Group coaching
Group coaching is coaching delivered to several people at once, usually around goals they share, with a coach leading the group. Jennifer Britton and Anthony Grant have written about it in organisations, and a peer-reviewed paper describes a pilot group programme. No controlled outcome study of group coaching turned up in the sources checked for this page, so its effects are not established.
What it is
In group coaching, a coach works with a small group of people, each of whom brings a goal or a current challenge. The group learns from one another's situations as well as from the coach. Britton describes group and team coaching as ways of expanding coaching in organisations, to scale it, build capacity and reduce silos.
Brown and Grant's 2010 paper moves from the GROW framework toward a group model. The sources found do not describe one standard session, so the steps below are a general outline drawn from the group coaching sources, not a published protocol.
Where it comes from
Brown and Grant (2010) set out theoretical issues and a practical model for group coaching in organisations, moving from the GROW framework to a group format.
Britton (2015) describes group and team coaching, based on research undertaken while writing two books on the subject, including more than two dozen interviews with coaches. O'Connor, Studholme and Grant (2017) report lessons from a pilot group coaching programme in a large Australian public healthcare organisation.
The principles underneath
A clear goal focus
In the pilot programme O'Connor and colleagues describe, a clear and explicit goal focus was one of the main themes from both coaches and participants.
Preparation and structure
The same pilot's themes include solid upfront preparation and communication, and a group process structure.
Sponsorship and follow-up
The pilot's themes also include explicit programme sponsorship, follow-up, and making sure the right people are genuinely engaged.
How a session runs
- Before the group meets, the coach and the sponsor agree the goal, who is in the group, and what each person is committing to.
- The coach opens the session by inviting each person to say where they are with their goal.
- Members take turns to bring a current challenge, and the group asks questions in turn to help that person think it through.
- The coach keeps the structure, returns the group to the shared goal, and steps back when members can answer for one another.
- Each person leaves with one action, and the group checks progress at the next meeting.
When it tends to fit
- Several people in a team or organisation are working toward similar goals, and would learn from hearing how others approach them.
- You want coaching to reach more people than one-to-one sessions can, and you are willing to share the time.
- You are new to a role and want to learn from peers facing similar problems, alongside a coach.
What the research shows
Evidence: Some peer-reviewed studies
Group coaching has a small set of peer-reviewed papers, but no controlled outcome study that this page found. Brown and Grant (2010) propose a theoretical and practical model for group coaching in organisations. Britton (2015) describes group and team coaching, based on research and interviews with more than two dozen coaches. O'Connor, Studholme and Grant (2017) analyse transcripts from a pilot group coaching programme in a large Australian public healthcare organisation, and report qualitative themes rather than measured results. Theeboom, Beersma and van Vianen (2014), a meta-analysis, examines the effects of coaching on individual-level outcomes in organisations. Its title does not indicate that group formats were analysed separately.
Where the evidence is thin: The one peer-reviewed study of a group programme is a qualitative pilot. The sources found do not establish group coaching's effects on goal attainment, wellbeing or performance. The meta-analysis concerns coaching in general, and its results are for individual-level outcomes.
Sources
- Brown, S. W., & Grant, A. M. (2010). From GROW to GROUP: Theoretical issues and a practical model for group coaching in organisations. Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 3(1), 30–45.
- Britton, J. J. (2015). Expanding the coaching conversation: Group and team coaching. Industrial and Commercial Training, 47(3), 116–120.
- O'Connor, S. A., Studholme, I., & Grant, A. M. (2017). Group coaching in a large complex organisation: Lessons learnt from experience. International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring, 15(2), 1–16.
- Theeboom, T., Beersma, B., & van Vianen, A. E. M. (2014). Does coaching work? A meta-analysis on the effects of coaching on individual level outcomes in an organizational context. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 9(1), 1–18.
Where it stops
Group settings are not confidential in the way one-to-one coaching is. People should agree what is shared before they start, and some personal matters are better taken one to one or to a professional.
The research base is small and mostly descriptive. The pilot's findings come from transcripts of participant and coach responses, and they describe one organisation. They may not carry to another.
A group can pull someone to share more than they want. A coach should be able to pause that, and anyone in crisis, grieving or struggling with their mental health should be referred to a qualified professional.
Practices for this approach
- Tuckman’s Stages of Team Development
Why every team hits turbulence — and what to do at each stage
- The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Made Practical
Lencioni’s pyramid — the mechanism behind each dysfunction and the practice that fixes it
- Psychological Safety in Teams
What psychological safety actually is, how leaders build it, and where the evidence is real
- The GROW Model: Coaching Conversations That Actually Move People
Goal, Reality, Options, Will — the four stages of a coaching conversation that builds ownership