Six Coaching Questions Around Goals

Last year I did a series which included coaching questions around different areas we explore as coaches with our clients. You can view them here.

At the core of any coaching process - whether we are working with individuals, groups or teams - is goal setting. Along with support to action and awareness, and creating an environment where there is ongoing focus and accountability, goals are another key focus area for any coaching conversation.

Today's post includes six questions you may want to explore with clients when working on goals. Once a person has articulated the goal some areas  you can explore with them include:

1. What's important about this goal? (it may be framed in the big picture? Short term? Long term?)
2. What will success look like?
3. What outcomes do you want?
4. What might get in the way? (or what could be a roadblock?)
5. What resources do you need to be successful? (OR What will help you be successful?)
6. When you are successful with this, what's possible?

What are some of your favorite goal questions?

In addition to using questions, it's also important to recognize that there are a variety of ways we can be working with goals, dependent on the styles and preferences of our clients. There is of course the SMART goal framework where we help clients articulate goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time bound. We can also support clients on what John Whitmore terms in his book Coaching for Performance - CLEAR  goals - Challenging, Legal, Environmentally Sound, Appropriate and Recorded.

For an alternative view on CLEAR Goals check out Peter Economy's INC article on "Forget SMART Goals - Try CLEAR Goals Instead. You can read it here.

How do you work with clients around goals? What questions will support them this week.

Have a great start to your week,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, MES, CPT, PCC
Group Coaching Essentials | Potentials Realized  
Author of Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2010) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (Jossey-Bass, 2013)
Upcoming programs include: Mentor Coaching Group for ACC Renewals and ACC/PCC portfolio (Fridays 12 noon ET  which started on Sept 9 or Mondays at 9 am Eastern/New York - starting September 26), the Advanced Group Coaching Practicum (Fridays 1:15 - 2:30pm ET 10 CCEs) and the Group Coaching Essentials teleseminar starting Thursdays 12 - 1:15 pm ET on September 22 (8.75 CCEs)
Join us in Toronto on November 5-6 for the Group and Team Coaching Intensive (19 CCEs) - a 2 day deep dive into group and team coaching theory and practice - 5 spots open
Contact us by phone: (416)996-8326

Group and Team Coaching: Three Essential Items for your Toolkit

While Group and Team Coaching is primarily conversationally based, and our standard coaching

tools are our best ally, there can be some additional resources you will want to have on hand, to support your team and group coaching conversations.

1. Visual Cards - Visual Cards such as Points of You, the JICT Deck, the Conversation Sparker(TM) deck or Visual Explorer, are a great way to get people in dialogue. Whether you are working on creating a vision, exploring values, or mining for strengths, visual cards can be used in a myriad of ways for both individual and collective coaching conversations with groups and teams.
As in any coaching process, when we bring in additional resources we want to place the most emphasis on using these external tools in support of goal setting, action and awareness.
If you are curious as to how to work with visual cards, please check out my 40 Ways to Work with Visual Cards E-manual (which can be bundled with the Conversation Sparker cards) or view this 30 minute blab I hosted last fall on working with visual cards

2. Post it notes - Now coming in a variety of colors, shapes and sizes, post its are a great way to get all voices at the table or on the wall. take a look back at the 2007 post I wrote on different ways to use post its and index cards. Some ideas of where you may want to incorporate post its:
1. As a way to mine for coaching topics or agenda items
2. As a feedback/evaluation mechanism at the end of the session
3. To look at enablers and derailers for a team (there are some neat red and green arrow post cards available for this - check your local dollar store or office supply store to see if they have these on file)4. To explore different perspectives around an issue
5. To get different priorities on the table


3. Questions - While it's fun to bring in lots of different tools, it's important to remember that questions are the one thing which  helps clients explore and move into action. Questions can be used to open up conversations, expand awareness, focus choices, and move people into action. What are some of your favorite coaching questions?
Over the years I've focused quite a bit on the topic of using questions in team and group coaching. Please check out these related posts here:
Core Coaching Competency - Powerful Questions - read this 2012 post here
Powerful Group Coaching Questions - What? So What? Now What? - read this 2011 post here
Six Powerful Questions to Close a Group Coaching Session - read this 2015 post here
Six Questions to Focus - Read this 2016 post here.
Six Coaching Questions to Strengthen Connection in Groups and Teams - read this post here

What would you put as your top 3 most important tools in your coaching toolkit?

Have a great start to your week,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, MES, CPT, PCCGroup Coaching Essentials | Potentials Realized  
Author of Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2010) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (Jossey-Bass, 2013)
Upcoming programs include: Mentor Coaching Group for ACC Renewals and ACC/PCC portfolio (Fridays 12 noon ET  which started on Sept 9 or Mondays at 9 am Eastern/New York - starting September 26), the Advanced Group Coaching Practicum (Fridays 1:15 - 2:30pm ET 10 CCEs) and the Group Coaching Essentials teleseminar starting Thursdays 12 - 1:15 pm ET on September 22 (8.75 CCEs)
Contact us by phone: (416)996-8326

Advanced Group Coaching Practicum starts Friday Sept 9 at 1:15 pm ET (10 CCEs)

Tomorrow is the start of many of our early fall learning programs - some which have filled, and

some which still have room.

One program that some of you may be interested in which still has 2 spots open is the Advanced Group and Team Coaching Practicum, approved by the ICF for 10 CCEs, including 9.25 hours of core competencies.

This program focuses on both GROUP and TEAM Coaching. Calls will be held on Fridays from 1:15 - 2:30 pm ET on Friday September 9, 23, 30, October 7, 14, 21.

Throughout the program we take a deeper dive around the following topics:

- Core skills and techniques in group and team coaching

- What’s the difference between group and team coaching

- Tricky issues in group and team coaching

- Engagement, systems and support for group and team coaching

- More exercises and resources for group and team coaching

- Virtual programming best practices (webinars, teleseminars/teleclasses, group and team coaching by phone)

- Co-Facilitation and Co-Leadership

- Advanced Issues in Marketing Group and Team Coaching

- Advanced Design Issues in Group and Team Coaching

A main focus of the program is to provide coaches with an opportunity to lead and receive feedback on their group and team coaching skills. Each coach will lead the group through a 25 minute group coaching conversation and will receive written and verbal feedback on their skills.

What’s included in ;program registration:

- 6 x 75 minute calls

- Access to1-1  laser calls with Jenn between each group session to focus on your own skills and programs

- Weekly module notes which form an electronic manual for you to take forward.

- Links to audio, video, print and web resources geared to support you in your work

- Written and verbal feedback on your group and team coaching skills

 The program is approved for 10 CCEs with the ICF (including 9.25 hours of core competencies). Registration is limited to 4-6 coaches per practicum. Cost: $495 US for the program.

Click here to jump in with us tomorrow!

You can reserve your spot at http://www.groupcoachingessentials.com/pages/advancedgroupcoaching.

Here’s what past participants have said about the program:

"I highly recommend the Advanced Group Practicum with Jennifer. It provided me with tools and insights to be able to develop and implement my own group coaching program. The materials and content over delivered so the value enormous. The practicum was awesome and it gave me a safe space to try a group coaching and to receive feedback.  I would do it again!”

Cindy Hooker, CPCC, ACC,Gold Dog Consulting,www.golddogconsulting.com

 "The Advanced Group Coaching class created an environment where I finally gained the courage to try it out! I was fully supported by the wonderful leadership of Jennifer Britton, equipped with great planning tools, a safe space to explore new technology, freedom for creativity, wonderful collaborative learning, and a very positive environment to grow ~ a true gift! Truly life changing for me :)"

- Coach Michelle Mullins

For more tips, tools and ideas to support you with your work, I hope that you will check out my blog at http://groupcoaching.blogspot.com and our other social media links below.

Haven’t taken the Group Coaching Essentials teleclass yet (8.75 CCEs)? We are currently accepting registrations for our program which starts on Thursday September 22nd from 12 - 1:15 pm ET: September 22, 29, October 6, 13, 20 ET and runs for 5 calls. More info at http://www.groupcoachingessentials.com/pages/gec.

There's still a couple more spots in the Mentor Coaching Group for ACC/PCC starting Friday September 9 meeting on Fridays from 12 - 1 pm ET. This 10 hour program meets the Mentor Coaching requirements for ACC/PCC. Group calls will be held on September 9, 23, 30, October 7, 14, November 11, December 9. More info and registration for the Mentor Coaching Group here.

Hope that you are having a great week of back to work!

Best
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, MES, PCC, CPTGroupCoachingEssentials.com
Author of Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2009) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (Jossey-Bass, 2013)
Email: info {at}potentialsrealized{dot}com