How to Deliver an ICF-aligned Group Coaching Session?

Question –  How can one conduct group coaching effectively while still maintaining the ICF core competencies?

Jennifer – Just as you would in a one-on-one session. Like one-on-one, in a group coaching session you are focused on honoring the ethics, which means there's an agreement, confidentiality and you've defined the roles and responsibilities of the client and coach.   Also you want to remember that you're not there to give advice. This is in spite of the fact that you might feel like your leadership of the group requires you to give advice.  It may feel as though you have tons of expertise and experience that your clients can benefit from. However, you resist, knowing that true coaching does not include your advice. 

Does that mean some coaches aren't out there giving advice in their group sessions? Certainly they are. It happens all the time. But you know better. So the question is, how do you avoid giving advice so you can still honor the ICF and the principles of true coaching, just as you would in a one-on-one session. You're doing active listening, you're seizing coachable moments, you're asking great questions, you’re not making statements. You're doing ICF level coaching. That means you’re listening and eliciting ideas from the client instead of offering them Ideas or suggestions. And the coaching in a group session is the same all across-the-board. 

Group coaching simply requires bringing your one-on-one coaching skills to a group session and helping them utilize their collective wisdom, cultural influences, ideas, and personal strategies to bust through their fears, stories, or limiting beliefs, plus create actions to move forward and, of course, a system of accountability.

The idea behind group coaching is that you must create sessions around something that all members have in common or a goal that they all want to meet. When they all share a common problem or goal, it’s much easier to help them move forward collectively.