May 30, 2011 in Events, Media Center by admin

Using Group and Team Coaching for Professional Development

By DJ and Barry Mitsch

Executive coaching is becoming more accepted as a professional development tool. Because of the relative expense of customized one-on-one coaching, it is typically offered to only senior members of an organization. But the benefits of coaching can reach all professional levels in a company and be cost effective if offered in group and team formats. Here is an overview of applications for both group and team coaching. Group coaching is an excellent way to be introduced to the power of coaching. In group coaching, participants may or may not be from related entities. A group could consist of managers from different departments, a collection of small business owners, a group of women who share common workplace challenges, a minority group, or a selection of employees from across an enterprise that may have been identified at top talent.

In group coaching, every participant has their own set of goals that they hope to achieve. The coach’s job is to hold the agenda in place so that every member of the group can contribute. The group benefits by experiencing each other being coached, sharing observations and offering challenges, and holding each other accountable for action. The coach serves as both coach and facilitator and must establish a climate of trust and confidentiality for each member of the group to maximize the benefit of this format.

An ideal group size would be 6 participants or less, and groups typically meet an hour each week. Telephonic or web-based meetings are very effective in maximizing time and allowing the groups to be geographically dispersed. The cost of group coaching is less per person than individual coaching as each member of the group shares the cost of the coach’s time. Many organizations are turning to group coaching as a way to develop talent in their lower management ranks or even those who aspire to management but have yet to reach that level.