30 - 4:30 pm GroupCoachingIntensive.com for more info and registration.
Eastern/Toronto) either in-person or now participate live via group video skype. Visit

Virtual Facilitation Skills Intensive - November 25-26 - online (8-4 pm ET both days)

Two Guest Articles on Group Coaching

I am always pleased to write articles for other bloggers and newsletters. I thought that you, and your clients, might benefit from two recent articles I wrote:

The most recent appears over at The Coaching Tools Company entitled Add Group and Team Coaching to Expand Your Practice! Some quick ideas for those who are thinking about adding group and team coaching to their mix during 2015. You can read the article here.

The second article appears at OnPoint Leadership's blog and is more geared to the corporate audience who want to learn more about how group coaching can benefit their organization.  The article is entitled "Group Coaching: Expanding the Coaching Conversation". You can read the article here

Enjoy!

With best wishes,
Jennifer


Jennifer Britton, MES, CPT, PCC
Potentials Realized | Group Coaching Essentials
Author of Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2009) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (,ossey-Bass, 2013)
Conversation Sparker Cards(TM) - a visual deck to bring into your coaching, team meetings, workshops and retreats
(416)996-8326

Join us for an upcoming program -
Virtual Facilitation Skills Intensive - a 15 hour program geared to equip you with virtual facilitation skills and practice. Two days Tuesday November 25 and Wednesday November 26: 8:30 - 4 pm plus 1 hour group follow-up call.
 Mentor Coaching Group - For ACC Renewals and ACC/PCC portfolio - 10 hours (meets  ICF requirement for mentor coaching - 7 hrs group calls, 3 hours individuals). Fridays 9-10 am ET running October 10 - January 9, 2015.
Year End Virtual BizPlanning Retreat for Coaches - Wednesdays 6-8pm ET: November 19, December 3, and 10, 2014
The Group and Team Coaching Intensive - November 1-2: Toronto (15 CCEs) - Register with a colleague and each save $200 off your registration.

Online/Virtual Facilitation Tips 7 and 8

Today we are going to look at Virtual Facilitation Tips 7 and 8. Whether you are running a webinar, a virtual group coaching program or a teleclass, some tweaks to your usual facilitation style is critical in the virtual environment.

Virtual Tip #7 is an encouragement to simulate the smaller group experience, typical in an in-person environment, through using virtual breakout groups. Paid services such as MaestroConferencing have breakout capability, as does free bridgeline service FreeConferencing.com.

Once group members become comfortable moving from "room" to "room" you may find multiple requests for the smaller group process. This also provides participants with the opportunity to experience and practice peer coaching skills, for those who are running group coaching programs.

Clarifying expectiations which learners have, and where possible, co-creating expectations for the virtual learning process can serve to reduce tricky issues and increase engagement. What are your group members expectations? What are your expectations of them and their engagement. Created shared ways of working (or group agreements or ground rules) will support all group members in focusing, really being present, and engaging. This also helps us to mitigate against one of the most common challenges of virutal learning today - the Death By Conference Call Syndrome.

Activity:
Clarify what your expectations are and discover what group member's expectations are for the entire learning process. This may cover topics such as pre-work, post-work, participation, engagement, starting and ending on time, confidentiality etc.

Jennifer Britton, MES, CPT, PCC
Potentials Realized | Group Coaching Essentials
Author of Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2009) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (,ossey-Bass, 2013)
Conversation Sparker Cards(TM) - a visual deck to bring into your coaching, team meetings, workshops and retreats
(416)996-8326

Join us for an upcoming program -
Virtual Facilitation Skills Intensive - a 15 hour program geared to equip you with virtual facilitation skills and practice. Two days Tuesday November 25 and Wednesday November 26: 8:30 - 4 pm plus 1 hour group follow-up call.
 Mentor Coaching Group - For ACC Renewals and ACC/PCC portfolio - 10 hours (meets  ICF requirement for mentor coaching - 7 hrs group calls, 3 hours individuals). Fridays 9-10 am ET running October 10 - January 9, 2015.
The Group and Team Coaching Intensive - November 1-2: Toronto (15 CCEs) - Register with a colleague and each save $200 off your registration.

Quick Reminder: Mentor Coaching Group (ACC/PCC) starts Friday at 9 am Eastern

Are you wanting to apply for an ICF credential (ACC or PCC) or are an ACC renewal and need to complete your mentor coaching hours? Consider joining me for the Mentor Coaching Group, a ten hour

mentor coaching program which consists of seven hours of small group mentoring (usually between 3-6 coaches) and three hours of individual mentor coaching with me. This is all done by phone.

The focus of the program is to take a deeper dive into the 11 core coaching competencies AND support you in sharpening your skills. The small group learning environment also provides you with the advantage of seeing and learning from other coaching approaches, recommended resources and colleagues.

I will be starting another group this friday, October 10th which will run for the next 3 months to early January. Seven group calls will be held on Fridays from 9-10 am Eastern/Toronto on October 10, 24, 31, Nov 14, 21, December 5 and January 9th. The three one on one calls are scheduled at a time mutually convenient. Cost for the 10 hour program is $1000 US (or $1000 CDN plus HST).

The timing is ideal for ACCs who need to renew now, or those who want to get their application in early in the new year!

Each group call is also supported by weekly module notes which many coaches have indicated are useful in helping them prepare for the new ICF Coach Knowledge Assessment.

The program has been running since 2011 and has supported dozens through the renewal and credentialing process.

"Jenn is a top-notch mentor and facilitator. She has designed a comprehensive yet time-efficient program to help coaches assess their skills and focus on how to improve. Her direct manner and no-nonsense approach affirm and encourage each participant to learn as much as they can from her, from each other, and from the program." - Lee Weisser, ACC

Two spots are still open in Friday's group - more info and registration here.

Hope that you will join us!

Best wishes,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, MES, CPT, PCC
Potentials Realized | Group Coaching Essentials
Author of Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2009) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (,ossey-Bass, 2013)
Conversation Sparker Cards(TM) - a visual deck to bring into your coaching, team meetings, workshops and retreats
(416)996-8326

Virtual Facilitation Tips 5 - 6

Today we bring in the Virtual Facilitation Tips 5 and 6. As you consider these, which could you incorporate into your own upcoming programs:

A downfall for new facilitators is in the assumption that  things will take the same amount of time in the virtual environment as it does in the in person realm. I would be interested in knowing if anyone has references towards what the exact difference is. As a practitioner I will often double the time for set up and instructions and checking in. As a group evolves and gets more comfortable with the technology and our processes this often becomes shorter.

 Engagement is a critical isssue in the virtual environment. In working with adults we often talk about the importance of changing the pace and engaging every 7-10 minutes. In the virtual environment this timeframe gets condensed to every few minutes at maximum.

What are the different approaches you can use to engage your groups virtually?
Consider - a poll
 - a question to answer on chat
- something for people to look at (video/photo/cartoon)
- a white board activity where people use pens/symbols etc
- other?


Have a great week,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, MES, CPT, PCC
Potentials Realized | Group Coaching Essentials
Author of Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2009) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (,ossey-Bass, 2013)
Conversation Sparker Cards(TM) - a visual deck to bring into your coaching, team meetings, workshops and retreats
(416)996-8326

Join us for an upcoming program -
The Group Coaching Essentials teleseminar (6.75 CCEs) - road-tested tips and ideas for designing, marketing and running your own group coaching work - by phone: Tuesdays 7-8:15 pm Eastern/NY starting October 7th (Calls October 7, 14, 21, November 4 and 11)
Virtual Facilitation Skills Intensive - a 15 hour program geared to equip you with facilitation skills and practice.Groups starting Wednesday evenings 6:30 - 8 pm Eastern/New York starting October 8 (10 weeks runs to December 10)
Mentor Coaching Group - For ACC Renewals and ACC/PCC portfolio - 10 hours (meets  ICF requirement for mentor coaching - 7 hrs group calls, 3 hours individuals). Fridays 9-10 am ET running October 10 - January 9, 2015.
The Group and Team Coaching Intensive - November 1-2: Toronto (15 CCEs) - Register with a colleague and each save $200 off your registration.