Group Coaching Core Essentials - 4 of 18 - What Coaching Is and What Coaching Isn't

Welcome back to our fourth of eighteen Group Coaching Core Essentials. This week’s focus is on the

principle of “Ensure that your (potential) clients clearly understand what group coaching is, and what group coaching isn’t”.

Practically, you will want to:

·       Discuss the program’s structure

·       What participants can expect (and not)

·       Co-design what the program’s overall objectives are

A key part of this conversation is helping clients understand that group (or team) coaching is not training, facilitation or other development modality. As I introduced back in Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2009), the group program continuum explores these nuances. Refer to chapter 2 and 3 of the book.

The more recent ICF Team Coaching Competencies has built upon this idea, presenting Team Coaching across the continuum of Team Building, Team Training and Team Mentoring.

Another part of this conversation is exploring the philosophies of coaching. Elements such as:

•  The role of the client and role of the coach – how does the client own the process?
  
• What partnering means
•  How client agendas are created and what the balance between individual and group focus is
• How clients are Creative, Resourceful and Whole in the coaching process and they have the answers themselves.

Exploration of this topic of what coaching is, and what coaching isn’t can take the shape of an email, a short video and/or a discussion as part of your kick off together. Recently I recorded a 7 minute video for a client team, bringing to life what was also reinforced in writing.

 

Activity this week:

Draft out your key messaging of how you want to describe the work  you do, and what “coaching is, and what coaching isn’t”.

What are the elements which participants can expect in your work? What can they not?

What are the key components of the work you are doing – consider group calls, individual touch points, the role of action, awareness and accountability

What format do you want this to take? Email, video etc?

 

With best wishes,

Jennifer

 

Jennifer Britton - Group Coaching Essentials | Effective Virtual Conversations | Potentials Realized
Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder (for coaches)

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Also author of Effective Group Coaching (2010), Coaching Business Builder (2018), Effective Virtual Conversations (2017) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013). Check out my author page on Amazon for all publications.