Ready to get started with your group coaching program?
Once you’re fully prepared to get your program off the ground, you’ll learn even more by actually running it.
However, there is a learning curve so to help you speed up that curve, here are five pitfalls to avoid.
Download Now: The 5 Simple Steps to Set Up Your Group Coaching Program
1# Falling Short of Audience Expectations
For your members, your group coaching program starts with a promise. By the time they finish, they will be able to do something they hadn’t been able to before by themselves.
They’ll have a new way to solve a problem they face. If they finish the program and it didn’t meet their expectations, then it didn’t achieve their goals.
Start planning your group coaching program by focusing on the result you want for your members.
What do you need to teach them or get them to do in order to achieve that result?
Work your way backward and plan the material and activities that will get them there.
2# Lack of Experience
Some group coaches have experience with one-on-one coaching or teaching individuals.
This experience will help, but one pitfall is running group coaching in the same way as one-on-one coaching. You have to learn some classroom management skills in order to avoid this.
Your program must meet every member’s needs.
Your job is to get feedback from them to make sure it’s doing this. Some members are less active than others.
There might be a tendency for some to be quiet while others dominate.
A common piece of negative feedback after sessions is that one person slipped through the cracks and didn’t get their needs met.
Resource: Quick Fixes for 10 Group Coaching Mistakes Nearly Everyone Makes the First Time
#3 Lack of Preparation
It takes a great deal of preparation to run a successful group coaching program.
You have to start by planning out the whole program in addition to each individual live session.
There also needs to be support material and content, as well as activities for your members to engage in.
Another decision is the format and delivery of your program.
You might hold sessions virtually or in person.
You may assign homework for members to do outside of living sessions or additional one-on-one sessions to check-in.
Make sure you spend the appropriate amount of time getting ready.
#4 Poor Communication Skills
In order to work with groups, you need good communication skills.
These are skills you can develop, and you should invest the time and energy in doing so.
This includes:
- Asking open-ended questions that naturally lead to a conversation
- Listening attentively to your members
- Using technology to enhance communication and not hamper it
Assess your communication skills and take it upon yourself to learn some new things if you find them lacking.
#5 Lack of Feedback
Some coaches run great sessions but miss this essential step.
You need to get feedback from your members to see what you did well and where you need to improve.
Seeking feedback should be a regular part of your program and not left until the end when it’s too late to make amendments.
However, at the end of the program, you’ll want to conduct a full evaluation to make sure group members got what they were promised.
Want to learn more? Check out our course. It teaches you everything you need to know to get started with group coaching on the right foot.
