Group Coaching Model

Group coaching programs are cohort-based coaching with multiple clients enrolling and having a guided experience through the same program at the same time. Clients may progress at their own pace or do self-assessments to verify they’ve learned the material being taught. But at its core, group coaching is online training with the added benefit of support from you and other students.

Many coaches begin by offering one-on-one coaching. But over time, they hit a wall. There are only so many hours in the week. Scaling beyond that time limitation is impossible.

While one-to-one coaching is highly effective for working with people who wish to transform their lives, it has its limitations.

As a coach, you can only reach so many clients in the time you have available.

So how do you help more people improve their relationships, health, and work stress, and still ensure your financial security as a coach without working unsustainable hours (Rivera & Rivera, 2019)?

The answer is group coaching. This approach is becoming increasingly popular in organizations where it makes better use of employees’ time and cuts training overheads (Flückiger, Aas, Nicolaidou, Johnson, & Lovett, 2016).

This article explores the group coaching model, its benefits, and what to consider when setting up and running a program.

What Is the Group Coaching Model?

Group coaching is a powerful and effective coaching technique for working with people to improve their health, wellbeing, personal strengths, self-efficacy, leadership qualities, team building, and beyond (Armstrong et al., 2013; McDowall & Butterworth, 2014).

Coaching in organizations has become increasingly common over the last couple of decades, with human resources and organizational development teams (and external consultants) expected to deliver coaching support on an almost daily basis.

Aside from the cost savings, professional group coaching has many benefits, not least is the ability to strengthen team bonds and improve awareness of the decisions made within a broader structure (Anderson, Anderson, & Mayo, 2008).

However, despite research findings suggesting that organizational interventions are best delivered at a group level rather than individually, most companies continue to coach one-on-one (Brown & Grant, 2009).

To effect real change in any organization, both individuals and groups must have a good understanding of the organization and systemic awareness, recognizing that individual decisions can have broad impacts. Attending sessions with peers can open the individual to awareness of that bigger picture.

Group life coaching for the individual (rather than a business) can safeguard your position as a coach while being beneficial for the client. After all, many coaches end up leaving the field or becoming burnt out because they cannot make sufficient money or find enough clients (Rivera & Rivera, 2019).

So, what is group coaching?

It is useful to distinguish between team and group coaching. The former relates to individuals working closely together as a single entity toward a clear and shared goal. The latter, group coaching, involves any group of individuals; they may not know one another and may differ in their needs and ultimate aims (Brown & Grant, 2009).

Group coaching involves one or more coaches and two or more individuals.

While the aim of coaching is typically to effect change in individuals, group coaching has the additional challenge of handling group-based dynamics by putting in place interpersonal and rapport-building skills (Brown & Grant, 2009).

There may be clear differences between one-to-one coaching – sometimes referred to as dyadic coaching – and group coaching, but at times the two can be combined successfully. It may prove useful or even necessary to switch between approaches as the situation dictates (Anderson et al., 2008).

For example, when a specific need arises or something is proving too personal to discuss in a group setting, a one-to-one intervention may be more appropriate.

However, there are instances when group coaching is preferred. Within an organizational setting, group coaching can promote team building and improve leadership effectiveness (Hackman & Wageman, 2005; Goldsmith & Morgan, 2000). Besides, it is more effective when primarily performed by an internal coach, such as a member of the team or team leader, rather than a parachuted-in consultant.

Broadly, the literature supports the idea that a systemic approach enables organizational development. Group coaching can overcome organizational resistance to change by rising above the focus on an individual’s goals and instead encouraging corporate thinking (Brown & Grant, 2009).

And there is value in reaching a consensus within group settings and listening to a range of voices and differing opinions.

However, group coaching must overcome some crucial challenges to be effective, such as consent and willingness. High-performing teams will not be created if staff attending and participating are under duress. It is worth knowing whether there are valid reasons behind a lack of enthusiasm; perhaps there is uncertainty regarding future career prospects, restructuring, or a resistance to change (Kets de Vries, 2005).

Individuals may also have concerns regarding openly discussing personal feelings or issues in front of peers.

For these reasons and others, such as existing tensions within groups, group coaching can be challenging and requires highly skilled coaches to have a chance of effecting permanent and positive change. Therefore, coaching at a group level is most appropriate when its goal closely aligns with those of the attendees.

Individual customers entering group coaching are likely to be highly motivated to engage and implement new learnings. They are paying to find the coaching knowledge and tools to move forward in a particular direction and have made a personal financial commitment to change.

How to structure a group coaching program Model

As you consider how you’ll structure your group coaching program, it’s important to be aware of your options. Most group and team coaching follow one of three models:

• The cohort model
• The program model
• The membership model

All three allow you to offer advanced coaching that makes a difference in your clients’ lives. But each requires a different level of time and attention from you. Let’s take a look.

The cohort model

Cohort-based coaching is most similar to a traditional classroom experience. Members sign up in advance, and everyone starts on a chosen date together. This means that all of the attendees will experience every step of the program at the same time from beginning to end.

The cohort group coaching model is ideal for first-time coaching programs or complex topics that students need lots of guidance with. It’s also a great way to run a pilot program and determine how receptive your ideal audience would be to such an offer.

Ordinarily, the cohort model involves some technical setup and management. You’ll need to build a product launch. And you need to be able to provide live training sessions, a training portal, and a membership area where students can engage with one another.

Note: With Kajabi, this process is both easy and intuitive. We’ll show you how to set up this type of program in just a minute.

Since the cohort-based model relies on live coaching sessions, it makes sense to adopt this model in a way that fits your schedule. This may help you determine the program’s length and schedule.

The program model

The program model is an evergreen, low-touch coaching program that runs for a specified length of time. Clients can sign up at any time and the content is drip-fed to them on a predetermined schedule. It begins when a client subscribes and ends when the last lesson is delivered.

Normally, this type of program is anywhere from 8 to 12 weeks long. There may be a limited enrollment period in which users can sign up, giving the impression of a limited-quantity offer. Scarcity helps spur sign-ups, which makes this a popular program model for group coaching.

Like cohort-based coaching, the program model requires an advanced setup. But if you already have the core content of your coaching process ready, all you need to do is automate the delivery and you’re good to go.

If you’re not sure how to map out the delivery of your coaching content, Kajabi Pipelines are a great place to start. This premade marketing automation allows you to deliver content to a select segment of people at whatever schedule you set up — all hands-free, without any extra intervention or work on your part.

Most group coaches start with a membership or cohort model and gradually move to a program model after they have a higher number of clients. This automates the program and frees you to create your next program or course.

The membership model

The membership group coaching model is an evergreen program with no hard start or end dates. Clients have the freedom to start at any time and everyone gets access to coaching and training at the same time.

For instance, you could offer weekly or monthly group coaching sessions, with a community and training portal. Each session offers support that you know your members need, but the information may not be presented in sequential order.

This model is one of the most popular options for group coaching, and it’s easy to see why. Not only is there a low barrier to entry, but it’s also flexible and scalable, and it helps you increase your lifetime value per client.

Use this model as an upsell for alumni of your primary coaching program or for people who only need check-ins from time to time. Given that it’s much easier to sell to an existing client, you end up with less work and greater profitability over time with the membership model.

 Solution-Focused Coaching Model

The solution-focused sales coaching model focuses on exploring solutions with the sales rep rather than discussing the intricacies of the problems encountered. The overall idea is that these techniques help the employee to visualize the end destination so that they can construct a guide for the journey to that point.

This goal is achieved by coaches heavily using “present tense” language that frames the goal in a way that it already been completed. Conversely, coaches use “past-tense” language when focusing on the problem as it helps to frame the employee’s perspective as the issue has already been solved.

As a result, the solution-focused coaching model relies on three essential components:

• Powerful questioning: Helps staff to look “backwards” as if they had already obtained the goal
• Scaling: Analysing where the employee is now and differentiating it with where they want to be.
• Imagination: coaches encourage sales reps to envision what would be different if they achieved the goal.

GROW Coaching Model

Developed by renowned business coaches Graham Alexander, Alan Fine, and Sir John Whitmore in the 1980s, the GROW coaching model, seeks to promote confidence and self-motivation in staff to increase productivity and personal satisfaction. As a result, the best way to envision the GROW coaching model is to see it as a journey. The process always begins with a goal (where you’re going), identifying where you currently are (reality), and then exploring the options that will help you achieve the goal (your options.) Finally, all good journeys begin by committing to complete the journey while preparing for obstacles you could encounter on the way (well.)

Let’s explore the GROW model acronym in further detail, including questions coaches can ask to utilize this model best:

Goals (aspirations)

In the first stage of the GROW coaching model, coaches help employees identify what they want to do or achieve. To do this, coaches help staff explore their options by asking future-focused questions, and guiding them to discover a specific, achievable, and rewarding goal. For example, the types of questions you could ask coachees can include:

• “What do you want to achieve from this conversation?”
• “What problems are you trying to solve?”
• “Is there anything we could work on that would improve your work experience?”
• “What are the benefits of achieving this goal?”
• “Will anyone else benefit? In what way?”
• “How would it feel to achieve this goal?”

Reality (current situation, internal and external obstacles)

Once the coachee has a goal in mind, it’s now time for the coach to help them gain a clear view of their current state. As a result, coaches must use exploratory questions with rounded thinking. Overall, the focus is to broaden the coaches’ thinking by considering different perspectives, such as feedback they’ve received in the past. Questions coaches can ask to achieve this introspection include:

• “What action have you taken so far to achieve your goal?”
• “Specifically, what is motivating you toward your goal?”
• “What is stopping you from achieving your goal?”
• “If things don’t change, how will it impact you and others?”
• “What are the main obstacles stopping you from achieving your goal?”
• “How do you feel trying to overcome this challenge?”

Options (possibilities, strengths, and resources)

The third stage of the GROW coaching model has staff determine precisely how they can close the gap between where they are currently and where they want to be in the future. To achieve this, coaches can prompt coachees with questions like:

• “What’s the ideal solution?”
• “What are your other options for achieving this goal?”
• “Is there anyone you could get a different perspective from?”
• “How have you navigated similar problems before?”
• “What else could you do?”
• “What are the pros and cons of each option?”
• “Do you anticipate any obstacles that may stop you from achieving this first step?”

Will (actions and accountability)

The last stage of the GROW coaching model sees coaches support the coachee in identifying the set of actions that will help them achieve their goal and make a commitment to them. Doing so helps staff to visualize the steps in their process and, therefore, increases the probability they’ll achieve these actions. Overall, it’s down to the coach to help the coachee accomplish a sense of clarity over their future steps and make a plan to commit to them. Questions coaches can ask to achieve this last step include:

• “What’s the first step you could take to realise this goal?”
• “When are you going to do it?”
• “What subsequent actions could you take?”
• “How committed are you, on a scale of 1–10, to fulfilling each of these actions?”
• “Will you need any support to fulfil this?”
• “Who could help?”
• “How would you like to follow up on this conversation?”

OSKAR Coaching Model

Another solution-based sales coaching model, the OSKAR model, seeks to emphasize the progress and positives of your team’s efforts. Like many models, it supports the coachee in understanding how to bridge the “gap” between their current position and future desires. Developed by coaches Mark McKergow and Paul Z. Jackson in 2002, the simple coaching model framework contains five simple steps:

Outcome

The focus of the first stage of the OSKAR coaching model is on coaches supporting the coachee in understanding and verbalizing what they want to achieve from the coaching session. To help open up your coachee, you could ask questions like:

• What do you want to achieve?
• What are some goals you’re looking to achieve?
• What’s the ideal outcome of having this coaching session?
• What do you want to focus on improving?
• How will you know you’re making progress? What will it feel like?

Scale

In the second stage of the OSKAR sales coaching model, coaches seek to help coachees realize and refine their goals into realistic expectations. To do this, coaches use a 1-10 scale and simply ask the coachee to rate how close they are to achieving their goals. For example, coaches may ask questions like: “On a scale of 1-10…”

• “On a scale of 1-10… If 1 is nowhere near and 10 is ultimately achieving your goal, where are you on the scale right now?
• “Where would rate others who are trying to achieve the same goal on the scale?”
• “If 10 is your end goal, what does that look like?”
• “Do you know anyone who you’d rate a 10 in relation to your goal, if yes, why?”

Know-how

In the third stage of the OSKAR coaching model, coaches help coachees identify the skills and resources they need to successfully acquire their goals. Doing so supports staff to explore and analyze their current capabilities to determine which they need to develop. As such, this exploration will help to form a rough plan of action that will help them achieve their goals. Questions coaches can ask to achieve this range from:

• What skills do you need to acquire?
• What topics do you need to learn?
• Do you know what kind of support you need?
• What knowledge could help you achieve your goal?
• What type of resources can help you achieve your goal?

Affirm & Action

In the fourth stage of the OSKAR coaching model, sales reps reflect on their current state and what actions will improve it. The focus in this stage is to help the staff reflect on what’s working well and what they will continue to do to achieve their goal. As a result, coaches will focus on helping to plan out the desired actions the coachee wants to achieve to reach their objective. To do so, coaches can ask questions such as:

• What are you already doing that’s working well?
• What’s effective about what you’re doing now?
• Would you like to change anything?
• What does the first step to change look like?
• What type of actions do you need to take now?

Review

In the last stage of the OSKAR coaching model, coaches help sales staff to reflect on their progress while also identifying areas of improvement; as a result, keeping them accountable for the progression of their actions. In this stage, the type of questions coaches should be asking in the follow-up review session to determine progress can include:

• What steps have you taken to realize your goal?
• Have you done anything differently since our last session?
• What old habits (or ways of doing things) have you stopped?
• How do you feel about your current progress?
• What are you doing that’s new?

CLEAR Coaching Model

A less structured sales coaching model than OSKAR or the solution-focused model, CLEAR coaching is a question-driven framework designed to help individuals achieve transformational change rather than just helping them achieve a specific goal. Let’s explore the CLEAR coaching model acronym in detail below:

Contract

In the first stage of the CLEAR coaching model, coaches start by discussing how the coach and coachee will work together, what the individual would like to achieve from this session and what this success looks like. Questions coaches can ask to determine this include:

• What would you like to specifically focus on in this session?
• What does the outcome of our conversation look like?
• How will you know if you’ve had a good session?
• What can I help you achieve or do today?

Listen

After the contract stage, it’s crucial that sales coaches actively listen to staff. At this point, coaches should be looking for clarity, details, and connections to understand both what the individual thinks about this topic and how they feel about it.

Explore

In the next stage, the facts and feelings of the coachee should become more clear. This allows the coach to start asking probing and specific questions to help the employee understand their emotional connection with their current state – and what they think may need to change to reach another desired state.

Action

The coach now asks questions to help the sales rep consider possible actions, explore how they feel about them and ultimately help them commit to those actions. It’s essential to note that these questions should be helpful but not guide in any specific direction or otherwise help the individual if they cannot think of suitable actions. Questions coaches can ask at this stage include:

• How will you start the change process?
• What do you think could help this happen?
• Is there anyone’s support or resources you may need?
• When will you start working towards this?
• How will you feel once you’ve begun?
• What do you think you need to do next?

Review

In the last stage of the session, coaches review the key points from the session, including a reflection on the contract objectives and their progression. At this point, the coach should ask the employee if there’s anything else they’d like to cover.

AOR Coaching Model

The AOR coaching model doesn’t focus on predetermined goals but rather encourages a trial and error approach to achieving goals. In simple terms, it’s more of an “in the moment” coaching style and allows for fast turnarounds. As a result, it’s seen more as a continuous process that occurs monthly. That’s why managers like to use the coaching model as a competitive tool to allow team members to compare their activities to their team. Overall, the model is ideal for coaches looking to set the pace with their teams which allows extra flexibility to adapt and evolve the process when necessary.

Let’s break down the AOR coaching model further:

• Activities: Refers to the individuals’ activities; this could include: cold calling, analyzing leads’ LinkedIn accounts, cold emailing, qualifying leads, and so on.
• Objectives: These are the set goals for the activities; for example, a sales coach may set the sales rep a goal to make x amount of cold calls per day or week.
• Results: Are the analysis of what was achieved from the objectives, for instance: higher profits per sale, improved profit margins, quicker turnarounds, or lower rates of deferred payments.

FUEL Coaching model

First developed by John Zenger and Kathleen Stinnett, the FUEL coaching model seeks to pair coaches who ask open-ended questions with a coachee, whose function is to analyze their situation, formulate an ideal outcome, and take ownership and accountability for achieving it. Let’s break down the FUEL coaching model acronym below:

• Frame the conversation: by setting the context for dialogue by agreeing on the discussion’s purpose, process, and desired outcomes.
• Understand the current state: by exploring the current state from the individual’s perspective and expanding their awareness of the situation to identify the real issues.
• Explore the desired state: by explaining the ultimate goal and exploring options before prioritizing the suggested methods for achieving this vision.
• Layout a success plan: to identify specific, actionable steps staff must make to achieve their goal. This roadmap for success also includes milestones for follow-up and accountability.

WOOP Coaching Model

Created by German psychologist Gabriele Oettingen, the WOOP coaching model is a scientific strategy “to find and fulfil wishes.” As a result, the coaching theory focuses on how the staff is affected by cognition, emotion, and behavior. The model helps coaches concentrate on the mental contrast between where the coachee is now and where they want to be to achieve their goals. Building this type of dissonance ultimately becomes a prime motivation and momentum for the salesperson to achieve their goal(s). In simple terms, the model helps the coachee identify career wishes and then determines the support mechanisms that will build the roadmap to success.

Let’s explore the breakdown of the WOOP coaching model in more detail:

• Wish: What the individual hopes to achieve.
• Outcome: The specific and measurable goals that an individual will achieve when the “wish” is obtained.
• Obstacles: The challenges that individuals must overcome to achieve their “wish.”
• Plan: The roadmap to achieving the “wish.”

 Five core skills any group coach needs,

1) Creating A Shared Focus and Shared Expectations

Creating a shared agenda and shared expectations are foundational to any group coaching process. Things to establish include:

• What is the common ground bringing the group together?
• What is the focus?
• What areas do the group members, individually, and collectively want to focus on throughout the coaching process?

In a group or team coaching situation, it is even more important to “co-create” shared expectations. With group members bringing different perspectives and vantage points it is important to explore the question “What’s expected?” Get granular together around things such as:

• What people can expect from the coaching process
• What group members’ expectations of each other
• Identifying common theme areas you will be exploring
• Creating shared group agreements
• How you will work together

Questions for you to consider: What questions do you want group members to be in dialogue around to create your shared focus and expectations? What activities will prompt this creation?

2) Goal setting

• Goals form the foundation of any coaching process. In a group coaching setting, individuals will be working on their own set of goals, and there may also be a shared series of goals.
• For many years I have led coaching groups with small business owners. Each business owner has their own specific goals for our work together, such as growing their business or introducing new income streams. Collective goals often emerge when the group size is smaller, for example, all six business owners may also be wanting to work on expanding their social marketing strategy.
• On the peer level, creating shared support for goal focus, achievement and celebration is a key part of, and motivator, throughout the group coaching process.

Question for you to consider: What are you doing to invite a focus on goals throughout the coaching process?

3) Creating Accountability

• Going hand in hand with goal setting is creating a focus on accountability. This is a key distinction between group coaching and other related disciplines such as training and facilitation. A key part of the coaching process is having clients identify the actions they would like to be accountable for session to session.
• Group coaching is a sustained conversation and we should be working with group members around what are their next steps. This also applies to one-off conversations. In addition, many coaches today are also incorporating platforms such as online journaling tools or secure social media platforms to connect group members in between sessions.
• Throughout the group coaching process, each group member may be creating their commitments. Group commitments may also emerge, such as a business owner group’s collective commitment to take action around a marketing strategy. In each conversation, it is important to leave time for each person to share their commitments for the period ahead. Notice how other group members get “sparked” by others’ ideas.

Questions for you to consider: What are you doing to support conversations and a focus on accountability? How are group members able to share their successes and insights?

4) Concise Communication

• Bottom lining, laser speak, and headlining are all key to ensuring that all the voices around the table, on the phone, or web are being heard. Communication can take several forms – verbal, written, and visual. Invite participants to communicate in the ways they find most meaningful. For example, the response to the inquiry “What does success mean?” could be illustrated in many different ways by different group members. For some, it could be a collage, for others a drawing, a story.
• One of the skills I share at the start of any group coaching process is the skill of bottom lining. It is an encouragement for each of us to get to the core of the stories we want to share.
• Just as in business today, concise communication is an art form. In the group coaching process it allows for space to hear from everyone in the group, and also opens the door for other communication to take place outside of the “conversation space”.
• Questions for you to consider: What does concise communication mean for you as a coach? For your team members? How can communication be supported beyond the session? Email? Facebook? Online journaling? Other?

5) Supporting The Group Process

• Finally, masterful group coaches deepen their appreciation and awareness of group process issues. As soon as we leave the realm of individual coaching, and move into the realm of coaching “many” it is important to be noticing what is happening in the dynamics of the group. Tuckman’s group development model including forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning provides an important framework for the group (and team) coaches to consider in their work.

20+ Benefits of Coaching in Groups

There are many benefits to running group coaching sessions (Brown & Grant, 2009; Rivera & Rivera, 2019).

The client can benefit from:

• Shared wisdom of the group
• Working toward common goals as part of a structured, step-by-step program
• Fixed timings that are easier to manage and plan around
• The positive effect of social facilitation (Baron, 1986)
• Increased awareness of psychodynamic processes within a group
• Development of support and trust within the group
• Improved conflict resolution
• Heightened emotional intelligence
• More affordable value

Specifically, as part of structured development within an organization, group benefits can include:

• Development of coaching and leadership skills
• Increased organizational and systemic awareness
• Creation of high-performing teams
• Improved knowledge transfer
• Increased commitment and accountability
• Enhanced capacity to develop and improve the system, services, and processes
• Better team functioning, maturity, and capability
• Sharing of knowledge within and among teams, and across levels and generations of employees
• Fostering a culture of learning and a growth mindset
• Encouraging collaboration and the breaking down of silos

There are many benefits for you as a coach personally and for your business such as:

• Better use of your time
• Increased and more predictable income
• Capacity to reach more clients
• Faster business growth
• Better value for your clients
• Less complicated scheduling
• Possibilities of up-selling to next-level coaching programs

While each coaching benefit is valuable, when combined, they can positively impact individual, team, and organizational performance.

Structuring and Formatting the Sessions

It is crucial to have a clear and complete understanding of the purpose, content, and structure early on in setting up a group coaching program.

Answering the following questions can help:

• How many are going to attend the group session?
• What content do you have already? How do you plan to share it?
• What do the clients expect from the sessions?
• What are the goals of the sessions?

The answers to these questions can inform the planning and design of the coaching sessions.

There are several options for structuring a group coaching program; three are included below (Beene, 2020):

1. Cohort model

Participants sign up in advance, start and finish on the same days, and work through the steps as one cohort.

This approach provides an ideal way of piloting a program before investing further and scaling up. Crucially, you don’t require a large number of clients to get the group coaching up and running.

2. Program model

More common for online training as the clients sign up when they want. The program is over a specified length, starting at any time, and clients follow a predefined schedule.

This model is more technically complicated to set up as you will have clients starting and ending at different times. Coaching is likely to include pre-recorded webinars and videos, combined with one-to-many communications.

If you or your team have the right skills to set it up and are ready with a proven program and a potentially large audience, this is a scalable and potentially financially rewarding approach.

3. Membership model

This approach runs each year on the same recurring schedule and combines many of the cohort and program model benefits.

Clients can start on any of the multiple dates throughout the year, then work with others on the same schedule.

While there is some complexity in setting up, the membership model can be highly scalable online and is likely to attract repeat customers returning for next-level training.

Formatting sessions

Perform research and analysis to understand:

• Pricing of the program
• Duration of each session and overall program
• Number of clients in each cohort
• Recorded, live, or a mix of content
• Level of support outside of each session, including availability for contact and supply of additional reference material
• Ground rules, such as actively listening, attendance, confidentiality, and respect

You must understand your group participants’ goals and your approach to meeting their needs.

Time spent brainstorming and designing your content is crucial and probably enjoyable, but do your research first. There is no point in creating content that is not of interest to anyone.

Interesting Training Opportunities

Many providers offer training in group coaching and other coaching courses.

Find a group coaching course that suits your goals, timing, and budget, such as:

• Group Coaching Basics
  This six-week course offered by Wellcoaches explores how to create and market group coaching and learn the logistics of managing group sessions. Training includes an opportunity to coach and be coached to gain insight into a client’s perspective of group environment dynamics.
• OPEC’s Coaching Certification Program: Group Coaching
  Essential training and certification are provided with this program along with access to a library of supporting resources. There is a particular focus on group coaching’s key elements including establishing trust and emotional safety within the group, creating an engaged and cohesive community, and setting a tone to ensure a memorable group experience.
• Certified Group Coaching Facilitator
  This five-week online course explains the many benefits of group work, along with learning how to plan, create, and promote group sessions.
• Team Coaching Training
  Provided by GrowthOps. This four-week part-time course offers certification and points toward International Coaching Federation credentials. Training covers how to work with organizations to apply existing individual coaching techniques in a group situation and create high-performing teams.

A Look at Group Life Coaching

Life coaching creates a partnership between coach and clients and can help individuals realize their potential.

According to Joel Rivera and Natalie Rivera in The Ultimate Group Life Coaching Blueprint (2019), many coaches end up leaving life coaching because they can’t make enough money and are overwhelmed by seeking paying customers.

The answer is to transform life coaching from a one-to-one process, continually worrying about where the next client is coming from, to a group model.

The following questions can help prompt a clear understanding of what you wish a group to learn and the content you want to share with them:

• How can you deliver a transformative learning experience?
• What is your process? What are the steps and ingredients for leading change?
• How can you break them down into a set of materials and individual sessions?
• What makes you different? What is your secret sauce?
• What are the outcomes that the group can expect at the end of the course?

Life coaching in a group setting can be incredibly positive. Participants take more accountability, are energized by one another, and gain access to invaluable life coaching tools. It is also a valuable opportunity to learn life lessons from the group’s collective wisdom involving networking, brainstorming, and learning from shared experiences.

Leading a life coaching group can be very enjoyable for the coach and offers an exciting (and somewhat unpredictable) alternative to one-to-one sessions.

A Note on Online Group Coaching

Online group coaching is becoming increasingly popular, as it allows the independence of time and location and the flexibility to work around a busy schedule.

Costs are often lowered and financially beneficial for both the client and the creator of the content.

An article appearing in Forbes offers some practical advice that may kickstart your journey to creating a thriving online coaching business (Perez, 2019):

1. Define your income, lifestyle, and contribution goals, such as monthly revenue, hours you want to work, and your legacy.
2. Know your audience: who do you want to help?
3. Understand what makes you different. How are you going to stand out from the crowd?
4. Find a price that offers value for money while preserving your worth as a coach.
5. Start getting your clients now. Use your existing network and start telling them the results you will achieve for them.
6. Scale up your operations to free your time to self-promote, writing articles, posting regularly, and doing interviews.
7. Get help when needed. Experts are out there – use them.

Hot Tips for Group Coaching

I probably design my group coaching model for every group coaching job I take, and I even modify the model in partnership with the group as we are working together.

Step 1:

Define the outcome this group is looking for.

• Share best practices
• get regular help from people in a similar situation
• think things through
• move forward and have accountability partners
• reflect on cases / critical instances in their work
• increase the overall performance of the group
• learn coaching skills by participating in the group

Step 2:

Define basic parameters:

• length, duration, and frequency of the group coaching (e.g. every 4 weeks for 3 hours for 6 months), and number of participants
• facilitator engagement: with or without facilitator/start with the facilitator and move to self-organization
• the input of other participants/questions of other participants or a mix thereof
• accountability and tracking progress
• documentation

Step 3:

Design a process that will work (ok, easier said than done) and refine it as you are going along.

Options for the process are:

• Check-in on progress in plenary
• Deciding on the topics/issues that are going to be discussed
• Presentation of the issue by the “case donor” with or without a facilitator
• Goal setting or identification of the question of the “case donor” with or without a facilitator
• Clarification of questions by the group with or without help from the facilitator
• Coaching of the “case donor” by the group or by the facilitator as the group watches
• Group gives a round of appreciation to the “case donor” (what impresses me….)
• Idea collection or brainstorming by the group (verbally or written)
• “Case donor” defines next steps/experiments / what they would like to be held accountable for next time
• Check-out: each person expresses what they learned and what they would like to experiment with
• Documentation: Each person documents themselves or keep a file of their progress somewhere
• At any point in the process, the “case donor” can be asked to turn their back to the group to not react or switch off their video (in zoom)

Here is an example — I will walk you through the steps.

Step 1: What is the group about?

• A group of 6 emerging leaders has formed to learn to lead their first team. They would like to support each other and also practice their coaching skills while doing so.

Step 2: What are the options?

• Length and duration: The first 100 days as a new leader are most important — so let’s give this group duration of 6 months. They need time to practice and gain experiences between sessions and are busy people — ok, so meeting every 4 weeks sounds good. They are 6 people, and everybody probably has questions to discuss, so 6 times 40 minutes or so, let’s make that a half-day / 4-hour meeting. If that turns out too much or too little, we can adapt.
• Facilitator engagement: Since the emerging leaders do not have a lot of experience in facilitation, it is probably best if a facilitator is present for the first couple of meetings until they have gotten the hang of it.
• The participants want to learn coaching skills and they want help with their first leadership assignment and the unfamiliar territory they are experiencing. So probably it is a good idea to include some coaching of the “case donor” by the group facilitated and helped by the facilitator.
• As they are in a development process together, they will want to have some kind of record of the sessions that they can access afterward: so a joint folder or a “leadership wiki” that they co-create is probably great. Also, it looks like they might benefit from some tracking and joint accountability to make the most out of this process.

Step 3: Design the process

For this group of emerging leaders, we will find a nice snappy name, e.g. “Leader’s Bootcamp” (or whatever fits their culture)

Here we go:

• 1) Welcome
• 2) Check-In and progress made: every leader speaks shortly about what they have learned between sessions and the “case donors” of the last session report on what they experimented with.
• 3) Deciding on the topics/issues that are going to be discussed: Every leader who has a topic presents their issue and the others vote on which issues (maybe 3-4 per session) will be discussed. One of the people whose case is not being discussed will be the record keeper.
• 4) Presentation of the issue by the “case donor”, the facilitator helps the leader to come up with good questions and a great coaching goal (thereby demonstrating coaching skills).
• 5) Clarification questions by the group with help from the facilitator (initially as they might not have a lot of experience with what is a clarification question and what is advice — e.g. “have you tried….” is not a clarification question).
• 6) Coaching of the “case donor” by the group with the facilitator helping the group come up with even better coaching questions (e.g. Group member: “Have you tried…” Facilitator: “How could you rephrase that into a more open question?” Group member: “What have you already tried?”
• 7) Group gives a round of appreciation to the “case donor”. This would be good to create trust and safety.
• 8) “Case donor” defines next steps/experiments / what they would like to be held accountable for next time (I would not ask the group to brainstorm as the first thing people need to do to learn how to coach is tame the advice-monster).
• 9) Repeat with the other topics.
• 10) Check-out: each person expresses what they learned and what they would like to experiment with.
• 11) The record keeper updates the progress log or wiki.

Group Coaching Benefits

In addition to bringing group members relevant new knowledge and a variety of important peer support skills, group coaching improves people’s ability to learn.

Group coaching benefits organizations by stimulating constructive change and an entrepreneurial outlook:

• Encourages the development and improvement of processes, services, and products
• Increases team functioning and maturity
• Integrates professional development and performance
• Develops leadership and management capability
• Builds and accelerates the organization’s learning capacity: shares intelligence across generations and levels of employees
• Breaks down the silo mentality among departments
• Fosters a culture of ongoing learning
• Encourages peer consultation and collaboration
• Optimizer goal accomplishment at the personal, group, and organization levels
• Positively impacts the bottom-line

Group coaching benefits group members by improving their capacity to:

• Promote systems and strategic thinking
• Build proficiency in reflection, reframing, questioning, problem-solving planning, and time management
• Increase dexterity in presentation, facilitation, and communication
• Balance inquiry and advocacy
• Enhance group facilitation and process skills
• Deepen trust and collaboration among peers and across departments as members gain an understanding of the issues, motivations, and intentions of colleagues and stakeholders
• Improve interpersonal support skills: listening, coaching, questioning, and feedback
• Develop emotional Intelligence
• Inspire creative thinking
• Teach how to navigate the white water of organizational politics
• Maximize leadership assessments when 360º surveys are completed before the start of group coaching
• Enhance personal flexibility and adaptability; sanction effective responses to change
• Decrease dependence on experts
• Drive individual responsibility for learning and personal development

Six Key Characteristics of Group Coaching Model 

The creation and exploration of knowledge that leads to new behaviors is the primary goal of Action Learning. These characteristics optimize the learning process:

1. A problem (project, opportunity, challenge, issue, or task

Action Learning deals with actual, important work-related challenges that affect team members mentally and emotionally. The more urgent and significant the problem, the more likely the group’s recommendations will lead to action. Complex and unfamiliar challenges best serve the individual and group’s scrutiny during the work of the group.

• Complex, so that solutions are not immediately apparent; members must explore multiple interpretations and consequences to clarify the root causes and effects.
• Unfamiliar, to help individuals break out of established mindsets. While the person presenting a problem to a group coaching team knows the problem and context, too much familiarity with its difficulties may decrease innovative thinking and the need to challenge assumptions. Finally, the goal (i.e. the solution to the problem) must be within the capability of the team to understand and handle.

2. An Action Learning group, team, or “set”

• Groups are cohorts of individuals that come together to help each other deconstruct, discuss, and resolve workplace concerns. Ideally, they are composed of four to six people who meet seven or more times over a year. The team takes responsibility for solving their problems by generating learning opportunities, building knowledge, and developing individual, team, and organizational skills.
• When these partners in learning have diverse backgrounds, they benefit from a variety of perspectives and experiences. To increase diversity, the team sponsor selects members from various functions or departments, includes individuals from other organizations or professions, and/or involves suppliers, customers, and community members. The overall goal is to learn from and with each other to take effective action.

3. An emphasis on perceptive questioning and reflective listening

• Group coaching tackles problems through an iterative process: 1. Asking questions of the challenge presenter to clarify and specify the problem, 2. Through high gain questions, guiding the presenter to reflect and identify possible solutions, and 3. Taking action. By focusing on questioning and reflecting (rather than on stating facts and opinions or giving advice), participants can stand back and sort out the meaning and implications of their experience.
• Fresh questions reshape underlying assumptions, create new mental models, stimulate discussion, increase interpersonal connections, support systems thinking, and enhance the quality of learning about both the problem and the problem owner.

4. Taking action

• The action of Action Learning begins with reframing the problem and determining the goal, followed by choosing effective strategies, and finally, taking action. (The magnitude of the action taken increases the degree of learning.) Group coaching requires that members have the power to take action themselves, or have confidence that their recommendations will be implemented.
• If the group is tasked only with making recommendations, it loses energy, creativity, and commitment. Meaningful, practical learning occurs when people take action and then reflect on their experiences. Action enhances learning because it provides a strong foundation for reflection.

5. A commitment to learning

• When employees take accountability by solving their tactical problems, the company benefits. As the group becomes more able, the quality of its decision-making and action-taking also improves. The greater, longer-term, benefit, however, is the strategic application of the learning acquired by group members on a systems-wide basis throughout the organization.

6. A facilitator/coach

The facilitator helps team members reflect on what they are learning and how they are solving problems. Through skillful questioning, the facilitator encourages group members to consider:

• Norms for optimizing group interaction
• How they communicate (listen, ask questions, reframe the problem, and offer feedback)
• How they approach problem-solving
• The assumptions that shape their beliefs and actions
• What they are achieving, what they find difficult, what seems easy
• What processes they are using, and the implications of these processes
• The types of questions that work best to clarify and inspire; the insights, themes, and learning (personal and organizational) revealed during the dialogue
• How to prepare for important events and meetings (mental rehearsal)

The facilitator holds the role for the duration of the group coaching commitment. Over time, the group members adapt the facilitation skills and responsibilities so that in the end, they own the process fully.

A Take-Home Message

The group coaching model can be hugely beneficial to both client and coach. While the client can benefit from reduced costs and a shared learning experience, the coach can reach more people and significantly scale up revenue.

Within an organizational setting, it is crucial to achieving buy-in and agreement over a common set of goals. In a personal coaching context, attendance is voluntary and based on a willingness or need to transform. In either situation, trust and intra-group communication must be built early on.

Be clear on how you want to deliver your group coaching program and the value you wish to offer your clients. At both an individual and an organizational level, people are looking to change, transforming their old self or group into who they want to be.

Losing experienced, enthusiastic coaches through an inability to secure a sustained income is a loss to the profession and the clients who are yet to be helped. Considering a move to a group model of coaching may secure your future and allow you to reach more clients, transforming their lives into the ones they wish to lead.