2023 Vision Creation Session - Day 10 of the 12 Days of Celebrations

 Welcome back to Day 10 of our 12 Days of Celebrations. Day 10 is one of my favorites  - a link to the 2023 Vision Creation Session I held last month. This is an annual activity I host each November, and it's always amazing to hear how it supports coaches and other professionals in creating their vision for the new year.

Given that we are a few days away from the official start to 2023, I hope you will find 30 minutes today to grab a pen and follow along with these reflective prompts I share in the 2023 Vision session. 

Here's the video:

Looking for support to make your 2023 Vision a reality? Join us throughout 2023 for the Coaching Biz Growth Lab, a bi-weekly coaching group that meets on Fridays between 11:35 - 12:20pm ET for focused conversation on your business. Each month we also meet for a special IMPLEMENTATION event - whether it's a four hour Get it Done Afternoon, OR a Design Sprint, or a monthly/quarterly reflection session - the program is geared to get you into Daily STEPS and CONSISTENT action, critical in a business context which is always changing. 

There's a year end special rate on the CGBL until December 30th  - save $500 US on the annual rate of $2997 US OR join us for $250 US a month. Click here to learn more and register.

Let's make 2023 your best year ever!

Jennifer

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What is your unique style as a coach? Take 2-minutes to complete the NEW Group and Team Coaching Superpower Quiz. You can find it at https://bit.ly/gtcoachingsuperpower. Share your style using the comments below and/or follow along on Instagram at our CoachingBizBuilder site.

Join us for an upcoming program including: 

Group Coaching Essentials - Fridays 1015 - 1130 am ET: January 13, 20, 27, February 4 and 11 (with Evana) - 8.75 CCEs

Advanced Group and Team Coaching Practicum - 10 CCEs - Fridays 1230 - 145 pm ET: January 13 - mid-Feb (6 weeks) with Jennifer or later in January with Evana

Team Coaching Essentials (14 CCEs)  - Being asked to coach teams? Equip yourself with the foundations of this quickly evolving field. This program is grounded in our From One to Many methodology PLUS what works right now in today's evolving workspace. 6 week program on Mondays 12 - 130 pm ET  January 9,  23, 30, February 6, 13, 27 2023 with Kathy

Mentor Coaching Group - 10 hours Fridays 9-10 am ET: January 13 - April 13th with Jennifer or Mondays 1230 - 130 pm ET running January 9 - April 9. 4 spots open in each group. (For ACC renewal or PCC)

ACTIVATE your Group and Team Coaching Superpowers (14 CCEs) - Fridays 1015 - 1130 am ET starting January 9th with Jennifer (6 weeks)

Coaching Supervision Group (Small group format) - Thursdays 12 - 130 pm ET January 12 with additional calls first week of the month (Jan to May) OR book a call to explore individual coaching supervision.

The Coaching Biz Growth Lab is an annual group which meets bi-weekly throughout the year, focusing on your coaching business development. WE kick off December 31st with a special bonus call, and will be meeting bi-weekly throughout 2023 for group calls, plus 12 special monthly events like Get it Done Days, month end planning and design sprints. Cost per month is only $250 US/month.  Click here to learn more and register- 5 spots still open

Check out our full schedule for January programs which begin the week of January 9th at GroupCoachingEssentials.ca.

Join us for the new Certificate in Team Coaching - 70 and 125 hour pathways.

Marketing Downloads for Coaches - 12 Days of Celebrations - Day 8

I know that marketing is something that coaches often find distasteful

 yet it's an essential part of business success. This is one of the many topics we explore at the Coaching Biz Growth Lab, a fun annual group which meets bi-weekly throughout the year. We explore all things marketing and business development as it relates to building a coaching business, whether you are working with clients 1-1, group or team.

Given the number of coaches who are focusing on marketing and planning at this time of year, I thought it would be valuable to share a couple of marketing resources for you:

#1 - Marketing One Pager - Use this quick worksheet (originally from the 21 for 21 Sprints) to explore the ins and outs of one of your offers for 2023. You might use it to think about a new program, a book, an offer  Download it over at the CGBL information page.

#2 - 101 Marketing Ideas for Group and Team Programs - Stuck on how to get the word out? Use this to spur on some "Daily Steps + Consistent Action to generate MOMENTUM" (note the tagline from Coaching Business Builder (pick up digital copy of this resource for 2023 - Purchase and Download today for $29 US)

You'll also find the 101 Marketing Ideas over at the CGBL Information page. 

We kick off the new year together on December 31st for a special CGBL 2023 kick off call  - hope you will consider joining us. The discounted rate ends this Friday December 23rd for annual support rate of $2497 US or 12 installments of $250 US (what else can you get for that amount every month with today's shrinkflation). I hope you will consider joining us to focus on your business development during 2023. Check out the 2023 CGBL schedule OR Register now.

My top 5 tips for marketing for 2023:

#1 - Make a list of what you want to do to get the word out. Brainstorm. Think big. 

#2 - Leverage your strengths. As we discuss in Group Coaching Essentials, leveraging your strengths is key. Not sure about this? Take the TEam and Group Coaching Superpower Quiz - it will give you some ideas of your natural "go to" as a coach. It only takes 2 minutes - https://bit.ly/gtcoachingsuperpower. 

#3 - Think about what your clients WANT and PREFER. What are they looking for? What is going to support them? Where are they congregating?

#4 - Get out and have conversations. Whether we are virtual or physical, getting out for a conversation is critical for business success. What speaking you doing? What 1-1s are you hosting? Book a call with me or my team to talk about what kind of conversations you might have.

#5 - Create a plan. Whether you use the content pages or quarterly planners in Coaching Business Builder, or your own, create a plan. Make it visible. Make it consistent.

Enjoy the journey and be sure to check out the downloads -- there are some at the side of the CGBL program page, and some at the bottom. Hope you use them!

Jennifer

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WHAT is your unique style as a coach? Take 2-minutes to complete the NEW Group and Team Coaching Superpower Quiz. You can find it at https://bit.ly/gtcoachingsuperpower. Share your style using the comments below and/or follow along on Instagram at our CoachingBizBuilder site.

Join us for an upcoming program including: 

Group Coaching Essentials - Fridays 1015 - 1130 am ET: January 13, 20, 27, February 4 and 11 (with Evana) - 8.75 CCEs

Advanced Group and Team Coaching Practicum - 10 CCEs - Fridays 1230 - 145 pm ET: January 13 - mid-Feb (6 weeks) with Jennifer

Team Coaching Essentials (14 CCEs)  - Being asked to coach teams? Equip yourself with the foundations of this quickly evolving field. This program is grounded in our From One to Many methodology PLUS what works right now in today's evolving workspace. 6 week program on Mondays 12 - 130 pm ET  January 9,  23, 30, February 6, 13, 27 2023 with Kathy

Mentor Coaching Group - 10 hours Fridays 9-10 am ET: January 13 - April 13th with Jennifer or Mondays 1230 - 130 pm ET running January 9 - April 9. 4 spots open in each group. (For ACC renewal or PCC)

Team Coaching Supervision (Small group format) - Thursdays 12 - 130 pm ET January 12 with additional calls first week of the month (Jan to May) OR book a call to explore individual coaching supervision.

Year End Business Planning Retreat - Wednesday December 21 - 1230 - 430 pm ET with Jennifer (4 spots open)

Check out our full schedule for January programs which begin the week of January 9th at GroupCoachingEssentials.ca.

SAVE THE DATE For our 19th Annual Holiday Party - 10 - 1 pm ET on Tuesday December 20th (virtual on zoom)! Everyone is invited to join us

 

Group Coaching Core Essentials #17 - It's Not About Content In Your Conversations (Day 6 of 12 Days of Celebrations 2022)

 As coaches (whether you are working 1-1 or in groups), we partner with the client(s) to

transform learning and insight into action. A key component differentiating group coaching from training and facilitation is keeping content out of the group conversation to accomplish this, allowing the space and time in the session to have exploratory discussions. The exchanges support them in connecting the topics as it relates to them in support of realizing their program and life goals. 

 Keeping content out of group conversation is a paradigm shift for newer group coaches or even seasoned coaches with extensive training and facilitation history. If content (new learning, assessments, videos, articles) is required, consider sharing it as pre-work.

 Beyond creating space for deepening conversation, participants can take the reins of their learning; and self-manage and pace their learning, so it’s optimal for them. 

Principle: Be mindful of how much content you add to your session. 

Action: Overloading with content doesn’t allow space for the needs of the group.

Here is some idea’s to help you get started:

• Review your program design to ensure content stays out of the group conversation.
• Create an inventory of possible learning for each of your topics.
• Consider the various learning styles to ensure participants have options in learning (extend options that may include: an article, podcast, video, or demonstration of the teaching) when giving pre-work.
• Integrate various coaching approaches in your sessions to deepen learning and integration of the topic and pre-work given before the session.
• Review International Coaches Federation’s (ICF’s) core competencies to understand how this principle benefits your participants
• List powerful questions that can support you in relating the topic to the four core elements of coaching: goals, awareness, action, and accountability.
• Add a structure to keep the conversation going between sessions, allowing participants to share learnings, questions, and even ah-a’s about pre-work and session outcomes. 

 I invite you to pause and evaluate what becomes possible when extracting content (aka- teaching content) from the group conversation and extend an invitation for individual learning to participants.

Best wishes,

Evana

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 What is your unique style as a coach? Take 2-minutes to complete the NEW Group and Team Coaching Superpower Quiz. You can find it at https://bit.ly/gtcoachingsuperpower. Share your style using the comments below and/or follow along on Instagram at our CoachingBizBuilder site.

Join us for an upcoming program including: 

Group Coaching Essentials - Fridays 1015 - 1130 am ET: January 13, 20, 27, February 4 and 11 (with Evana) - 8.75 CCEs

Advanced Group and Team Coaching Practicum - 10 CCEs - Fridays 1230 - 145 pm ET: January 13 - mid-Feb (6 weeks) with Jennifer

Team Coaching Essentials (14 CCEs)  - Being asked to coach teams? Equip yourself with the foundations of this quickly evolving field. This program is grounded in our From One to Many methodology PLUS what works right now in today's evolving workspace. 6 week program on Mondays 12 - 130 pm ET  January 9,  23, 30, February 6, 13, 27 2023 with Kathy

Mentor Coaching Group - 10 hours Fridays 9-10 am ET: January 13 - April 13th with Jennifer or Mondays 1230 - 130 pm ET running January 9 - April 9. 4 spots open in each group. (For ACC renewal or PCC)

Year End Business Planning Retreat - Wednesday December 21 - 1230 - 430 pm ET with Jennifer (4 spots open)

Check out our ffull schedule for January programs which begin the week of January 9th at GroupCoachingEssentials.ca.

SAVE THE DATE For our 19th Annual Holiday Party - 10 - 1 pm ET on Tuesday December 20th (virtual on zoom)! Everyone is invited to join us

 

Working with Visual Cards - 12 Days of Celebrations - Day 4

What are you doing to incorporate more visuals into your work with team or group coaching clients?

Coaching is a primarily verbal modality, and new insights can be gleaned via the visual channel. 

Consider how you might want to incorporate more:

• Photographs
• Icons
• Metaphors

Last week I was asked by a coach regarding some tips for creating a powerful collage of images for them to use in an opener for group coaching. Some tips around virtual visuals:

#1  - Make sure they are varied enough - consider perspective, natural vs. built environment, variety of colors/textures/images, 

#2 - Consider the question you want people to reflect on - relate it to the theme

#3 - What questions will evoke awareness? Facilitate action?

In person:

A good rule of thumb for using visuals is to have 2 photos per person, to create enough variety.

Whether it's for openers or closers, I love incorporating visuals to activate new insights, create a pause, or provide a focus. 

To learn more about working with visuals, check out this 30 minute video I created on Working With Visuals - 2020, based on my experience of creating the Conversation Sparker Cards, and working with teams and groups for more than a decade with these approaches:

Enjoy the video and explore different ways, and different questions you may want to ask when working with visuals with groups and teams. 

You may also want to check out the 40 Ways to Work with Visuals Ebook I created with facilitated exercises to work with any visual card deck around topics ranging from innovation, to strengths, to goals. 

Activity today:

• Consider what you would include in order incorporate more visuals in your work
• Take 5-10 minutes to find copyright accessible images (consider Unsplash or Pixabay)
• Explore Canva if you are looking to create your own virtual visual collage

Enjoy!

Jennifer

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What is your unique style as a coach? Take 2-minutes to complete the NEW Group and Team Coaching Superpower Quiz. You can find it at https://bit.ly/gtcoachingsuperpower. Share your style using the comments below and/or follow along on Instagram at our CoachingBizBuilder site.

Join us for an upcoming program including: 

Group Coaching Essentials - Fridays 1015 - 1130 am ET: January 13, 20, 27, February 4 and 11 (with Evana) - 8.75 CCes

Advanced Group and Team Coaching Practicum - 10 CCEs - Fridays 1230 - 145 pm ET: January 13 - mid-Feb (6 weeks) with Jennifer

Reconnecting Workspaces Certified Coach - 24 CCEs - Join us in January for our next 7 week offering on Thursday evenings from 5 - 730 pm ET starting January 19th running to 1st week of March. Build out your specialization for coaching in today's evolving workspaces - hybrid, in-person and remote. 1, 2 and 6 payments available.  With Jennifer.

Team Coaching Essentials (14 CCEs)  - Being asked to coach teams? Equip yourself with the foundations of this quickly evolving field. This program is grounded in our From One to Many methodology PLUS what works right now in today's evolving workspace. 6 week program on Mondays 12 - 130 pm ET  January 9,  23, 30, February 6, 13, 27 2023 with Kathy

Mentor Coaching Group - 10 hours Fridays 9-10 am ET: January 13 - April 13th or Mondays 1230-130 pm ET running January 9 - April 9 2022 with Jennifer. (For ACC renewal or PCC)

SAVE THE DATE For our 19th Annual Holiday Party - 10 - 1 pm ET on Tuesday December 20th (virtual on zoom)!

Coaching Business Builder Systems Checklist - Day 3 : 12 Days of Celebrations 2022

Welcome back to Day 3 of the 12 Days of Celebrations for 2022. As we wind down the year I wanted to share 12 different resources that group and team coaches will find valuable.

Today is one of my favorite areas - building your coaching business, and ensuring you have the necessary systems in place so your business can run for you, rather than you needing to run the business all the time. This is particularly important when you scale your work to many - to groups and teams.

Today's resource is a Coaching Business Systems Checklist. In the Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner (which we will be working on in the upcoming Year End Business Planning Virtual Retreats), I like to take stock of systems in 5 core areas of the business. We take a deeper dive into each of these throughout the year at the Coaching Biz Growth Lab (kicking off December 31st):-)

For now, head on over to the CGBL program registration page, and download the Checklist One Pager for The Coaching Business Systems you'll want to have in place, or work on during 2023. Hope you will join us for the program! There's a special $500 US discount on the program registration for those following this series who register before December 23rd. What would it be like to get support for your business for a little more than $200 US a month? Check it out.

With best wishes,

Jennifer

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What is your unique style as a coach? Take 2-minutes to complete the NEW Group and Team Coaching Superpower Quiz. You can find it at https://bit.ly/gtcoachingsuperpower. Share your style using the comments below and/or follow along on Instagram at our CoachingBizBuilder site.

Join us for an upcoming program including: 

Group Coaching Essentials - Fridays 1015 - 1130 am ET: January 13, 20, 27, February 4 and 11 (with Evana) - 8.75 CCes

Advanced Group and Team Coaching Practicum - 10 CCEs - Fridays 1230 - 145 pm ET: January 13 - mid-Feb (6 weeks) with Jennifer

Reconnecting Workspaces Certified Coach - 24 CCEs - Join us in January for our next 7 week offering on Thursday evenings from 5 - 730 pm ET starting January 19th running to 1st week of March. Build out your specialization for coaching in today's evolving workspaces - hybrid, in-person and remote. 1, 2 and 6 payments available.  With Jennifer.

Team Coaching Essentials (14 CCEs)  - Being asked to coach teams? Equip yourself with the foundations of this quickly evolving field. This program is grounded in our From One to Many methodology PLUS what works right now in today's evolving workspace. 6 week program on Mondays 12 - 130 pm ET  January 9,  23, 30, February 6, 13, 27 2023 with Kathy

Mentor Coaching Group - 10 hours Fridays 9-10 am ET: January 13 - April 13th with Jennifer. 5 spots open. (For ACC renewal or PCC)

Year End Business Planning Retreat - December 13 (1 - 5 pm ET) with Jennifer (4 spots open)

SAVE THE DATE For our 19th Annual Holiday Party - 10 - 1 pm ET on Tuesday December 20th (virtual on zoom)!

20 Questions for Group and Team Coaching - 12 Days of Holidays 2022 - Day 2

 Welcome back to Day 2 of the 12 Days of Holidays where I am sharing 12 core elements you can

integrate as a coach into your work with teams as groups. 

Today's focus brings us to one of the core elements of this work - QUESTIONS!

As coaches we can sometimes find ourselves in a rut around questions, yet they form the backbone to our conversations.

Today I wanted to share with you 20 questions I love to use, borrowed from my work as a Mentor Coach, and Coaching Supervisor. 

Keeping in mind the coaching arc I shared back in From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching, we want to think about the "bookends" of coaching - the start and end, as well as what we do to activate new insights, awareness, accountability and action around results and relationships.

Here are 20 questions you may want to consider:

1.   What’s important right now to explore? (Note this may link to the Six Factors of High Performing Teams, relationships, results etc)

2.   How does this goal connect with others? (other team members, KPIs, organizational goals etc)?

3.   What’s really important about that?

4.   What could get in the way?

5.   What additional support will help you be successful?

6.   What perspective are you in around this?

7.   What’s another perspective around that?

8.   What else?

9.   3 adjectives that describe….

1   If you were to make one change that made the biggest difference, what would it be?

     What is the one action you want to undertake in the next 24 hours?

     What impact would it have?

     What’s aligned?

     What’s not? 

     What would “wild success” look like?

     What will help you focus?

17.What’s your vision?

     What’s at the core?

     What’s the flip side? (or What’s an alternative to that)?

    Who is an ally for you in this?

21 What assumptions are you making?

     Imagine it is now 5 months down the road. How will you know you’ve been successful? 

     A reminder that when coaching teams our conversation is more of a collective one, versus in groups where each group member may reflect on each of these questions as it relates to their own pathway.

      Enjoy the Questions.     Have a great weekend!

       Jennifer

 Jennifer Britton

GroupCoachingEssentials.ca | Potentials Realized

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What is your unique style as a coach? Take 2-minutes to complete the NEW Group and Team Coaching Superpower Quiz. You can find it at https://bit.ly/gtcoachingsuperpower. Share your style using the comments below and/or follow along on Instagram at our CoachingBizBuilder site.

Join us for an upcoming program including: 

Group Coaching Essentials - Fridays 1015 - 1130 am ET: January 13, 20, 27, February 4 and 11 (with Evana) - 8.75 CCes

Advanced Group and Team Coaching Practicum - 10 CCEs - Fridays 1230 - 145 pm ET: January 13 - mid-Feb (6 weeks) with Jennifer

Reconnecting Workspaces Certified Coach - 24 CCEs - Join us in January for our next 7 week offering on Thursday evenings from 5 - 730 pm ET starting January 19th running to 1st week of March. Build out your specialization for coaching in today's evolving workspaces - hybrid, in-person and remote. 1, 2 and 6 payments available.  With Jennifer.

Team Coaching Essentials (14 CCEs)  - Being asked to coach teams? Equip yourself with the foundations of this quickly evolving field. This program is grounded in our From One to Many methodology PLUS what works right now in today's evolving workspace. 6 week program on Mondays 12 - 130 pm ET  January 9,  23, 30, February 6, 13, 27 2023 with Kathy

Mentor Coaching Group - 10 hours Fridays 9-10 am ET: January 13 - April 13th with Jennifer. 5 spots open. (For ACC renewal or PCC)

Year End Business Planning Retreat - December 13 (1 - 5 pm ET) with Jennifer (4 spots open)

SAVE THE DATE For our 19th Annual Holiday Party - 10 - 1 pm ET on Tuesday December 20th (virtual on zoom)!

6 Core Group and Team Coaching Resources: 12 Days of Holidays 2022 - Day 1 of 12

 For years (and I mean years) I've done a year end series of blog posts. Take a  look at the 2010 and
2016 series here. My team here at Potentials Realized asked me earlier this month if I'd be doing something special for the holidays and I said, OF COURSE! So here we go with the 12 days of holidays for 2022. The series this year will include some tips and a focus on one of our many programs and services. I hope you join us for all 12 posts leading up to December 23rd (our 12th day!)

I thought I'd start with 6 Core Group and Team Coaching Resources I return to time and time again, ones that I think every coach will want to consider having in their toolkit:

1. Post it notes - Post it notes continue to be a favorite of mine and have been so for decades now. They are a great tool to elicit participation from all group members, see connections and focus thoughts. Read this 2008 post I did entitled Post It Notes: A Facilitators Ally. In the virtual space, Miro and Mural are our digital twin.

2. Visual Decks - For many years I have been using visual cards and photographs with in person and virtual groups. A wonderful "conversation sparker" across differences, photos help group members create new perspectives, insights and connections. Whether you are using Visual Explorer, the JICT Deck, Points of you - The Coaching Game, or Conversation Sparker (my deck) consider the many ways you can use cards as openers, closers, or as the main focus of the session.  In late November 2016 I released the 40 Ways to Use Visual Cards E-Resource, which includes detailed instructions on 40 ways to facilitate activities with cards (from goal setting, to innovation, to strategic planning, to closure) and also five worksheets you can use "as is".

Working with visuals was also my focus of the Design Studio Blab #6 - View it here.

3. A selection of virtual platforms - The last few years have shown the importance of having a variety of platforms at our disposal - from Zoom, to Teams to others, what are you using to bring people together?

4. A variety of back-pocket ideas - You never know what's going to be needed when you work with groups and teams. It's always a great idea to take stock of the different activities and resources we have at our disposal. Spend 15 minutes this week doing an inventory of what you have available and/or going through some of the books/resources you which are accumulating dust. What might you bring into an upcoming session?

5. A community of other practitioners - Developing your own network of follow facilitators/coaches and trainers is not only good for business when you want to scale your work, it's also really important in terms of ongoing development. Consider how you will invest in your relationships with other practitioners this year, and also expand your skill base.

6. Evaluation Resources - Gathering feedback about what's working well, and what's not, helps keep programming expanding, and coaching growing. What are you doing to poll your group and team members throughout the coaching process.  I always like to recommend Lisa Edward's work around evaluation and coaching.

That's it for today - Day 1 of 12 complete for this year's 12 Days of Holidays.

Be sure to check out our Conversation Sparker decks - including the Square Journaling Cards (my favorite) and the standard Conversation Sparker decks - digital edition.

Enjoy!

Jennifer

Jennifer Britton

GroupCoachingEssentials.ca | Potentials Realized

What is your unique style as a coach? Take 2-minutes to complete the NEW Group and Team Coaching Superpower Quiz. You can find it at https://bit.ly/gtcoachingsuperpower. Share your style using the comments below and/or follow along on Instagram at our CoachingBizBuilder site.

Join us for an upcoming program including: 

Group Coaching Essentials - Fridays 1015 - 1130 am ET: January 13, 20, 27, February 4 and 11 (with Evana) - 8.75 CCes

Advanced Group and Team Coaching Practicum - 10 CCEs - Fridays 1230 - 145 pm ET: January 13 - mid-Feb (6 weeks) with Jennifer

Reconnecting Workspaces Certified Coach - 24 CCEs - Join us for an intensive 3 day virtual delivery on December 12, 19, 21  and build out your specialization for coaching in today's evolving workspaces - hybrid, in-person and remote. 1, 2 and 6 payments available.  Calls 830 - 430 pm ET. With Jennifer.

Team Coaching Essentials (14 CCEs)  - Being asked to coach teams? Equip yourself with the foundations of this quickly evolving field. This program is grounded in our From One to Many methodology PLUS what works right now in today's evolving workspace. 6 week program on Mondays 12 - 130 pm ET  January 9,  23, 30, February 6, 13, 27 2023 with Kathy

Mentor Coaching Group - 10 hours Fridays 9-10 am ET: January 13 - April 13th with Jennifer. 5 spots open. (For ACC renewal or PCC)

Year End Business Planning Retreat - December 13 (1 - 5 pm ET) with Jennifer (4 spots open)

Check out our Intensive December 2022 offerings which will be delivered by Jennifer in early December. More information and schedule at GroupCoachingEssentials.ca.

SAVE THE DATE For our 19th Annual Holiday Party - 10 - 1 pm ET on Tuesday December 20th (virtual on zoom)!