Check Point - Taking Stock as We Get Back to Fall

As we move into the fall of the year in the northern Hemisphere, thoughts shift to "getting back to work". It's often useful to build in some time to pause and take stock as to where you are, what you have at your fingertips, and where you are going. Those of you who have read my book, Effective Group Coaching, or who are subscribers of my newsletter would know that I encourage coaches to take stock at regular points of the year - quarterly or at major transition points.

Here are a few questions borrowed in part from Effective Group Coaching (lots more checkpoints included there!) are:
- I am really pleased that I have accomplished the following this summer/last quarter/since the start of the year
- The major projects I want to complete are....
- The new projects I want to start are....
- The opportunities facing me right now are....
- The challenges facing me right now are....
- I want to keep the following on my radar screen for the remainder of the year
- I want to put more attention on ______ for the next few months
- My next steps are...
- I will be accountable to....

Have a great start to September!

Warm regards,
Jennifer

PS - Some of the programs we have starting this month to keep you on track are:
Group Coaching Essentials - starts September 16th (Thursdays at 10:30 am ET)
90 Day BizSuccess Program for Coaches - Fridays from 11-12 noon ET starting September 10
Mentor Coaching Group for ACC Renewals - Fridays from 2-3 pm ET starting September 10
Advanced Group Coaching - Fridays from 12 - 1:15 pm ET starting September 17th

September Offerings - Group Coaching, Business Building for Coaches

It's September and it's back to learning and action for many of us! This month we have a number of exciting programs - both new and old - which I hope that you will consider joining us for:

NEW - Mentor Coaching Group for ACCs (Renewals and new candidates): Are you an ACC candidate or renewal and needing to work with a mentor coach? Join me and a small group of other coaches for the mentor coaching group I will be offering this fall. It meets the requirements for your 10 hours of mentor coaching needed for recert. We'll be holding 7 one hour group coaching/mentoring calls to focus in on the core ICF Coaching Competencies over the next 3 months, and I will be holding a monthly 1-1 mentor coaching call with you each month (3 hours in total). Benefit from a collaborative learning envrionment, as well as a lower cost! Calls will start on September 10th on Fridays from 2-3 pm Eastern/New York. Click here for more info and to register. Special $200 US discount off program pricing for those who register with a colleague.

Group Coaching Essentials (6.75 CCEs from the ICF): Geared for coaches who want to design and deliver their own group coaching programs, this course focuses on giving you core tools and information so you can design, run and market your own group coaching program. The program includes dozens of practical, road tested tips, tools and templates so you don't have to reinvent the wheel. Benefit from the years of experience from Effective Group Coaching author, coach Jennifer Britton. Cost $325 US
September 2010:
Thursdays 10:30 - 11:45 am ET: September 16, 23, 30, October 7 and 14, 2010
October 2010:
Tuesdays 8-9:15 pm ET: October 5, 12, 19, November 2 and 9, 2010
Click here for more info and to register

Advanced Group Coaching: This program is geared for experienced group coaches and alumni of the GEC program. In addition to giving you real-time practice and feedback on your virtual group coaching facilitation skills, we look deeper at more advanced group coaching issues related to tricky issues, implementation, design and marketing.
Program runs: Fridays from 12-1 pm Eastern: September 17, 24, October 8, 15, 22 and 29, 2010 Click here for more information about the Advanced Group Coaching program.

90 Day BizSuccess for Business Owners: This fall's program is geared to coaches, and other service based professionals, who are business owners. The program supports coaches to plan and take action on their own business over a 3 month period. We cover topics such as creating your business vision and RoadMap, identifying your limiting beliefs, developing a marketing plan, leveraging social media and identifying your marketing sweetspot. You will leave the program with enhnaced knowledge, core plans and having taken action and created accountability in your business.
Program runs Fridays from 11 - 12 noon Eastern: September 17, October 8, 22, November 5, 19 and December 3 and 17, 2010
Cost: $397 US
Click here for more info or to register for the 90 Day BizSuccess program

I look forward to having you join me this fall for one of our upcoming phone based programs! All programs are limited in space to ensure maximum interaction.

Warm regards,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized
Group CoachingEssentials.com
Follow me at Twitter: @jennbritton (Follow my Twitter 100 day Biz Success Question Exercise which starts Sept 1st!)
Phone: (416) 996-8326

Journaling and Group Coaching

Back in 2007, I wrote a post about Journaling as a Group Coaching Tool. Since that time journaling continues to move to the fore-front as a great coaching tool. If you are not yet incorporating it into your group coaching work, this fall you may want to give it a try.

Journaling can become a wonderful tool to capture goings-on, as well as a self-reflective tool to process what has occured in the span of a day, week or conversation.

Mark Smith in Keeping a Learning Journal from Infed.com suggests the following four approaches to journaling:

"A good starting point is to use four basic elements:
Description of the situation/encounter/experience that includes some attention to feelings at the time.
Additional material - information that come to our notice or into our minds after the event.
Reflection - going back to the experiences, attending to feelings and evaluating experience Things to do - the process of reflection may well lead to the need to look again at a situation or to explore some further area. It may highlight the need to take some concrete actions. In this 'section' of the entry we can make notes to pick-up later. "
(Smith, Mark (1999, 2006), 'Keeping a learning journal', the encyclopaedia of informal education, www.infed.org/research/keeping_a_journal.htm. )

Some useful journaling resouces can be found at:

CoachingToys online store - CoachingToys continues to carry a myriad of journals and journaling tools which coaches can benefit from
A Squidoo Lens on Journal Writing Prompts
Penzu.com - A private, online journal

What journaling resources do you enjoy using? As always, please feel free to share below.

Warm regards,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC, CPT
Author of Effective Group Coaching

33 Ways to Promote Your Next Group Program - Workshop, Retreat, Group Coaching

33 Ways to promote Your Next Group Program:

Not quite sure as to how you want to let others know about your next workshop, retreat or group coaching program? Here are 33 ways to get your creative juices flowing.

Announce it in your next e-newsletter
Blog About It
Tweet About it
Invite the Media to your Event
Talk about it at your speaking engagements
Participate in tradeshows attracting your idea group member
Hold a special free call in advance
Send postcards with a special personalized invite out
Talk about it with current clients
Tell your family and friends about it and have them talk about it
Network through professional associations
Get Really Clear on Who you Want to Attend and target their
Retreat listing services
Teleclass listing services
Craigslist
Partners with others
Offer an early bird special for early registration
Offer a discount for people who sign up with others (where laws permit)
See if the facility you are holding it at can promote it
Put it in your marketing budgt
Notices
Email signatures
Notify current telesemianr/group coaching clints
Write articles – build your platform!
Go out to colleges and universities to speak
Make sure that there is a notice on your website
Send a news release about the event
Put up local notices where appropriate (community centers etc)
Announce it to other social networks you belong to in their promos section
Create a Facebook announcement
Donate a spot in a silent auction
Create a series of podcasts which add value and announce your event
Develop a viral marketing campaign

Remember successful marketing is about building relationships, adding value and consistently sharing your message. You may not undertake all activities today, but which ones do you want to add to your marketing plan this quarter?

Warm regards,

Jennifer

Jennifer Britton

Author of Effective Group Coaching - Check out the book for many more ideas, and structures to support you in your next group coaching marketing

5 Group Coaching Exercises for Small Business Owners

Coaches who specialize in working with small business owners and may wonder what are some of the group coaching exercises I can use with Small Business Owners?

Over the years I've working with dozens of small business owners groups - from in person groups of women business owners participating in government programs, to groups of business owners part of associations, to the business owners that I work with in my BizPlanning Virtual Retreats, and the 90 Day BizSuccess(TM) Program.

Five of my favorite group coaching exercises for small business owners are:

• Creating Your Business Vision by either providing business owners with a series of powerful questions to help them refine their own business vision, or taking the more creative and intuitive approach, of having them create a collage or vision board of their work;
• Identifying limiting beliefs, and coaching around more empowering beliefs;
• SWOT - yes, that favorite strategic planning tool from the 1990s, can be a great tool to support business owners explore their own strengths and weaknesses, as well as the opportunities and threats facing them.
• Wheel of Small Business Mastery - Have you ever thought about adapting the Wheel of Life to incorporate small business skills. It can serve as a great self-assessment or intake tool.
• Identifying core business values - What drives your business? What does your business stand for? What do you stand for as a business owner?

What are some of your favorite group coaching exercises for small business owners? As always, feel free to comment below!

Warm regards,

Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC

Author of Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2010) which includes an appendix on Group Coaching Exercises

Phone: (416) 996-8326

Email: info{at}potentialsrealized{dot}com

Conflict in the Group Coaching Context

Group Coaches, and facilitators, may be overly concerned when conflict arises within their groups, not recognizing that sometimes conflict is a signal to "healthy" development within the group process. This week during the Group Coaching Essentials program we talked more in depth about what happens when conflict emerges.

Conflict can emerge when:

• there is lack of clarify of roles within the group;


• there is lack of clarity, or uncertainty, about wher the program is going;


• there is insecurity;


• there is fear, and/or


• expectations are not being met.

What are you noticing about conflict within your groups? What does it signal? What action, if any, do you need to take? As a coach, will pointing to your observations be enough to let the group self-correct, or is there some action you need to take?

Have a great start to the week,

Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC, CPT

Author of Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2010)

Next Group Coaching Essentials program starts this Tuesday August 19th from 7-8:15 pm Eastern/New York/Toronto(August 17, 24, 31, September 7 and 14). Accredited for 6.75 CCEs from the ICF. Spaces still open. Click here for more info and to register.

NEW - Mentor Coaching Group for ACC Renewals will start Sept 10, 2010 (Fridays 2-3 pm Eastern and will run for 3 months).

Group Coaching Essentials starts Tuesday Aug 17 (7-8:15 pm ET)

Are you wanting to launch your own group coaching program this fall, and looking for tips, tools and accountability to design, market and implement your own group coaching program?

If so, I hope that you will join me for the next Group Coaching Essentials program which will be held by phone starting next Tuesday August 19th from 7-8:15 pm Eastern/New York. We'll be meeting as a group on August 17, 24, 31, September 7 and 14, 2010. Calls will be held on Tuesdays from 7-8:15 pm Eastern each Tuesday evening.

The program is accredited for 6.75 CCEs (Continuing Coach Education) hours with the ICF for recertification purposes.

The Group Coaching Essentials program covers:
· The Foundation of Group Coaching – What is Group Coaching, Best Practices of Group Coaching, and Adult Learning Principles
· The Nuts and Bolts of Developing Group Coaching – Making Your Program Development Fun and Effective: Technical issues, Techniques and Templates for Developing and Running Your Program
· Marketing Group Coaching – Knowing Your Audience, General Marketing Principles and Materials
· Filling Up Your Toolbox – Exercises and Other Resources for Group Coaching

Each week our calls will be supplemented by written material, and exercises designed to support you in the creation of your own program design and marketing materials.

Cost of the program: $325 US (includes 5 x 75 minute calls, an 80 page manual sent out as weekly modules, pre and post 1-1s with Jenn, laser calls as requested with Jenn during the 5 weeks at no extra cost!)

I hope that you will consider joining me next week and will create a stake for yourself with group coaching work.

Click here to get more details or register.

Questions, want more info, or want to pay offline? Please give me a call at (416) 996-8326.

I look forward to hearing from you,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC
Group Coaching Essentials
Author of Effective Group Coaching
Toll Free: 1-866-217-1960