Group Coaching Core Essentials 10 of 18 - Creating an Active Experience for our Clients

 

Welcome back to our tenth of our eighteen Group Coaching Core Essentials. This week’s focus is on the principle of “ Maximum learning requires individuals to participate actively in an experience.”

Coaching is an active learning experience SHAPED by the clients we work with.

Co-Creation is at the heart of a group or peer coaching process and coaches will practically want to build in time and space for debriefing or discussion.

In group coaching, you will want to spend time early on in the process to identify and shape your roadmap as a group.

Unlike training which is content-rich and all about the passage of information, group coaching is primarily about discovery and dialogue. Any training/content elements are best kept separate, either as pre-work or post work to enable the time together to be focused on dialogue. It is in this space of dialogue that we want to FORWARD ACTION and DEEPEN AWARENESS.

Understanding and integrating experiential education principles allows participants to discover knowledge for themselves.

As I have shared before, experiential processes are based on the models of David Kolb and his four-stage process often referred to as the ERGA. ERGA stands for Experience, Reflection, Generalization and Application. Experiential processes are also defined as “learning by reflecting on doing”.

In experiential processes (which could find us coaching, facilitating or training) we support learning, and conversations around:

Experience – What the person/group member is experiencing int heir world. In other words: WHAT?

Reflection – Creating a pause for reflection on what is going on? What really happened? This is known as the SO What?

Generalization – Based on what you have learned or experienced, what can you apply to other contexts?

Application – What might you be able to apply?

Check out this great video from the Experiential Learning Institute (4 min) on Experiential Education:

https://vimeo.com/415465791

 

As you consider this best practice, practically you will want to:

• Consider what "ACTIVE EXPERIENCES" mean? Does this mean creating things in the moment (i.e. like a hands-on design weekend where people build out a business plan? Does ACTIVE mean incorporating kinesthetic, somatic or body-centered approaches?  
•  Consider what pauses you provide for people to look at, and reflect on their everyday experiences.
•   Consider what pauses you provide for people to explore WHAT ELSE is possible as you move forward.
• Experiential processes can take a number of forms in a coaching conversations including:
• Paired work, or triad work, around what experiences people are having
• Create the space for reflective pauses like Journaling Prompts like our Square Journaling Cards which are available as a digital product you can incorporate into your own work

What are you doing to create the space for group coaching members to bring in their own experiences, reflect on them and consider what they want to apply going forward?

Enjoy the conversation,

Jennifer

Want to know what's new? Looking for remote and hybrid resources - Pick up a copy of the  Reconnecting Workspaces book or the 90-Day Guide for Success. Instagram: @ReconnectingWorkspaces

Upcoming Programming this fall includes:

Group Coaching Essentials (8.75 CCEs) - Join us in September on Fridays from 1015 - 1130 am ET starting September 9th for 5 weeks

Team Coaching Essentials (14 CCEs) - next starts on Monday September 12th for 6 weeks - With Kathy Vaughan and Jennifer

Advanced Group and Team Coaching Practicum (10 CCEs): Starting Fridays at 1230 pm ET on September 9th for 6 weeks (With Jennifer)

Mentor Coaching Group - for ACC/PCC - Fridays 9-10 am ET running from September 9 - December 9th (with Jennifer)

Supervision Group for Team Coaches - 10 hours - Thursdays starting September 15th and running to March (with Jennifer and Kathy - meets ICF and EMCC supervision requirements for team coaches)

Jennifer is also the 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 her author page on Amazon for all publications.

 

 

 

Group Coaching Core Essentials - 9 of 18: Exercises

This week's blog post comes to us from Evana, our Team Lead for Group Coaching.Thanks !

This week focuses on the value and benefit of including exercises in your group programs to support participants in achieving their goals and integrating their learning after sessions through action and accountability by group coach and their respective peers in the program. 

 

Similar to the experiential learning model, “What? So what? Now what?” it supports layers of awareness, and also action based on awareness; its equally important coaches have participants bring their learning outside of the program and integrating their knowledge in their lives.

 

Depending on your programs focus, you will likely have a toolbox of tools, exercises and possibly assessments to draw upon based on participant’s needs and goals. As a group coach your role is to stay present to participants needs providing feedback on what’s showing up in the sessions as possible topics to support participants achieving their goals and fulfilling their commitments.

 

 

Principle – Provide space in your program for exercises such as action planning, setting commitments, creating structures, and identifying accountability steps.

 

Action: Participants have frameworks to take learning of the programs back to their every day lives.

 

 

This week, consider reviewing what you can add or modify within your program (or separate sessions) to include exercises that support your participants to bring the learning from your program back into their lives. Consider the following questions: 

 

 

*How are you ensuring everyone is autonomous in the design of goals, actions and accountability during the group coaching program process?

 

*What structures can you add in your programs to create accountability both with the coach and within the group?

 

*How can you support participants integrate their learning outside of the session?

 

*What activities can you modify and migrate individual coaching to group setting to support awareness and action of participants goals?

 

 *What technologies are available to create accountability and action amongst the group members?

 

* How is your How are you continuing to develop yourself as a coach ?

 

*How can you leverage participant experiences and synergies to support participants to propel action?

 Blog post by: 

Evana Valle - Team Lead - Group Coaching, Potentials Realized

For more on this topic check out the Appendices of  Jennifer Britton's books - Effective Group Coaching, and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching. 

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

Want to know what's new? Looking for remote and hybrid resources - Pick up a copy of the  Reconnecting Workspaces book or the 90-Day Guide for Success. Instagram: @ReconnectingWorkspaces

Group Coaching Essentials (8.75 CCEs) - Join us in September on Fridays from 1015 - 1130 am ET starting September 9th for 5 weeks

Team Coaching Essentials (14 CCEs) - next starts on Monday September 12th from 130 - 3 pm ET for 6 weeks - With Kathy Vaughan and Jennifer

Advanced Group and Team Coaching Practicum (10 CCEs): Starting Fridays at 1230 pm ET on September 9th for 6 weeks (With Jennifer)

Mentor Coaching Group - for ACC/PCC - Fridays 9-10 am ET running from September 9 - December 9th (with Jennifer)

Supervision Group for Team Coaches - 10 hours - Thursdays starting September 15th and running to March (with Jennifer and Kathy - meets ICF and EMCC supervision requirements for team coaches)

Jennifer is also the 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 her author page on Amazon for all publications.

 

Boosting Your Toolkit for Group and Team Coaching Work

Expanding the variety of resources to support group and team coaching conversations is something I

hear from coaches regularly, along with the question, Where can I go to find more?

Today's post zooms into several sites that might provide inspiration for ideas of what to do. At the same time, it can be useful to spend a few minutes thinking more about what you are looking for, or what the groups and teams you are working with need.

As you go to explore resources be sure to ask yourself the following questions:

1. What could this team or group benefit from right now - more support around goals? Action? Awareness? Accountability?
2. What am I doing to meet the different learning needs of the group or team I am working with?
3. What am I doing to make our work  more visual, particularly if it is a virtual group?
4. What opportunities am I creating for my group/team members to bring it into their body (more kinesthetic or experiential ways)?
5. What auditory engagement points am I including?
6. Is there enough time between activities, or during exercises, for group/team members to gain as much as they can from the activity?
7. What set up, or pre-work is needed to "prime" people for learning?
8. What follow-up would be of benefit?
9. What is the inquiry or what are some possible inquiries which could connect with this conversation?
10. How else  does it connect with other topics?
11. What else is important to consider about this topic?

Several sites which may provide some inspiration for you are:
Coaching Toys.com - Coach Marcy Nelson-Garrison hosts a rich portal of different resources (including our own Conversation Sparker Cards and the 40 Ways to Work with Visual Cards e-manual)

Wilderdom.com - Check out the links to hundreds of group games and activities which can be adjusted for coaching conversations. Think how the activity can support groups/teams in their exploration of goals, action, awareness and/or accountability

Icebreakers.ws - A collection of different ways to "break the ice". Many are great to forming connection.

MindTools.com - Always a terrific place of inspiration and great content. Clients will find it valuable as well.

BusinessBalls.com - Another site with ideas for you to get inspired by.

What's going to make your next conversation a great one?

For those who have any of my books, I'll invite you to check out the following chapters around this important topic of boosting your toolkit:

Effective Virtual Conversations (my newest book out on all things groups and teams in the virtual realm) - Chapter 7 - http://www.EffectiveVirtualConversations.com

From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching - Check out the appendix, as well as the activities included in the digital chapter on Team Coaching In Action (http://www.From12many.com)

Effective Group Coaching - Check out the Appendix


Have a great start to your week!

Best wishes,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC
Email: info{at}potentialsrealized.com
Phone: (416)996-8326

Join me this fall twice a month for complimentary community calls related to my new book, Effective Virtual Conversations. Calls are usually held on Monday mornings. Pick up a copy at Amazon or a signed copy from the new site - http://www.effectivevirtualconversations.com

Fall programming has just started with several offerings for coaches - Group Coaching Essentials (8.75 CCEs) - next group starts October 16th, Advanced Group and Team Coaching Practicum (10 CCEs ) - join our Friday group - 1:15 - 2:30 pm ET. 
There are also a couple of Mentor Coaching Groups running this fall - September 8 and 25th starts
The Virtual Facilitation Essentials will start on Monday October 2nd at 1:45 pm ET. 5 weeks of tips, best practices and ideas to boost your virtual programming. 

Group Coaching Tip Video - What? So What? Now What? Questions

I hope that you are all enjoying International Coaching Week, this week. I am speaking on one of the ICF Vancouver Island webinars they are running this week. My presentation is on the What? So What? and Now What? Questions which flow from the experiential model and how they connect to group coaching. This is a question I often get from coaches.

I've just made a new video on the same topic which I hope you will check out. I talk a little about the Experiential Model and how the What? So What? and Now What? questions can be useful in your coaching conversations (with individuals, groups and teams). Enjoy!

I hope that you will also check out some of the other videos I've done over the past few months.

Warm regards
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC
Author of Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2010)
Looking for more tools in the area of group coaching? Join me for the Group Coaching Essentials teleseminar program. 6.75 CCEs with the ICF. Next session starts next week Thursday, Feb 16th (Thurs 10:30 - 11:45 am Eastern/New York/Toronto). Five spaces still open - More info and to register.