Group Coaching Foundations

$2,700 | Next cohort starts January 2025

Group coaching can be an incredible catalyst for learning and growth, but tapping into the generative capacity of groups requires specialized knowledge and skills. What makes group coaching effective? How does group coaching differ from one-on-one or team coaching? What do coaches need to know in order to be effective working with groups?

This ICF-accredited course in Group Coaching focuses on the knowledge, skills, and best  practices that foster learning and change in peer/cohort coaching groups. Through a combination of supervised practice, evidence-based content, and reflective feedback, Group Coaching Foundations will prepare you to make group coaching an integral part of your professional practice.

The Group Coaching Foundations program is intended for experienced, credentialed coaches looking to expand their coaching repertoire.

In this program you will:

• Discover what makes group coaching a powerful and distinct form of practice

• Learn to skillfully facilitate meaningful learning and change through group coaching

• Experience group coaching as both coach and participant

• Learn how to create an atmosphere of trust and psychological safety conducive to group learning

• Acquire the confidence to surface and resolve interpersonal challenges that arise between group members

• Formulate strategies for incorporating group coaching into your existing coaching practice

• Familiarize yourself with best practices and ethics for working with groups

• Deepen your understanding of the core theories that illuminate and explain the inner workings of groups and group dynamics

• Learn how the core principles of group coaching align with the ICF core competencies

Program Info

Group Coaching Foundations is an experiential program that blends cutting-edge knowledge with supervised practice. Every synchronous session introduces new content to help you think about and navigate group environments in new ways. Integrated group coaching practice sessions provide the opportunity to apply what you are learning and receive valuable feedback in real time.

Details:

• Starting JANUARY 2025

• Thursday mornings (9:30-11:30am ET):

  • January 16, 23

  • February 6, 13, 27

  • March 6, 20, 27

  • April 10

  • April 17 (backup session - used only if another session is canceled due to illness, emergency, conflicts for multiple participants, etc.)

• Participants meet weekly or semi-weekly for 2 hours over a 9 sessions (18 synchronous hours)

• Asynchronous self-study activities: 8+ hours (academic and practical readings, discussion posts & replies, etc.)

• All meetings are virtual

• Cost: $2,700

• Class size is 5-8 participants

• 18 ICF CCEs (13 core competency and 5 resource development)

Session 1: Discovery Meeting

Every journey has to start somewhere! In Group Coaching Foundations, we start by getting to know each other. The Discovery Meeting provides an opportunity to meet your peers in the program, discuss your learning goals, explore the group’s strengths, and answer any questions you have about the program. We’ll also cover the program structure, ground rules, and learning objectives.   

Sessions 2-9: Knowledge and Practice

These 8 Knowledge and Practice sessions explore the core ideas, perspectives, and capabilities that lead to skillful group coaching. You will deepen your understanding of group work and group dynamics, apply what you are learning through supervised practice, and receive targeted feedback to help you grow as a coach.

Asynchronous Requirements

Readings, including one required text: Group and Team Coaching: The Secret Life of Groups by Christine Thornton; other activities TBD

What is Group Coaching?

Group coaching involves the application of coaching principles (such as active listening, meaningful questioning, designing actions, and managing accountability) to small groups of four to seven peer colleagues. It is conducted across multiple sessions which allow experience, relationships, and deep learning to unfold and evolve over time. Unlike team coaching, group members usually share no affiliation outside of the coaching group itself. They are unlikely to work together and in many cases work for entirely different business units or companies. Group members come together to engage a coach in service of individual learning and goals that can be personal and/or organizational in nature.

Groups can provide a fertile context for learning by easing isolation, spreading useful knowledge and ideas, and fostering critical reflection that leads to new ways of thinking about old problems. Group coaching offers participants a chance to observe and reflect on others’ experiences, share their own stories, and form strong bonds through shared experience.

Why do I need specialized training in order to do Group Coaching?

Working with groups requires an understanding of the complex social processes that define and shape the lives of groups. Coaching in a group setting is considerably more challenging than one-on-one coaching and presents different logistical, ethical, and developmental challenges for coaches. A group coach must create a potent learning environment for multiple people, must be able to process difficult feelings that arise for group members, and must create sufficient safety for group members to engage in the risks associated with learning.

The right knowledge can provide a useful road map through difficult territory. Having the ability to understand what is unfolding in front of you and how to respond can take some of the uncertainty out of group work and reduce the chances of inadvertently causing any harm.

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