W HAT ’ S IT LIKE TO BE COACHED IN A GROUP By Sharon Gordon 16 January 2014

W HY G ROUP C OACHING ? It’s an area that interests me and I wanted to find out more: In my quest to learn more I discovered that not much was written about group coaching as there was about one-to-one coaching. Quite a lot of data on groups and how they work: We all live in groups – Douglas (2000) in his book Basic Groupwork suggests that individuals can use their experiences in groups to assist them to understand what goes on in group situations. ‘group coaching exists along a continuum of group processes, including training (workshops, retreats), facilitation, and other group processes’ (Britton, 2010, p. 7). I found that the focus tended to be on the coach not the coachee’s experience. Would benefit the coaching profession and other key stakeholders/interested parties if more was known about the experiences of those who have undergone the phenomenon. 2

M Y A PPROACH Interpretative Phenomenological Anaylsis (IPA): An insight into how group coaching is perceived by participants. Investigating and interpreting how individuals make sense of their experiences. 5 participants – 4 from the same programme. Semi-structured interviews so ‘concepts and theories can emerge out of the data’ (Bryman, 2012, p. 12). Questions framed around participants’ group coaching experiences. 3

M Y F INDINGS Three themes emerged Readiness for group coaching: Position in life. Expectancies of the group coaching process. Participation and commitment. The importance of the Coach: Role of the coach. Qualities/skills of the coach. Benefits from the process: Change. Learning. Communication. Cohesiveness. 4

C ONCLUSIONS Group coaching is a partnership arrangement where the coach, coachee and group as a whole are signed up to the process through shared purpose and commitment. Study would benefit coaches working with groups as it gives an insight into how coaching is experienced by the coachee, thus, I would agree, increasing the likelihood of a successful group coaching intervention. More research is needed perhaps using different cohorts, methods, tools and an increased timescale. 5

L ESSONS L EARNED Make sure the topic you choose is actually of interest… Start early (I wish I did!). Put the work in. Really understand your research methodology. 6

R EFERENCES Bion, W. R (1961) Experiences in Groups and Other Papers. London: Tavistock Publications Limited. Britton, Jennifer A. (2010) Effective Group Coaching – Tried and Tested Tools and Resources for Optimum Group Coaching Results. Ontario: John Wiley and Sons Canada, Ltd. Bryman, Alan (2012) Social Research Methods. 4 th edition. New York: Oxford University Press Inc. Douglas, Tom (2000) Basic Groupwork. 2 nd edition. London: Routledge. Lewin, Kurt (1947a) ‘Frontiers in group dynamics: concept, method and reality in social science; social equilibria and social change’, Human relations, Vol. 1, Issue. 1, pp Lewin, Kurt (1947b), ‘Frontiers in group dynamics II: Channels of group life; social planning and action research’, Human relations, Vol. 1, issue 2, pp Smith, Jonathan, A, Flowers, Paul, Larkin, Michael (2009) Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis – Theory, Method and Research. London: SAGE Publications Inc. 7