State of the Union 3.0 with Team and Group Coaching

 In December an article I had written for choice magazine was featured in their latest quarterly publication - Team and Group Coaching in an Evolving World. This article, "State of the Union 3.0 -

Team and Group Coaching" was the third time I had written a feature article for choice in the last 5 or 6 years. 

Download the article here.

In the article, I covered six core influences on team and group coaching at this moment in time (late 2022 and early 2023), including:

1. Paradigm Shifts

2. Systems Approaches

3. The need for belonging

4. Trust, safety and connection

5. Teaming

6. Adaptive and emerging models

Several of these I explore further in my latest writing - Reconnecting Workspaces, especially chapters 2, 3, 4, 8, 9 and the 21 chapter myths and paradigms.

I shared more about these six influences on team and group coaching in our December 2022 19th annual Year End Holiday party. 

Tune in here and check out the first 30 minutes of the call:

I then enjoyed sitting down with Garry Schlieffer to talk further about this on his Beyond the Page Podcast. The episode should be coming out soon and I will share it when it is ready.

What are you seeing as some of the new influences on your work as a group and team coach? 

Certainly the new ACTC from ICF - Advanced Credential in Team Coaching - will jettison us forward within this part of our profession.  If you haven't caught the recent calls I've hosted on the ACTC and how we are supporting coaches through our new Team Coaching Certificates, check out my December call on the new ACTC:

What are you doing to learn more and scale more conversations with teams and groups? Curious about what it can look like for you? Set up a call.

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: 

Coaching Diverse Teams and Groups using the Work Styles - Wednesdays 230 - 345pm ET (14 CCEs): January 26, February 2, 9, 16, 23, and March 2, 2023 (14 CCEs) - Widen your toolkit for working with diverse styles in teams and groups in this 6 week program based on the Hybrid Work Styles. WE also explore Coaching for Creativity and Innovation. This is course 5 in the 70 hour Certificate in Team Coaching Program.

Group Coaching Essentials -Mondays 130-245pm ET starting January 30th OR Fridays 1015 - 1130 am ET starting February 17 running to late March - 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 Mondays 12 - 130pm ET with Evana starting January 30th

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

ACTIVATE your Group and Team Coaching Superpowers (14 CCEs) - Fridays 1015 - 1130 am ET starting January 9th with Jennifer (6 weeks)  - January 13, 20, 27, February 3, 10, 17  - Course 4 in the pathway (catch up on call #1 with the recording)

Coaching Supervision Group (Small group format) - Thursdays 12 - 130 pm ET  first week of the month each month (to June 2023) 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 meet the 1st and 3rd Fridays of each month 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

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.

 

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)!

2016 Priorities for Group and Team Coaching

For the last several years in early January I've blogged on possible priority areas for group and team coaching. It's become somewhat of an annual tradition. Last week here at the blog I posted on some of the key themes from 2015 we saw in the realm of group and team coaching. Here's the post if you haven't read it yet, and make sure to check out the December blab I hosted as part of my 12th Annual Year End Group Programs call.

Some of the key themes and priorities which I see as being priorities this year include:

1. Clearer definition of group and team coaching competencies. For many years I have written that as sub-disciplines of the coaching profession, we lead from our core coaching competencies (link to ICF Competency framework), AND as the profession becomes more nuanced, there are some important additional skill areas and nuances around the current competencies. Additional skills such as an understanding of group dynamics, process orientation, and a more robust toolkit of resources specific to group and team coaching are some areas. There have been several studies that I am aware of which have started to explore this topic around team coaching, and I'm looking forward to being part of additional conversations which are tackling this important topic area.
What do you see as additional skill sets required for team and group coaches?

2. Continued definition of the field of team coaching - In recent months I've heard a lot of coaches saying that they feel that "team coaching is coming into its own". I fully agree, and just like in the wider coaching profession we need to be vigilant in terms of how we define the field and approaches of team coaching, as well as what it looks like.
I continue to go back to some of the core research which defines coaching as a profession. What is the focus in the work we do around goals, action, awareness and accountability? How does the "intervention' support sustained conversation and change in a team? Who owns the process? How does the team define success? How are we holding the team "naturally creative, resourceful and whole"?
How do you define team coaching with your clients? What makes it distinct from other team interventions?

3. Continued focus and expansion in virtual programming - For coaches and clients alike virtual programming can be a mysterious entity. It does provide so many benefits for clients from greater anonymity, to convenience, and ability to connect with others in a much wider geography. As many more teams become virtual in nature, building our skills in this area will be important. As coaches, the time and cost savings, added to a much larger market reach, continue to be popular selling points.

As someone who has led a bulk of my work virtually for the last 12 years as a coach (and longer than that as a former virtual leader in my earlier career), I continue to work with coaches who are wanting to shift into the realm of virtual programming (Check out the Virtual Facilitation Skills Intensive which will start online on February 4th, or the Learning Lab and Design Studio a longer term group which launches later this month).

What do your clients value - in person? Virtual? What's going to support you in expanding your skills in the virtual domain if it's of interest?

While I think that there are many more areas which are priorities including measurement, engagement approaches, sharpening our skills, I think these three are quite critical for both team and group coaches. I'd love to hear your comments - as always feel free to comment below or join the conversation at the Effective Group Coaching Facebook page.

Have a great first week back to work for 2016!

Best wishes,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, MES, PCC, CPCC, CPT
GroupCoachingEssentials.com | Potentials Realized
Author of Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2009) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (Jossey-Bass, 2013)
(416)996-8326

Join me in January to sharpen your coaching skills, amp up your group and team coaching work and/or coaching business:
Group Coaching Essentials teleclass starting Thursday January14th from 10:15 - 11:30 am ET (8.75 CCEs with the ICF)
Mentor Coaching Group starting Friday January 8th from 9-10 am ET (for ACC Renewals and ACC/PCC portfolio routes
Advanced Group Coaching Practicum - 10 CCEs starting Friday Jan 8th at 10:15 am ET giving you more practice and feedback on your group coaching skills, and exploring topics such as virtual programming, engagement, and activities
The six and twelve month Learning Lab and Design Studio membership group which includes two group calls  a month, a Facilitation Lab, access to a treasure-trove of resources, and some 1-1 time with me monthly. We'll be kicking off on January 22nd or 29th.

Six Coaching Questions to Strengthen Connection in Groups and Teams

Creating deeeper levels of connection amongst team and group members in a team or group coaching process is key to opening the doorway into greater levels of trust between members. Greater levels of trust often translate into greater levels of safety, vulnerability (or openness to each other), and performance.

Today's post provides you with six potential coaching questons you may ask groups or teams to help them become more aware of their connections

1. What does each one of us bring that's unique to this team?
2. What strengths do we bring individually? Collectively? Where do they overlap? What gaps exist? (Consider providing the team or group with a strengths based profile as pre-work such as VIA Strengths or StrengthsFinder2.0).
3. What is the common connection that binds each of us together?
4. What is important about our shared values?
5. How do we have each others' backs?
6. What do we each need from each other?

What other questions do you like to ask when helping groups and teams strengthen their connection, whether they are just coming together, or they have been working together for a while?

Best
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 9 and 12 noon ET on September 11th), the Advanced Group Coaching Practicum (Fridays 10:15 - 1130 am ET starting September 11 - 10 CCEs) and the Group Coaching Essentials teleseminar startingTuesdays 9:15 - 10:30 am ET September 15 - October 13 (8.75 CCEs)
Contact us by phone: (416)996-8326

May Programs - Mentor Coaching Group, Advanced Group Coaching Practicum, Virtual Facilitation Intensive

It's a new month and I'm pleased to announce our May program line up which includes the five week Virtual Facilitation Intensive for those wanting to sharpen and grow their virtual facilitation skills (15 hrs online), the 3 month Mentor Coaching Group for those interested in sharpening their coaching skills and/or working towards the renewal or new ICF Credential (ACC Renewal, PCC or ACC renewal).

Here's what is on tap for May and June:

Virtual Facilitation Skills Intensive
Tuesdays 5-8pm Eastern/2-5 pm Pacific or Wednesdays 8-11am Sydney: June 2, 9, 16, 23, 30, 2015
Wanting to run more engaging and effective virtual programs? Teleclasses, webinars or virtual meetings (strategy meetings, planning meetings)? Looking for a selection of virtual tools and tips to

bring into your own group or team work?
This is a fifteen hour online program where we cover the foundations of engaging and effective virtual faciltation, while giving you experience in several of the various platforms ranging from webinar, to zoom to skype and teleclass. In addition to providing you with more than a dozen virtual facilitation tools you will also have the opportunity to lead part of the call and receive feedback on your skills

Calls will be held on Tuesdays between 5-8 pm Eastern/New York or 2-5 pm Pacific. Cost: $950 US. Click here to learn more and register.

Mentor Coaching Group (10 hours)
Thursdays 12 - 1pm ET/9-10 am ET May 14 - August 13, 2015
This ten hour program meets the requirements for ICF mentor coaching for those working towards their ACC or PCC portfolio/ATSCH or ACC Renewals. The program is geared to support you in sharpening your skills as a coach, while deepending your understanding of the 11 core competencies of the ICF. You

also receive feedback on your coaching skills as demonstrated in the coaching lab. 7 of the hours are in small group setting (3-5 coaches typically) and 3 hours of individual mentor coaching are scheduled with Jennifer. Cost: $1000 US or CDN (plus HST)
The May thought August group will meet on Thursdays from 12 - 1 pm Eastern/New York and will run May 14th to mid-August. Group calls will be held on May 14, 21, 28, June 11, July 9, 23 and Aug 13, 2015 plus an additional 3 hours of individual coaching hours will be scheduled withyou (one hour a month for the three months)
Cost: $1000 US or CDN (plus HST) for the 10 hour program. Payable in one or 3 monthly installments. Click here to learn more or register.


Advanced Group Coaching Practicum - 10 CCEs
Thursdays 1015 - 11:30 am Eastern/7:15 - 830 am Pacific (5 weeks at 3 hours/week)
Looking for more practice in group coaching and getting a deeper understanding of group coaching? Geared for coaches, the program includes 6 x 75 minute group calls, 5 individual 15 minute 1-1 calls with me, along with weekly module notes full of more ideas, templates, and resources to support you in your work, along with audio and video tips.
Through practice and dialogue we take a deeper dive around group coaching topics including:

•  Core skills and techniques in group coaching
• Tricky issues in group coaching
• Engagement, systems and support for group coaching
• Virtual programming best practices (webinars, teleseminars/teleclasses, group coaching by phone)
• Co-Facilitation and Co-Leadership
• Advanced Issues in Marketing Group Coaching
• Advanced Design Issues in Group Coaching

Each coach will have at least one opportunity to lead a 25 minute group coaching session as part of our class, and will receive written and verbal feedback on their skills. This will give you an opportunity to see different styles and approaches for group coaching at play. We will also hold our calls in different virtual environments so you get to experience them for yourself - bridgelines, skype, Zoom, etc.
Cost: $495 US. Click here to register and learn more.

Plus....Save the Date and take advantage of the Early Bird Rate for the 5th Annual Group and Team Coaching Intensive in Huntsville, Muskoka - Thursday/Friday July 16-17, 2015. Early Bird savings of 8 spots only! Join me in the beauty of the Muskoka region, approximately 2.5 hours north of Toronto. Drive or fly into the downtown Toronto airport take a scheduled bus from downtown.
Now 19 CCEs - Take a deep dive into learning about and practicing group and team coaching. Early Bird rate on this month - save more than $200 plus tax. Payable in one, two or three installments. Click here to learn more and reserve your spot.


I hope that you will join me for an upcoming May/June program.


Best wishes,
Jennifer


Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC
Author of Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2010) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (Jossey-Bass, 2013)
Questions? Contact me at (416)996-8326

What's the Difference Between Group and Team Coaching?

A common question I often get asked what's the difference between group and team coaching? How are

they different and how are they the same.

I like to call group and team coaching related siblings, and the good news is, many of the skills are the same. What is different is how you might work with each "grouping". There are several key differences in terms of the role of relationships, leadership, how the process is sustained between conversations, and also what's at stake.

An article of mine on these differences between Group and Team Coaching was recently featured at Choice Magazine in the spring edition which spotlights Group and Team Coaching. For practitioners, it's a must read-edition, with other authors included such as Marita Frijohn of CRR and ORSC and David Clutterbuck, author of Coaching the Team At Work.

You can download a copy of my Choice Magazine article over at  the Resources page of the From One to Many website.

You might also find the two digital chapters on case studies which accompany (but are not part of) the From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching book. You can download these two chapters here (use code 4411 when prompted).



What do you see as the differences between group and team coaching? What different approaches do you use with each grouping?










Have a great start to your week,
Jennifer



Jennifer Britton, MES, CPT, PCC, CPCC
Potentials Realized | GroupCoachingEssentials
(416)996-8326
Join us for an upcoming program including the Group Coaching Essentials teleseminar, a five week program which explores the foundations of group coaching. Next group starts Friday May 1st at 9 am Eastern - being renewed for 8.75 CCEs with the ICF.

Goal Setting At Mulitple Levels: Group and Team Coaching

Goal setting is a critical part of the coaching process. As team and group coaches it is also important to look at goals from a number of levels. These levels can be different when working with groups versus working with teams.

Whether you are working with a group of individuals or an intact team who works together every day, a foundation part of the coaching process is on goal setting. In coaching, those being coached get to set their own goals.

Some of our clients may automatically think about setting SMART goals and start working away at them. For those that might not be familiar with SMART Goals, we want to make sure that they are specific, can be measured, are achievable, realistic and have some time indicators as well. I usually add an E on to include Exciting. If goals are not exciting to the person which created them it is unlikely that they will be followed through.

When working with teams, it can be useful to have team members consider goals at the individual, team and organizational level. What do these goals look like at each level? How are they similar? Where might they be in conflict? Building space in to the coaching conversation for a team using these questions can often raise some interesting insights for team members.

Another rich area to explore is to have people look at goals at what many coaching models call the META view - or big picture view, as well as the granular MICRO VIEW. One of my favorite questions to ask is what you see in today's selected Conversation Sparker Card(TM) here:

What's the 30,000 foot view? What's the view from the weeds?

When looking at issues from the 30,000 foot view it connects us to our passions, strengths, vision, values and the bigger picture. It can also be important to look at it from the weeds, or the ground level, where we can ZOOM into the specifics.

Notice where the individuals you work with naturally go around goals - the 30,000 foot or the grains of sand? Having them look at their goals from another perspective can be very insightful.

What focus do you want to put around goals with your clients?

Have a great weekend,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC
GroupCoachingEssentials.com
Author of Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2010) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (Jossey-Bass, 2013)
(416)996-TEAM (8326)

 

More team and group coaching tips

A number of you follow my group and team coaching tips over at the Effective Group Coaching Facebook page. I also know that a number of you are not on Facebook.

Here are some of the recent team and group coaching tips I've been posting from my latest book, From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (Jossey-Bass, 2013). Enjoy!

Have a great week,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, MES, PCC, CPCC
GroupCoachingEssentials.com
Effective Group Coaching Facebook page
(416)996-TEAM (8326)
Join us for an upcoming program including the Group Coaching Essentials teleseminar (6.75 CCEs) - new start dates include:  
Thursdays 10-11:15 am Eastern/New York: Feb 6, 13, 20, 27 and March 6, 2014 OR
Tuesdays 6:30 - 7:45 pm Eastern starting Jan 28 to March 4, 2014 (NEW DATE)