2020 focus areas for group coaches

Happy New Year! I hope that your 2020 has started off well. Keeping with tradition, I wanted to

dedicate my first few blog posts of 2020 to some of the key focus areas we may see in the year ahead when we work with groups and teams as a coach. I covered these more in-depth in the 16th annual year end group and team programs call I hosted just before the holidays.

Here are four areas you may want to keep in mind as you go to design and lead your group coaching conversations this year:

#1 - Connection
#2 - Trust
#3 - Adding value
# 4 - Micro-conversations

Inherent to a group coaching process are numbers 1 and 2. Ensuring that there is connection in the group, with you as the coach, and also with other group members. If people do not feel connected, it's likely that the conversation will remain on the surface, not dipping into the areas which are more personal to ourselves. It's these deeper layers that are the focus of coaching. If we stay at the surface due to lack of trust there is a missed opportunity.

Consider how you are going to build connection, and how your programming is creating the opportunities for connection. Are you building in breakout work? Handing things over to the group? Pairing people in pairs or triads for conversation between calls. Inviting people to always be on video? Building in agreements that group members will be present and actively engage during calls. Size matters in this as well and you will want to consider how you connect.

A second area which is critical for group coaching is TRUST. This has also been a key issue for leader, teams, business and communities for many years now. What are you doing to create transparency, engagement, and safety in your groups. What does follow through and follow up look like? What are you doing to address issues swiftly and respectfully if they emerge? Without trust, groups will also stay at the surface. This is where people will opt out as well. Consider what you can influence, including group size and the right fit of the program for the group members.

Third, what is the value add for your group members. Understanding our clients is key to success. What does adding value mean to them? How are you ensuring that they are setting the roadmap and focus? This may entail dedicating part of your first session to creating a roadmap together, having people complete pre-work in terms of goal setting and sharing with others, as well as undertaking pre-calls with everyone to learn more about them.

Finally, another influence in the group coaching space is the time available on the part of our clients. Going back to the value add, different clients may have different preferences in terms of conversation length and frequency. What are their preferences? What are yours?
One area which has shifted significantly in the last decade is the perceived time urgency many clients have mindsets around. This may translate to offering shorter call lengths - i.e. 45 minutes vs 90 minutes, as well as thinking about the overall elements of a program - including pre-work rather than doing it during the call, so you can use the time together to go deeper into the topics you are exploring.

Shorter conversations don't always mean less impactful conversations. Be noticing your assumptions as a coach and also your own preferences and biases in this area.

Our work as coaches in bringing together people for connection, sharing and learning, is so important at this moment in time. I hope that 2020 is going to bring you and your clients many opportunities to have great conversations together!

If you haven't seen the 2019 Year End Group and Team Coaching Call I hosted last month, check it out - 20 minutes.



If you missed my Countdown to 2020 posts before the holidays, be sure to catch them here. They focused on some of the essential elements and components in our work as group and team coaches including resourcing, questions, tools and focus areas.

Enjoy and I look forward to bringing you 1-2 blog posts each week throughout the year. Up next - winter program announcements (see footer) and next post will be dedicated to some of the team coaching themes we may be seeing in 2020.

With best wishes,
Jennifer


If you are looking for  coaching skills development through CCE approved programs - I’ll be kicking off the first Group CoachingEssentials CCE approved program on Friday January 10^th at 1015 am ET. This 8.75 CCE program also includes weekly 1-1 time with me (15 min each week). Is 2020 your year to get your groups going or expand the number of groups you are doing? Whether you are new to group coaching or stepping into your next year, there’s always something to learn – I hope you’ll join us. Reserve your spot here.

Also starting in January is the Virtual Facilitation Essentials - spaces are still open in the Monday group starting on Monday January 13th from 130 - 2:45 pm Eastern - 5 weeks, 8.5 CCEs.

The Winter 2020 Mentor Coaching Group starts on Friday January 10th - Fridays 2nd and 4th weeks of the month from 9 - 10 am Eastern. Reserve your spot now in this 10 hour program which meets the requirements of the ICF.

Finally, starting this month with the first live call on Monday January 6th - calling on coaches who want to focus on growing their coaching business. Reserve your spot for the 60Day Coaching Business Builder Accelerator where you will be focusing on taking daily steps and consistent action around your coaching business. This program is based on my 2018 work, Coaching Business Builder.

7 Ways to Create a Pause in Group Coaching - Day 8 of the Countdown to 2020

One of the benefits of group coaching which many coaching clients mention is that they like the

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"pause" coaching creates. When I went to write and research Effective Group Coaching more than a decade ago, one of the greatest benefits people signalled group coaching created was the "pause". This was also reflected in the research I did a few years later as I wrote and researched From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching.

Pauses provide an opportunity to stop, reflect and take more intentional action. In a 1-1 coaching conversation it can be very clear what a pause can look like, but what about in a group coaching context?

Here are ten different ways to create a pause during a group coaching conversation. It can include:

1. Breakout work with a partner - rather than always going "Around the room" to hear from each group member, consider leveraging breakouts and having group members pair with others. Check out the earlier posts on 10 ways use breakouts in this countdown to 2020 series.

2. Dedicate a few minutes during the call (at the start, or end) to intentionally pause and let people reflect. This could be a couple of minutes spent in silence, having people create a mindmap of their thoughts or give people a few minutes to journal.

3. Provide group members with a journal and provide 2-5 minutes each call to journal.

4. Schedule a half day retreat with the groups you work with. Wheter it 's hosting a virtual retreat or a "Get things done" session, meeting with your groups for a longer block of time to stop and take action can be well received. The half day "Get things done" virtual retreats I host quarterly are some of the favorite events of many programs.

5. Have a few minutes of "offline time" for people to get up, move around and see things from a different perspective. This is just like inviting people to go for a walk by themselves in an in-person program.

6. Incorporate visual cards.  Many of you know my affinity for incorporating visuals into group programming. If you haven't seen me talk about it - check out this 2016 video (yes - it is dated but the content is still great!) I did as part of one of the weekly blabs I hosted.

7. Bring a hands on exercise - whether it's creating a model of your saboteur/inner critic, or creating a vision board, what's the hands-on, tactile exercise you can use.

What else might you do to create a "pause" and something a little different in your next group coaching conversation. Share with us your insights using the link below.

Best wishes,
Jennifer

Enjoy!
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton - GroupCoachingEssentials | Potentials Realized
Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder
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 my author page on Amazon for all publications.
Email: info@potentialsrealized.com

If you are looking for  coaching skills development through CCE approved programs - I’ll be kicking off the first Group CoachingEssentials CCE approved program on Friday January 10^th at 1015 am ET. This 8.75 CCE program also includes weekly 1-1 time with me (15 min each week). Is 2020 your year to get your groups going or expand the number of groups you are doing? Whether you are new to group coaching or stepping into your next year, there’s always something to learn – I hope you’ll join us. Reserve your spot here.
Also starting in January is the Virtual Facilitation Essentials - spaces are still open in the Monday group starting on Monday January 13th from 130 - 2:45 pm Eastern - 5 weeks, 8.5 CCEs.
The Winter 2020 Mentor Coaching Group starts on Friday January 10th - Fridays 2nd and 4th weeks of the month from 9 - 10 am Eastern. Reserve your spot now in this 10 hour program which meets the requirements of the ICF.
Finally, starting on....  January 1st - calling on coaches who want to focus on growing their coaching business. Reserve your spot for the 60Day Accelerator where you will be focusing on taking daily steps and consistent action around your coaching business. This program is based on my 2018 work, Coaching Business Builder.

10 Ways to Use Breakouts in Group Coaching - Day 7 Countdown to 2020

Welcome back to the Countdown to 2020. I took several days off for the holidays and hope that you

will be doing so too, this week and next!

Today's 10 Ways countdown post focuses on 10 different ways to use breakouts in group coaching. Whether you are meeting in a physical space OR using a zoom breakout, breakouts provide an opportunity for group members to connect, and articulate what is important to them. This is key in a group coaching process where it's not just about listening to others, but also having air time yourself.

Several things to keep in mind as you go to incorporate more breakout work into your own group programs:
1. Give enough time - it does take time for people to get out to their room, set up process and then move into the conversation. 8 - 15 minutes may be a good range for a more substantive process.
2. Assign roles such as time keeper, leader of the conversation, note taker etc.
3. Be very clear with what you want to do. Show, describe and share again, the question you want people to discuss.
4. Keep breakout room size small. The more people in a room, the more likely "Social loafing" is going to occur where no one, or fewer, people will speak. Breakouts of 2 or 3 are quite common, especially in the remote space.
5. Keep people updated re: instructions and/or timing using the broadcast function if there is one.
6. Consider how you will have people share key learning from each group. Is there a presenter verbally or does each group share their top 3-5 ideas in the chat. Consider this BEFORE people go to breakout.

To round out our top 10 today (with a couple of bonuses), here are several ways you may want to incorporate breakouts:
1. Have people share the most important thing they have heard in what you have been discussing or exploring.
2. Have people share the one step they will take to put things into action.
3. Have people share the one resource they use as it relates to that topic. OR
4. Provide group members with a powerful question as it relates to the topic.

What can you do to incorporate more breakouts into your group coaching conversations?

For more on this topic, be sure to check out the call I did on Breakouts that Sizzle, part of the Effective Virtual Conversations book club calls.

Enjoy!
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton - GroupCoachingEssentials | Potentials Realized
Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder
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 my author page on Amazon for all publications.
Email: info@potentialsrealized.com

If you are looking for  coaching skills development through CCE approved programs - I’ll be kicking off the first Group CoachingEssentials CCE approved program on Friday January 10^th at 1015 am ET. This 8.75 CCE program also includes weekly 1-1 time with me (15 min each week). Is 2020 your year to get your groups going or expand the number of groups you are doing? Whether you are new to group coaching or stepping into your next year, there’s always something to learn – I hope you’ll join us. Reserve your spot here.
Also starting in January are two groups of the Virtual Facilitation Essentials - a Friday group and a Monday group. If you want to see many of these tools in practice, and get experience in using them. Consider joining us for this virtual train-the-trainer.
January 1st - calling on coaches who want to focus on growing their coaching business. Reserve your spot for the 60Day Accelerator where you will be focusing on taking daily steps and consistent action around your coaching business. This program is based on my 2018 work, Coaching Business Builder.

Celebrating 10 years since the release of Effective Group Coaching

Yesterday marked the 10th anniversary since the release of Effective Group Coaching. As we step into the

busy holiday season I wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you! Over the last decade, Effective Group Coaching has been embraced by readers from around the world and I continue enjoy getting emails and social posts from coaches who are using that book, or one of my others, to help them create more exceptional conversations.

When I went to write Effective Group Coaching back in 2009 it was already a road-tested set of insights. I had started offering Group Coaching Essentials through my business Potentials Realized in January 2006. The five week virtual learning couse provides coaches a look at the essential best practices for designing, leading and marketing group coaching conversations with groups in the corporate realm, via their own programs, face-to-face, and virtually.

 As we also approach that milestone of stepping into 15 years of offering the Group Coaching Essentials program (it still runs eight to ten times a year for the public and I deliver it to internal groups of coaches as well), I also want to say a big thanks to the alumni who have joined me along the way. I've had participating coaches from every continent (except for Antartica) join me over the years, who are now incorporating the expanded coaching conversation in many different ways in their business.

While the context in which we coach has changed, the principles and skills remain the same.

Where have  your conversations taken you in the last decade? What are you noticing about the shifts and changes?

For more on some of the trends around coaching many, I'd invite you to check out the 16th annual year-end group and team programs call I hosted a few weeks ago. This year's call was 20 minutes in length, reflecting how much crisper, and shorter, our conversations may be. If you haven't taken a look at it, please check it out here.

Enjoy your conversations and wishing you a fantastic week! I'll be back later this week with some special year end goodies. Stay tuned and enjoy your holiday.

Jennifer

Jennifer Britton - GroupCoachingEssentials | Potentials Realized
Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder
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 my author page on Amazon for all publications.
Email: info@potentialsrealized.com

If you are looking for  coaching skills development through CCE approved programs - I’ll be kicking off the first Group CoachingEssentials CCE approved program on Friday January 10^th at 1015 am ET. This 8.75 CCE program also includes weekly 1-1 time with me (15 min each week). Is 2020 your year to get your groups going or expand the number of groups you are doing? Whether you are new to group coaching or stepping into your next year, there’s always something to learn – I hope you’ll join us. Reserve your spot here.
Also starting in January are two groups of the Virtual Facilitation Essentials - a Friday group and a Monday group. If you want to see many of these tools in practice, and get experience in using them. Consider joining us for this virtual train-the-trainer.
Join me January 1st for those wanting to focus on growing their coaching business. Reserve your spot for the 60Day Accelerator where you will be focusing on taking daily steps and consistent action around your coaching business. This program is based on my 2018 work, Coaching Business Builder.

Early Bird Rate on the January 1st 60 Day Coaching Business Builder Accelerator Ends December 23rd

Are you ready to make 2020 the start of a great decade with your work?

A quick reminder as you wind down for the holidays that the Early Bird rate for the 60 Day

Coaching Business Builder Accelerator wraps up December 23rd.

I'll be kicking off a brand new program on January 1st, incorporating the best tools and approaches I've used as a business group coach since 2004. 

The Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner is grounded in the philosophy that Consistent Steps + Daily Action = Momentum. With that in mind, the 60 Day Accelerator is going to support you in focusing on, and taking consistent FOCUSED action, on your business for 60 days straight.

You'll have the support from me with twice a week calls - Mondays and Fridays from 815 - 845 am ET, as well as lots of peer support through a dedicated private message group hosted in my Conversation Sparker Zone (on Mighty Networks).

The 60 Days starts on January 1st 2020 and we wrap up on March 1, 2020.

For 8 weeks we'll be meeting together on Mondays and Fridays to start and end the week focused on your goals. You'll have access to weekly videos to help you grow and take action as a coach and business around core foundations like your strengths, your message, your branding and offers. You'll get a weekly 15 minute laser coaching call with me, and also access to a weekly template you can use in your work. Peer support and membership in a private Mighty Network Community just for Accelerator members are going to round out the program.
As someone who has offered business group coaching for many years I think you'll find these elements combined can create some dynamic learning and insights. Let's see what emerges!

Day 1 starts January 1st - are you ready to get into momentum around your business?

The early bird rate of $997 US (with 1, 2, and 3 installment payment plans) ends at 1159 pm ET on December 23rd. I hope that you'll take advantage of it, and maybe even bring a friend. 10% savings for colleagues who register together. Email me and I will invoice you directly!

Looking forward to many conversations with you in 2020!

Best wishes,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton - GroupCoachingEssentials | Potentials Realized
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 my author page on Amazon for all publications.
Email: info@potentialsrealized.com

If you are looking for support - I’ll be kicking off the first Group CoachingEssentials CCE approved program on Friday January 10^th at 1015 am ET. This 8.75 CCE program also includes weekly 1-1 time with me (15 min each week). Is 2020 your year to get your groups going or expand the number of groups you are doing? Whether you are new to group coaching or stepping into your next year, there’s always something to learn – I hope you’ll join us. Reserve your spot here.

10 Ways to Market Group Coaching - Countdown to 2020 - Day 6

In marketing, we often say that it takes 7-10 touchpoints before a marketing message is heard, let alone acted on. Regular communication and focus on marketing is important in a coaching business at all stages.

This is particularly true when coaching groups, where attracting a number of clients is critical.

There are many different ways we can be promoting our services, which is one part of the marketing message.

As I write in Coaching Business Builder, we may choose from any of these nine marketing vehicles:
Speaking
Blogging
Podcasting
Networking
Article Writing
Product Development
Lunch and Learns
Associations
Trade Shows and Conferences

and a final one which is often overlooked is referrals.

Each of these provide a different type of outreach and conversation. Where do your potential clients congregate? What will capture their attention

Marketing is not just about choosing the appropriate channel. It's also about:

• Adding value to the clients you are working with. What are they looking for? What solutions are they wanting?
• Being consistent - Instead of doing something just once, could you do it multiple times. For example, planning and delivering weekly blog posts during the next year on a Tuesday instead of haphazardly putting out marketing messages
• Following up with a conversation - coaching is a high touch, intimate conversation space. What conversations are important to get into?

Marketing can be an important focus for people at all stages of their business development. For more on this topic check out these resources:

The Marketing Tags here at the Group Coaching Ins and Outs blog

For an extended focus during 2020, check out the Coaching Biz Growth Lab which meets throughout the year on Fridays. 

January 1st I'll also be launching the 60 Day Coaching Business Builder Accelerator where we'll be focusing on taking 60 days of consistent action around our business. I'm super excited about this new on-demand and live program. I hope that you'll join us - early bird rate on until Monday December 23rd.

Questions to consider:
What do you have planned around marketing next year?
What's going to help you be consistent, adding value and in conversation with your clients?
Note down 3-5 core themes you want to explore in your marketing (whether it's speaking, podcasting, writing or connecting). Take a few minutes to mindmap your ideas.


With best wishes,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton - GroupCoachingEssentials | Potentials Realized
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 my author page on Amazon for all publications.
Email: info@potentialsrealized.com

If you are looking for  coaching skills development through CCE approved programs - I’ll be kicking off the first Group CoachingEssentials CCE approved program on Friday January 10^th at 1015 am ET. This 8.75 CCE program also includes weekly 1-1 time with me (15 min each week). Is 2020 your year to get your groups going or expand the number of groups you are doing? Whether you are new to group coaching or stepping into your next year, there’s always something to learn – I hope you’ll join us. Reserve your spot here.
Also starting in January are two groups of the Virtual Facilitation Essentials - a Friday group and a Monday group. If you want to see many of these tools in practice, and get experience in using them. Consider joining us for this virtual train-the-trainer OR reserve your spot for the 60Day Accelerator.

10 Program Design Tools for Coaches - Day 5 of the Countdown to 2020

Welcome back to Day 5 of the 2020 Countdown. For many years now I have provided a year-end

series and I hope that you are enjoying this year's!

This year we are taking a deeper dive into tools, resources and approaches for group coaching processes.

Today's post zooms into 10 Program Design Tools you'll want to consider as you pull together pre-work, session materials and follow up. Keep in mind, depending on the type of group or team conversation you are having, you may not need to bring anything more than questions! The more we get into more on-demand programming (i.e. video-based courses, the more we will find ourselves in the realm of needing these tools). In a pure coaching process, they may be more supplementary than anything else.

Here are 10 you may want to explore to see how they can support your programming in this upcoming year:

#1 - Canva - Creating a brand around your program is a key part of program design. What are the colors you want to use? What are the adjectives which describe your program? For those more graphic design inclined, you may choose to turn to canva for some of your branding work, and also social media posts.  We'll be exploring BRAND in greater depth in the 60 Day Coaching Business Builder Accelerator which starts on January 1st! I hope you'll join us!

#2 - Unsplash - Visuals are powerful. Whether you are creating your own visual deck (like our newest member of the Conversation Sparker family - the Journaling Conversation Sparker), or you are incorporating images into your slides, you'll want to make sure you have a set of photographs that are commercially allowable, and impactful. Unsplash is a wonderful portal where photographers share some of their best work. Check it out.

#3 - MindMaps - Since before I started my business in 2004 I have been using MindMaps as a design tool. I believe I first encountered them years ago in 2000 at an  ASTD TechKnowledge Conference in the early days of e-learning. MindMaps help us capture all our ideas in one space. Be sure to date them and don't overwrite! Create a new version with a new date rather than delete. You never know what magic you'll uncover when you look at it again. MindMapping can be as simple as a handwritten version, or as sophisticated as one using COGGLE - one of the apps I've started using this fall for my own program design.

#4 - Trello - For all stages of design Trello is a great tool. From laying things out to compartmentalizing content, explore what is has to offer to you and your clients.

#5 - Designers - Fiverr, Upwork, 99 Designs - We likely will need to turn to a professional designer at some stage. Whether we want a customized Slide Deck, someone to make our work look nicer, or simply someone who can help us check certain items off the list, check out these websites for freelancers who can help you.

#6 - Loom - Want a personalized video to welcome people? Want to do a walkthrough of your site. Just as I've done with this short video talking about the Coaching Biz Growth Lab (an annual group focused on business development which I offer for coaches)  Loom provides a quick and fast way to create a specialized video message.

#7 - Zoom - Most coaches are probably well versed with the basics of zoom if you are working in the virtual space. I love taking a deeper dive in the Virtual Facilitation Essentials program around creating engaging and interactive virtual conversations. That program starts again in January and is being renewed for 8.5CCES, based on my 2017 book, Effective Virtual Conversations.  As a business, we have used zoom as our platform now for 5-6 years. I couldn't run my business without it!

#8 - An online learning platform - Whether you use Kujabi, Teachable or Thinkific, having your own private online learning platform can systematize materials for people to access. For years I've had many programs over at Teachable, including the Learning Lab and Design Studio, an annual group I host around group and team program issues. The nice thing about it is how it grows with time.

#9 - Mighty Networks - Early this year I shifted our online community over to Mighty Networks and started the Conversation Sparker Zone. It includes a public community space for people who are interested in connecting around coaching, business development, virtual conversations AND I also am able to use it as a private discussion channel for many of the groups I work with throughout the year (you won't see these). I hope you'll join us there for discussion and dialogue!

#10 - Dropbox - From file sharing with collaborators to housing call recordings, dropbox can be an important extension of your business.

What are the elements you would like to add to your toolkit for the new year? What action could you take today to add on ONE thing to your toolkit to set your work, and groups, up for success next year?

Enjoy the exploration! We'll be taking a deeper look at many of these design tools in the 60 Day Coaching Business Builder Accelerator as we spend several weeks on helping you design out, or tweak, your offerings. We kick off on January 1st for 60 days of action. Early bird rate in effect until Monday December 23rd. Click on over now and reserve your spot (1, 2 and 3 installment payments available).

Thanks for joining us for this Countdown to 2020 tip! Share with us one of your favorite resources over at the Conversation Sparker Zone.

Best wishes,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton - GroupCoachingEssentials | Potentials Realized
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 my author page on Amazon for all publications.
Email: info@potentialsrealized.com

If you are looking for  coaching skills development through CCE approved programs - I’ll be kicking off the first Group CoachingEssentials CCE approved program on Friday January 10^th at 1015 am ET. This 8.75 CCE program also includes weekly 1-1 time with me (15 min each week). Is 2020 your year to get your groups going or expand the number of groups you are doing? Whether you are new to group coaching or stepping into your next year, there’s always something to learn – I hope you’ll join us. Reserve your spot here.
Also starting in January are two groups of the Virtual Facilitation Essentials - a Friday group and a Monday group. If you want to see many of these tools in practice, and get experience in using them. Consider joining us for this virtual train-the-trainer OR reserve your spot for the 60Day Accelerator.