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)!

Back to Work Resources - Video, podcast and more!

 This week marks back to work and routines, even if many of us are continuing to work remotely.

With September often being known as the second start to the year, what conversations are you having with your clients this week

To support you with your own planning and preparation, I hosted a reflective pause session earlier today as part of my PlanDoTrack work. I hope that you will carve out 25 minutes to participate. Be sure to download the accompanying worksheet as well.

Our 20th episode at the Remote Pathways podcast also focused on the topic of getting back to remote work. You can listen into the podcast here or view the community call held late last week.

What's going to help you amplify your conversations this fall?

Join me for some of our fall 2020 programming which will include programs starting this Friday and next week:

Group Coaching Essentials - 8.75 CCES - Fridays 1015 - 1130 am ET: September 14, 21, 28, October 2 and 9 - 4 spots open - learn more here.

Virtual Facilitation Essentials - 8.5 CCEs - Mondays 1230 - 145 pm ET September 21, 28, October 5, 19 and 28 2020. 5 spots open - learn more here

Mentor Coaching Group for ACC/PCC (10 hours) Select Fridays 9 - 10 am ET - September 11 to December 11 2020. Learn more here. 3 spots open.

And the one-time offering of Stand Out Virtually Studio Day/Masterclass - come design your next virtual interactive program - with us September 17th from 930 - 330 pm Eastern. 

Have a great September!

Jennifer

Jennifer Britton

Award-winning Author, Coach and Program Designer

Group Coaching Essentials 

(416)996-8326

Expanding Your Group and Team Coaching Toolkit (25): Execution

This week brings us to the 25th week of the Expanding Your Group and Team Coaching Tookit. This

week's focus is all about EXECUTING, getting things done, and DOING!

One of the core coaching competencies with ICF is designing actions. This goes hand in hand with creating awareness. Doing without being grounded in what's important, our values, our visions, our beliefs, may not get traction. It may not create the momentum needed for results in today's context.

This week's blog post gets you thinking about the different things you can be doing with teams and groups to support execution. This may involve getting the important things done that people put off (individually or collectively) as well as creating an accountability support, either real-time, peer lead or after the fact.

As we approach the end of the year (or even the end of a quarter, or month), clients are often yearning for "closing the open loops" on projects. This is where immediate support on DOING can be of value.

Over the last decade the Virtual Business Planning Retreats I have hosted have always been given huge thumbs up by clients. They have appreciated the time earmarked for them to do both PLANNING and DOING. It was the many years of experience in leading these Virtual Retreats first as the 90 Day Biz Success VRs and then the Inner Biz Leader Virtual Retreats, that ultimately laid the groundwork for my 2018/2019 publications  - PlanDoTrack (for virtual and remote professionals) and Coaching Business Builder.

If you are a group coach, consider how you might incorporate bursts of DOING during your calls or as part of field work. As stated earlier, be sure that this is grounded in people's values and vision. Earmarking even 10 minutes of a regular call can start making inroads for people on things that they are stuck on. In a group context, this might involve:

 providing the group with a series of reflective prompts so they can write out an introductory brochure they have been putting off:

Putting people in breakout to speak through and work through together an introduction they are crafting about their services

OR earmarking 10 minutes of a call for people to take action real time in doing the thing they've been procrastinating on - filing, making a call, drafting a blog post.

What could you add in, in short bursts with your groups to hold more space for getting the important things done?

The power of peer accountability can be significant even in the virtual space This is where participating in longer virtual retreats - 4 hours - focusing on planning and doing can be a great support.  Check out info below about upcoming PlanDoTrack Virtual Retreats to support you in planning for 2020!

I've been seeing how valuable real-time working sessions are for several years now, from the Getting Organized Virtual Retreats I co-hosted a decade ago, to the upcoming PlanDoTrack virtual retreats. This month is also National Novel Writing Month and I've been hosting a series of Friday afternoon writing sprints for fellow writers. Two more are scheduled for November 15 and 22 (130 - 215 pm ET in my zoom room - check out the first two here).

If you are working with teams, execution and getting things done are also important. Some of the most powerful tema coaching work I've done in recent years has involved me being embedded as part of teams, where I join them (in the shadows or as a partner) as they move through high stakes events and programs. The spot coaching and rapid implementation they can undertake is very powerful. 

Teams will always benefit from a clear, shared plan, and one that is visible. How are you ensuring that accountability around their action steps is not only part of your coaching process, but also part of their ways of working back at the office.

In your team coaching work, what can support for EXECUTION and getting the important things done look like?

Note, I'll be hosting several year-end PlanDoTrack virtual retreats throughout November and December for those who are looking for a virtual pause and planning session. The four hours focuses not only on your PLANNING for the new year, but also DOING -Getting into action around an important project which will be the foundation of your work next year, as well as spending some time on TRACKING - looking at your metrics. Check out the CoachingBusinessBuilder.com blog for a recent post on metrics. The 4 hour retreats are a deal at only $129 US. Join me November 14th, 29th or in December. Reserve your spot now.

What do you want to put into practice with your work? Enjoy your week,

Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, CPCC, PCC – Potentials Realized 
Leadership | Teamwork | Business Success
Author of Effective Virtual Conversations (2017), Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner (2018) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013)
Follow along with the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series over at Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder 
Join the conversation at the Conversation Sparker Zone - our online community where you can explore virtual and team issues, coaching, productivity and business development)

November Group and Team Coaching Training Programs plus the PlanDoTrack Facilitator Training Program

As we step into November it's a great time to get prepared for 2020 program offerings. The next couple of weeks sees the launch of one more cohort in my most popular group and team coaching training skills. Here's what is upcoming around ICF-CCE approved programs:

Advanced Group and Team Coaching Practicum (10CCEs): Looking for practice and feedback to gain confidence with your skills as a group or team coach? Join us for the six week practicum where
you get the chance to lead a conversation with the group. Coaches continue to indicate that it's this program that helps them gain the clarity and confidence about their style and approaches as a group and team coach. We'll be meeting on Mondays from 3 - 4:15 pm Eastern/New York via zoom on Monday November 4, 11, 18, 25, December 2 and 9. More information and registration at https://www.groupcoachingessentials.ca/advanced-group-and-team-coaching-practicum.html. $525 US.

Group Coaching Essentials (8.75 CCEs): Looking to launch your programs in the new year? This content rich program covers the best practices of designing, implementing and marketing your group coaching work. Benefit from short-weekly assignments to move your ideas forward. Last group of 2019 will be held on Mondays and Thursdays 1:30- 2:45 pm ET December 2, 7, 9, 12 and 16, 2019 More info and registration at https://www.groupcoachingessentials.ca/group-coaching-essentials.html

PlanDoTrack and/or Coaching Business Builder Facilitator Training (24 CCEs) : Looking for a body of work to offer to the coaches you work with (Coaching Business Builder) or the Remote workers you support (entrepreneurs, leaders, remote workers)? Join us for the Facilitator training program as we take a deep dive in to these resources, and also give you practice and feedback opportunities around your facilitation skills. We'll be kicking off on Fridays from 530 -930 pm ET on November 15th meeting on Friday evenings virtually (November 15 and December 6) and Saturdays from 930 - 330 pm ET (November 16 and December 7). Monthly installment payment available. More info and registration at https://www.plandotrack.com/facilitatorpdt.html

Questions? Reach out and let's have a conversation. You can reach me by phone at 416-996-8326

Can't wait to have you join us!

Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, CPCC, PCC – Potentials Realized 
Leadership | Teamwork | Business Success
Author of Effective Virtual Conversations (2017), Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner (2018) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013)
Follow along with the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series over at Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder 
Join the conversation at the Conversation Sparker Zone - our online community where you can explore virtual and team issues, coaching, productivity and business development)

Expanding your group and team coaching toolkit (24): Metrics that Matter

My October monthly article for my PlanDoTrack newsletter recently focused on “Metrics that

Matter”. What are the guideposts that are helping the teams you are working with track and understand their metrics?

In launching the PlanDoTrack workbook and planner late last year, and the Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner eighteen months ago, a significant focus  in conversations with individuals, groups and teams, has been on tracking, and noting data. As we reflect on data gathered there can be some interesting pictures, and patterns that emerge. Data is data and when we track it on a regular basis, it’s easier to see what the “True picture” is.

Throughout the workbook planners there are many different ways for people to track data on a daily or monthly basis - through the Monthly Daily Trackers, the One Line a Day or in the Monthly Content trackers.

As a coach, some things you might want to track on a regular basis are:

• Sales
• Website visits
• Downloads
• Revenue
• Reads
• Sample Sessions
• Products Developed
• Speaking engagements
• Likes
• Numbers of clients
• Hours Billed
• Net Profit
• Social visits
• # of books sold
• Operating Revenue

What else do you have metrics around? What else might you want to note?

With groups, consider what types of trackers will help them. Could a wheel of life or leadership included at the front end of coaching, be revisited mid-point and/or at the end, to help the team understand what progress they are making?  Would a daily tracker help to capture lessons learned? Would a journal provide the written story for them?


If you have a copy of Coaching Business Builder or PlanDoTrack, check out the Monthly Daily Trackers I’ve included in the Content Planning Section (Section 5). There’s one that will provide you with space for capturing key activities, and one where you can capture key thoughts of the day.

With teams, the starting point for a team coaching engagement may be a team assessment providing them with data they can incorporate throughout their coaching, and work, journey.


At the team level, helping people note where they are at so they can make the small micro-shifts which are needed. Have discussions with the team around what they want to track - collectively and individually.


Questions to consider:

What do you want to track?
What data do you have available?
What do you notice about patterns, changes, etc?
When will you dedicate time to note and review your data?
What story can you make up about the data you have available?
How can this inform your decisions and priorities?

Enjoy your conversations,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, CPCC, PCC – Potentials Realized 
Leadership | Teamwork | Business Success
Author of Effective Virtual Conversations (2017), Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner (2018) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013)
Follow along with the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series over at Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder 
Join the conversation at the Conversation Sparker Zone - our online community where you can explore virtual and team issues, coaching, productivity and business development)

Join us for an upcoming ICF CCE approved program - Group Coaching Essentials (8.75 CCEs) starting Friday November 1st at 1015 am ET (running to December 2nd), Advanced Group and Team Coaching Practicum ( 10 CCEs) starting Monday November 4th at 3 pm ET or the PlanDoTrack Facilitator Training Program (24 CCES - starts Friday November 15th at 530 pm ET - virtually!)

Reminder: PlanDoTrack FAcilitator Training Starts on Tuesday July 9th (24 CCEs)

I am super-excited to be kicking off the Inaugural Facilitator Training for my 2019 book, PlanDoTrack.

Geared for those coaches who work with virtual entrepreneurs, remote teams and virtual leaders, this training will equip you with knowledge and resources to support and coach these clients around productivity issues.

The training program has now been approved for 24 hours of Continuing Coach Education by the ICF (19 hours of core competencies, and 5 hours of resource development).
The live virtual training sessions will be held on Tuesdays and Wednesdays 9 - 12 noon Eastern/New York via zoom on July 9, 10, 23, 24, 30 and 31.


Are your clients looking to plan for the fall? You bet they are!


What would it be like to have a book you could provide for them to refer to throughout the year, and incorporate into your already powerful processes as a coach?


This July I’ll be working with a select group of coaches who will be taking PlanDoTrack out into the world with their clients via coaching sessions, retreats, webinars and workshops.

As a PDT facilitator:

You’ll be able to coach using the dozens of productivity, and self-development tools included in the workbook;

You’ll get a deeper dive into the 28 different planning tools included in the book

You’ll have access to a library of resources to support conversations around personal development, productivity and business issues

You’ll have access to a community of others through our own Private Mighty Network

I've held a couple of calls in the last few weeks to introduce the training including:
The Introductory PDT Facilitator Training call
A Frequently Asked Questions call

Training starts Tuesday July 9^th at 2 pm ET and you’ll wrap up by July 31^st



Get all the detailshere or if you are ready to go sign  up and reserve your spot

I hope that you will join us - it's going to be a great month of conversations and learning! Plus 24 hours of CCES.

Best wishes,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, CPCC, PCC – Potentials Realized 
Leadership | Teamwork | Business Success
Author of Effective Virtual Conversations (2017), Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner (2018) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013)
Follow along with the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series over at Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder 
Join the conversation at the Conversation Sparker Zone - our online community where you can explore virtual and team issues, coaching, productivity and business development)

Join us for an upcoming ICF CCE approved program - Group Coaching Essentials (starts Monday July 8th - 8.75 CCEs), Advanced Group and Team Coaching Practicum (starts Monday July 8: 10 CCEs) or the Certified Facilitator Program for PlanDoTrack and the Coaching Business Builder starting this coming week.

2018 Trends in Group and Team Programs - Coaching, Webinars and On-Demand

Late last week, I hosted the 15th annual year-end group and team programs call. This has become an

annual event where I take a look back at  some of the trends from the past year as it relates to group and team programming. I also take a look ahead at what themes might be prevalent, and influencing, our work.

You can check out what I wrote about last year's call here.

This year, it was no surprise that some of these themes showed up as key areas:
- Micro-learning (short sound-bytes of learning - usually only 3-10 minutes in length). With that in mind, I'll be releasing components of the call in shorter soundbytes in the next few weeks. Stay tuned!
- Considering what on-demand offerings you might include - as someone who has offered on-demand programs since 2014 it's interesting to see the current wave of professionals flocking to create on-demand opportunities. As a coach, I think it is important to consider how on-demand may supplement your different live offerings as well.
- Enhanced Virtual Focus - I've seen more and more professionals shift to the virtual space this year, and become not only more proficient, but confident in leading ENGAGING virtual events. This year was the 5th year of offering our series of virtual train-the-trainer programs. The Virtual Facilitation Essentials was approved this year for ICF CCEs, making it a popular offering. It will be starting up again in the new year if 2019 will be your year for expanding your virtual toolkit and skills!

There were a few more trends impacting us this year, and you are probably not surprised that these themes showed up on my list

The second part of the 15th Annual Year End call took a look ahead to 2019, and themes I think will continue to influence our work. As a writer I'm constantly scanning the horizon for latest research and focus. Having been in the industry of coaching for more than 15 years now it has been very interesting to see how many themes continue to cycle.



What are the trends you see influencing your work?

During the call I also shared my top 6 tools I turned to, time and time again. My work has continued to focus in the virtual space this year, as it will in 2019. As technologies continue to morph and emerge it makes geographically diverse groups a popular choice for busy professionals. I'll cover off my top 6 resources as a separate post in the coming weeks, but I will say that visual cards are on the list once again! Also up there was. of course, journaling. If you haven't connected into my Weekly Journaling Prompts, which I share every Saturday over at the Teams365 blog, do be sure to check it out. Of course, planning and journaling have been a key theme for me this year, as I released the Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner in August and the PlanDoTrack Workbook and Planner for Virtual and Remote Professionals late last week.

What are you planning to create in your business next year? If you haven't found it yet, be sure to check out my new website - CoachingBusinessBuilder.com, including the weekly blog posts I share around Coaching Business Development.

I'm looking forward to being in touch with one more blog post of 2018. Enjoy your holidays next week!

Best wishes,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Author of Effective Group Coaching (2009), and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013) and Effective Virtual Conversations (2017)
Phone : 416-996-TEAM (8326)
2019 programs kick off on Friday January 11th with the return of the 3 month Mentor Coaching Group (for ACC/PCC), the Group Coaching Essentials program (8.75 CCEs), Virtual Facilitation Essentials (8.5 CCEs) and the Advanced Group and Team Coaching Practicum (10 CCEs)

What to Pack and Prep for Back to Back In Person and Virtual Group Engagements

This week I'm facilitating a number of different back-to-back programs. It’s one of the crunch weeks that usually emerge every quarter. From new virtual groups, to in-person groups, from one off team events to in-person speaking. In one week, I'll pretty much be leading the full range of what I offer in my work.

A question I often get from coaches and others new to this work is "What do you pack and build in as you go to prepare for your own work?".

I thought it would be useful to do a bit of an exploration of what's in my toolkit as I step into this week of both in person and virtual calls. 

First, remember that we work doesn’t start when you meet with the group or team. It begins way before that. Have you built in enough time to meet with them and get to know them? Have you built in the the time you need for preparation?

One of the key success factors to ensuring that programming is the right fit for everyone attending is holding a pre-call one on ones. While this may not meet everyone's needs, it does provide a key component of building trust and connection as you go to design and pull together program elements. While it’s easy to think that group A will be like group B, more often than not, they will be different. 

Our work needs to be tailored to the different groups that you work with. This can take some time, and shouldn’t be left to last minute. 

You may also want to include multiple pre-checks along the way (through phone calls or sharing materials for review) to make sure that there is enough time to make changes as needed. 

If you are a solopreneur and don't have a team around you, be sure to do a last minute quality check. It can be useful to run it by others who can catch any last minute typos or changes in font size. These are little details but it is a big one!

Some of the other things I always want to make sure I have for in person-programs include enough materials plus an extra copy or set of all handouts and eval forms. Also, for for every in-person engagement,  I like to pack:

•  Post it notes
•   Colored Dots
•  Markers and some extra pens
• masking tape 
•  any visual cards I'm going to use
• a spare set of the handouts/worksheets or binder I am using.

I also always carry my presentation or any files on earth on USB key, in addition to having it on my laptop. I also want to make sure I have my remote control for slides/laptop. 

Before I close my briefcase I do a final check for cords. It's inevitable that once in awhile cords got left behind so create a bit of a checklist for yourself at just to see what you're missing!

This week, in between my in person work I'm also going to have to be doing some calls on the road. Given that “technology usually happens”, what's critical for making this happen while on the road is:

• 1   making sure I have the contact details for each call I am leading. This usually includes access codes, back up dial in and url links;
• 2.       making sure I have the backup contact details and number;
• 3.       making that the app on my phone works;
• 4.       Ensuring I have the participants email addresses and phone numbers in case tech happens.

 I also need to remember to pack headphones and a spare battery charger.

These are small details but they mean the big difference of being able to do work well on the road.

When getting ready to deliver back-to-back programs during the week, a final area is to make sure that your building in enough time for yourself what will help you transition from activity to activity.

Anytime you have “crunch weeks”, it is important to pause once it’s done. How will you take some time to recharge afterwards? When you are working for yourself, you may find you have 80 hour weeks but these should not represent every week. It is important to build in “focus breaks” for yourself before, during and after the event.

The last part of the year can be a very busy time for teams and groups as they are usually trying to fit in events during the fiscal. It an be important for you to decide what you can, and cannot take on, and who you might be able to refer to.

Let us know what you pack in your kit for either in person and or virtual programming by commenting below.

Have a great week everyone!

Jennifer

 PS - I hope that you'll join me for an upcoming program including our upcoming community calls – including Monday October 15^th 11:15 – 11:45 am ET call on Team Tools for the Virtual and Digital Space. This call will be held in my zoom room (zoom room 270-302-0415).

Tomorrow I'll be sharing more about 2 additional October programs starting in the next 10 days. Stay tuned!

Jennifer Britton, CPCC, PCC
Potentials Realized | /GroupCoachingEssentials
Email: info@potentialsrealized.com
Phone: 416-996-8326
Group Coaching Essentials - All things group coaching
Effective Virtual Conversations.com - All things virtual
Coaching Business Builder.com- All things business related (for coaches)