Group Coaching — The Hidden Gem in a Coach's Toolkit

Group coaching is a powerful yet often overlooked asset. Something we all have heard of but may have failed to give the attention it deserves — a hidden gem in a treasure chest waiting to be discovered and valued. While many coaches working within one-to-one coaching engagements are excited by the prospect of building new competencies as team coaches, the potential of group coaching has been overlooked and remains largely untapped. This oversight, coupled with the fact that coaches have not promoted it enough, has led to organizations not exploring group coaching as much as they should.

To begin, let’s clarify the difference between team and group coaching. While both involve multiple individuals, they serve a very distinct purpose. Team coaching focuses on enhancing team dynamics and performance. It addresses collective goals and team collaboration to help the team operate as a single entity. In contrast, group coaching brings together individuals with common personal or professional goals, helping them achieve these goals individually. While team coaching focuses on team success, group coaching fosters personal growth and skill development for each individual in the group, regardless of team affiliations.

Engaging as a group coach requires additional skills, such as effectively managing group dynamics and facilitation. However, these are skills that some coaches may already possess or can develop quickly. The investment may be worth it since group coaching is a win-win for coaches and organizations. From a return-on-time perspective, a coach can charge more for their time, which organizations are willing to accept since the cost per coachee is significantly lower. Besides the lower price, the value is exponentially higher since one can leverage peer learning and build better accountability in this format.

Here are the broad tenets of a potential group coaching framework:

• Form a group of six to eight members from a single organization or structure the group as an open program for individuals to sign up.
• Define a single over-arching coaching goal for each group, such as executive presence or delegation skills. Participants interested in developing or enhancing this specific competency would then enroll in the cohort. Organizations usually have competency frameworks and assessments; hence, they can easily group people with similar needs.
• Every group coaching engagement can start with deconstructing the competency. Participants collaboratively uncover their collective understanding of the competency through a facilitative process, addressing the what and why of the specific competency, i.e., what it looks like in practice and why it is essential to build it. Use tools such as sticky notes or collaborative tools like Mentimeter to ensure that every voice in the group is heard.
• Based on insights from the initial session and materials available in the organization’s competency framework or other resources, develop a simple assessment capturing various elements of the competency. Participants can rate themselves on multiple attributes constituting a competency in the second session. Participants can also use these assessments to seek feedback on where they stand from their peers, managers, and subordinates.
• The third session is an opportunity to reflect on self-assessments and feedback. Participants can identify specific attributes to focus on, considering two or three behaviors they want to stop, start, or continue to build the desired competency. Encourage them to convert these behaviors into SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound) actions. Pairing participants as accountability partners for the rest of the engagement can be highly rewarding.
• The remaining sessions focus on actions, reflection, and stepping up. Leveraging mutual accountability, encourage participants to have a five-minute catch-up call with their partner every evening, asking each other questions about when, how, and to what extent they practiced the new behaviors. Reporting back to the other person creates tremendous accountability and drives action.
• In some sessions, have a participant present a challenge related to specific coaching goals the group is working towards. Through a facilitative process, help other participants suggest strategies to tackle the challenge. When members provide suggestions to those facing the challenge, they discover that many such tips are also relevant to their challenges.
• The last session involves members reflecting on where they are in their journey, determining what they will continue, and how they will hold themselves accountable for the new behaviors post-coaching.

Make space for group coaching among your client offerings. This adds depth to your skill set as a one-to-one coach and fosters your professional growth through exposure to group dynamics and facilitation. Consider exploring accredited coaching education programs that specialize in group coaching. Use the framework suggested here as written or make tweaks as needed. This is an excellent opportunity to create a greater impact for your clients and yourself.