Coaching Toolbox - Time Management

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As coaches we are not content experts AND it's always important to have a number of resources we point our clients to around key issues we are coaching them around. In this new series I will be suggesting a number of my favorite "go-to" resources I recommend to clients  (individuals, groups and teams) when I find myself coaching around.

I'm going to start with time management. Whether our clients are struggling with "doing more with less" or finding better balance (in whatever balance means for them), outside of the coaching conversation clients are often very eager to explore topics around time mangement and priorities.

Several key resources I often refer my clients onto are

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People - Steven Covey

First Things First - Covey, Merrill, Merrill

Get it Done Guy - Stever Robbins

Overwhelmed - Brigid Schulte

168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think - Laura Vanderkam

MindTools.com - They have created so many great resources and articles - from Time Management to Delegation, many of my clients have their "content" needs satiated and create that information as a foundation for our coaching exploration.

In terms of coaching tools, work around the Wheel of Life, priorities and values is part of the terrain we usually explore.

What resources would you recommend to others around time management? As always, please comment below.

Best wishes,
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)
 
Looking to expand your tools for groups and teams? Join us in Toronto the weekend of November 7-8 for the Group and Team Coaching Intensive (19 CCEs). Register with a colleague and each receive a discount on your registration.

Three Core Elements of Any Group Coaching Process

Group coaching processes continue to be very diverse - ranging from one month programs, to one year programs, with support to business owners, mid-level managers to stay-at-home moms. What is similar

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across these are common elements, making them coaching and not training, facilitation or something else.

Fist, goals. Every coaching process is grounded in goals. Part of what you will want to do at the start, or before the start of the program/process, is have individual group members identify their key goals for your work together. This will help the group identify common theme areas, as well as create the iniital baseline and traction for individual group members to participate. What are you doing to create opportunities for your group members to articulate and share their goals?

Group coaching is also a sustained conversation space. As I have written many times, "it's an intimate conversation space" (From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching). our focus on support for accountability, action and awareness is key. For a group to be considered a coaching gorup as part of an ICF coaching log there can be no more than 15 members. As we add more members to the group it becomes more a facilitated discussion, than coaching space. What are you doing to maximize the impact of these regular touch points? What numbers are optimal for your work?

Peer involvement is another essential condition for any group coaching process. Group members tend get as much out of the process from their interactions with each other, as they do with the coach. Consider how you can maximize peer interaction in a way that works well for your group, whether it's through breakouts in virtual calls, learning partners throughout a program, or linkages through journalling or other tech platforms. What approaches do you want to use in fostering peer connection?

As you move into your own programming and/or planning this fall with groups, what other elements do you see as foundational?

Have a great week,
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)

Prefer in person learning? Join us in Toronto the weekend of November 7-8 for the Group and Team Coaching Intensive (19 CCEs). Six spots still open. Register with a colleague and each receive a discount on your registration.

September programs - Advanced Group Coching (10 CCEs), Mentor Coaching Group and Group Coaching Essentials

It's back to work for many of us with Labor Day just behind us. Here is what's on tap in terms of program offerings I have for Coaches in the month of September:

Mentor Coaching Group (for ACC Renewals and ACC/PCC Applications with ICF) - 10 hours
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 fall groups will meet on Fridays. Choose from either 9-10 am ET or 12 - 1 pm ET. Group calls will be held on September 11, 18, 25, October 2, 16, 30 and December 11 plus an additional 3 hours of individual coaching hours will be scheduled with you (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) Fridays 1015 - 11:30 am Eastern/7:15 - 830 am Pacific (September 11, 18, 25, October 2, 9 and 16) - 3 spots
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. Course is approved for 10 CCEs with the ICF including 9.25 hours of core competencies. Click here to register and learn more. 

Group Coaching Essentials - 8.75 CCEs - 5 spots
Tuesdays 9:15 - 10:30 am ET - September 15, 22, 29, October 6 and 13, 2015
Our flagship course, the Group Coaching Essentials teleseminar provides coaches with road-tested tips and best practices around designing, implementing and marketing your own group coaching programs. Whether you are offering corporate or public groups, virtual or in-person groups, you can benefit from the rich content, modelling of approaches, weekly assignments to draft your own program and learning with a small group of peers. Five 75  minute calls and weekly laser 1-1s with me, along with a robust 80 page set of module notes. Cost: $425 US. Click here to learn more and register.

Questions? Don't hesitate to reach out and contact me directly at (416)996-8326.
I hope that you will consider joining us!

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)

Prefer in person learning? Join us in Toronto the weekend of November 7-8 for the Group and Team Coaching Intensive (19 CCEs).

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

6 Coaching Questions for Business Building

It's the start of a new week and a new month. For some of us we have another five weeks before kids are

back in school and summer holidays end for most of the workforce, and for others they return to school this month. For those coaches who work with business owners of any stripe, today's series on Six Coaching Questions is for you. For those of you who also run a business, consider these questions in the context of your business right now:

1. What's the biggest opportunity facing your business right now? What would it take to maximize this?
2. What's your number #1 priority this month? This quarter?
3. If you knew you would succeed, where would you place more attention and resources?
4. What's your biggest challenge right now? What do you need to say no to?
5. The one project on your to-do list which needs to be completed this month is....? The one project on your to do list which really needs to come off the list (because perhaps it's been carried over and carried over....)
6. I want to be putting more attention around x this month...

As a bonus, circle back to question #3 about "If you knew you would succeed, where would you place more attention and resources?". What's interesting about your response there? Whats important about that?

Have a great start to the week,
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) and the Group Coaching Essentials teleseminar starting
Thursday August 6 at 1015 am ET by phone (8.75 CCEs)
Contact us by phone: (416)996-8326

Virtual Facilitation - Five Great Posts (oldies but goodies)

One of the things I love about my work is the ability to work virtually from almost anywhere there is a

connection. You might have noticed I've been a little quieter on the blog for the last month. That's coincided with a shift to my summer work routine where I get to spend the majority of July and August working from beautiful Muskoka, CANADA.  My 150 square foot office space gets shrunk down dramatically during these months which also provides the opportunity to sift through physically, and mentally, the things I want to hold onto as I downsize and those that need to be put in storage.

Over the last couple of months a lot of my attention has been focused on several large projects for corporate clients, as well as continued public group programs. I trust as well that you've been able to enjoy and sift through several years of posts on group programs and group and team coaching already written. Translating in person programming to virtual programming has been a big focus for me in recent months and I thought it would be a great focus for this week's blog post.

Today I wanted to resurface a few of the oldie but goodie posts around virtual facilitation for those considering moving to a virtual format in the coming months. These are posts that those who attended my June Virtual Facilitation Skills Intensive program found interesting, as well as those who have been asking questions about leading virtual group coaching programs in the Group Coaching Essentials program (next group starts August 6th - Thursdays 1015 - 11:30 am ET).

Here are five posts you will find interesting:

7 Keys for Powerful Virtual Facilitation - read a recent post from my sister blog for team leaders at the Teams365 blog.

How to deal with difficult Participants - a 11 minute audio post based on last summer's Teams365 Cartoon on the topic, and related article for the Coaching Tools Company.

Virtual Facilitation Tips 9 and 10 from last fall's series on virtual facilitation. You can view all of them over at our Effective Group Coaching Facebook page.

Virtual Program Tips - Webinars, Teleclasses and Group Coaching (From an earlier April 2014 post here at the Group Coaching Ins and Outs blog)

Making Virtual Group Coaching More Effective - 5 Tips (From a 2011 post here at the blog)

What tips do you have for others in making virtual learning and program design more effective?

Have a great week,
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

August programs starting soon - Group Coaching Essentials (Thursdays 10 - 11:15 am ET starting August 6) and Mentor Coaching Group for ACC/PCC and ACC renewal (Thursdays 9-10 am ET starting August 6)
Want to boost your own virtual facilitation skills? Join me starting September 15th for the Virtual Facilitation Skills Intensive. Key Topics we're covering in the 15 hour (5 week) Virtual Facilitation Skills Intensive include: designing powerful programs, more than 2 dozen facilitation tools you can use virtually and in person, dealing with tricky issues, difficult participants, a virtual facilitation skills self-assessment, how to navigate different platforms, creating energizing and engaging virtual presentations, plus lots, lots more!

Six Coaching Questions around Priorities and Time Management

Time Management can be a key issue facing many of our coaching clients - individuals and teams.

Whether it is balancing work life issues, juggling too many things on the plate, time management may be a theme which creeps into many coaching session. Continuing on with our 6 Coaching Questions a day, today's post is about supporting enhanced awareness and action around prioritization with your clients.

Consider these questions:

1. What are your top 3-5 priorities?
2. What's really important right now?
3. What's the low hanging fruit?
4. What, if left unaddressed, could create a significant impact?
5. What's the quickest thing to get off your plate and clear up sapce?
6. When you clear this issue, what will be avaialble to you?
7. What do you ned to say NO to right now?
8. What are your next steps around this issue?

What other questions do you like to ask around prioritization? As always, please feel free to comment below!

Best wishes,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, MES, CPT, PCC
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)
Phone: 416-996-8326

Join us this summer for the Advanced Group Coaching Practicum starting July 14th (Tuesdays and Thursdays 1:15-2:30 pm ET - 10 CCEs with the ICF)