Group and Team Coaching : Four Key Areas

This past weekend I hosted the Group and Team Coaching  Intensive here in Toronto and had the

chance to work with an exceptional group of coaches. Over the weekend we took a deep dive into the best practices, skills and approaches to working with groups and teams as a coach. We looked at the benefits of group coaching, as well as expanding our toolbox with resources.

I thought that you might be interested in some of the key themes we touched on throughout the weekend including:

1. Having a variety of tools to draw on makes your work with groups and teams even richer and more powerful. AS you move through the coming weeks take stock of everything you already have in your toolbox. Placing these on a MindMap can be really useful as a one page resource, as well as seeing these laid out with possible interconnections.

2. Group coaching is  a small group intimate conversation which takes place over multiple touch points. While we can being group coaching approaches into workshops, teleclasses, the real coaching conversations which take place in groups require trust and connection. This means that the smaller the group, the better. In fact, most coaching groups may only be 4-8 group members. Here's a link to one of my 2011 articles which appeared in Choice Magazine, exploring what else is important in group coaching.

3. Group and Team Coaching is an extension of the core coaching competencies. Here's a link to the International Coach Federation competency model which should underpin every group and team coaching conversation. Team and group coaching approaches are grounded in goals (as set by the clients - individual and collective (especially with teams) and provides accountability for movement and insights. Group and Team coaching is a sustained series of conversations, supporting groups and teams through the process of change.

4. Where we place attention: In a team coaching conversation we want to place emphasis on the collective focus of the team, and sometimes the individual development of each member. In group coaching it is more likely to be focusing on the individual development of each member especially if there is no bond that draws them together on a regular basis outside of the coaching.

As you consider the work you have been undertaking, or the work you are creating, what do you notice about key themes and areas which are important.

Have a great week,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, MES, PCC, CPCC, CPT
GroupCoachingEssentials.com | Potentials Realized
(416)996-8326

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