Group Coaching is a special form of coaching, which is aimed at groups of individuals who are not natural teams, i.e. who, apart from participating in Group Coaching, do not share specific corporate objectives. These are occasions in which managers can work together across divisions, roles and company seniority.
It is important to clarify the difference between Group and Team Coaching: while the latter considers the team as a single entity, to be supported along the path towards the achievement of a common goal (specifically that of the team), Group Coaching works by exploiting the group of people as a sounding board and “enhancer” of individual learning and change processes (Thornton 2010).
In general, the objectives of group coaching are:
- to build a climate of trust and safety, in which people feel empowered to ask for a direct debate, to ask questions, to express doubts and address critical areas
- to foster the integration and alignment of new recruits within already established teams, supporting mutual knowledge and natural networking;
- disseminate a collective and mutual learning style, supporting each individual manager in his or her daily work, within a shared framework;
- offer opportunities for growth and learning, with the proposal of crucial leadership issues, to be immediately translated into behaviours.
The role of the coach
- build a setting of mutual trust and respect, where everyone feels valued and not judged
- encourage dynamics of individual and mutual learning
- manage the timing and approaches (modalities of the) for discussion
- ensuring that no single individual takes over and that too much time is devoted to non-critical topics
- summarising and reworking what participants have said on a given topic, to close off the discussion in hand and move forward
- give targeted feedback to individuals and the group from a different vantage point
How it is organised
In the initial kick-off the rules of engagement are agreed upon.
A Group Coaching course usually includes four to six group sessions, alternating with individual coaching sessions for each participant.
The benefits of group coaching
The group functions according to what Goleman (2006) defined as Social Intelligence; the ability to create interpersonal connections, which motivate and make one’s action more effective. On the one hand, personal exchange (mirroring) leads to a reduction in general problems such as anxiety and stress; on the other, to the development of soft skills such as flexibility and interpersonal sensitivity, as well as a booster in terms of wellbeing.
