Group Coaching vs Team Cpaching – Knowing the Difference Matters for Success

In today’s globalized economy, an organization’s ability to encourage collaboration and improve team synergy is essential. Two high-impact coaching approaches that HR and L&D professionals should consider are group coaching and team coaching. Although commonly used interchangeably, these are different strategies having different applications and may result in different conclusions. In this blog we’ll unpackage the distinctions between group coaching and team coaching, outline some of the challenges each modality tackles and highlight messages about when to shift into one or other approach. For a visual overview check our Leadership Guide.

It’s all about Performance in the end

Modern-day offices often suffer from miscommunication and a lack of alignment that inhibits performance. HR is constantly under the gun to achieve results, juggle priorities with conflicting needs and create a supportive work environment. One in three workers (34%) employees in the EU are engaged at work according to Gallup. This tendency is often amplified through unclear job and role definition, poor leadership, lack of trust within the team.

Both team and group coaching offer solutions to these challenges, meeting the needs of employees and organisations at various levels. However, the differences need to be known in order to utilize them effectively.

Consequences of disregarding coaching modalities

When you don’t understand what makes them different, opportunities to gain insights, learn and flourish go out the window. Without the right strategies in place, companies risk:

1. Decreasing involvement: You may find that employees are not feeling as engaged in their work and with their team.
2. Leadership fatigue: With little support, leaders can become overwhelmed and burned out.
3. Inefficiency: Miscommunication and job ambiguity can result in delayed decisions and ideas.
4. Inaction: Poor teamwork can inspire inertia in teams, which is not conducive to change and growth, which are key factors for the success of a business.

Five Steps to Better Coaching

1: Gain Clarity on the Purpose of Your Coaching Relationship

The ultimate aims of each modality is what makes the difference. Group Facilitation in group coaching also relates to idiographic development amongst peers, often about personal growth, leadership, and career. By contrast, team coaching focuses directly on collective performance and cooperation between individuals within the team in order to affect team dynamics and goals.

Tip: Determine what you want to accomplish. Is it improving individual skills or building team chemistry? Align your coaching approach accordingly.

Stage 2: Diagnose the Group versus Team Needs

Acknowledging difference in group and team needs is central for good coaching. They’re usually composed of people from different departments or titles brought together under one cause. Instead, we often deal with groups of people that cooperate towards common goals.

Practical Application: Survey respondents to determine what their precision communication requirements are, individually or by team. You will be able to draw on the knowledge and learnings gained to inform your coaching (whether you go down the team route or group).

Step 3: Establish a Secure Place to Communicate

Trust-building is also necessary in both modalities, but with an emphasis that varies slightly. One is that in group coaching, the levels of trust and openness generated by participants to share their stories of personal growth are generally high, and team coaching requires an environment where people feel completely safe to discuss their vulnerabilities, conflicts and challenges without any sort of risk.

Facilitation Tip: Conduct Ice breakers or trust-building exercises to set the tone and warm up.

Step 4: Differentiate Facilitator Roles

There is a difference in the role of the facilitator depending on whether group or team coaching. In the group coaching format, the lab leader serves as a guide that fosters private insights and reflections. On the other hand, he/she should be involved in processes, dynamics and only negative confrontation among members of the team during this way of coaching.

Tip: Before you start facilitating, make sure the participants know your role as a facilitator. Recognize the role that you are playing in driving either self-reflection or team coalescence.

Action 5: Evaluation and Measurement of Results

The results in team and group coaching are very different. Group coaching tends to be a space where peers can increase their collective or individual awareness by working on specific coaching goals or business challenges. On the other hand team coaching is designed to increase collaboration within a group, ideally a team, team of teams or similar, that want to improve their performance as a whole. Assessment of these results is important to determine the role of each modality.

Applied Exercise: Use anonymous surveys or team discussions (retrospectives) to gather feedback on individual and collective advancement.

Real Story

At a tech company that wanted to get better at working together, the HR team introduced both group coaching and team coaching sessions. Group coaching focusing on the development of emotional intelligence and decision-making skills was conducted with the leaders at first. The company did have a ‘team coach’ in place to try and break down silos, working with cross functional teams.

The result? Employee happiness scores grew 30%, projects were completed 20% faster.

As the HR manager put it, “We were amazed at how much our leaders grew as individuals, and this all led to a more agile and aligned team.”

Conclusion

Why knowing the difference between group and team coaching is essential for HR leaders?
Anyone working in the field of human resources (HR) as well as Learning & Development (L&D) is in a challenging position: Your aim is to drive effective leadership, achieve organizational success through talent management, or simply have better relationships within their own business. This is why it is crucial to know how group and team coaching shapes strategic behavior. The right coaching modality has the potential to drive increased employee engagement, better team camaraderie and even tangible business outcomes.

Next Steps

If you’re curious about how to introduce powerful group or team coaching to your organisation, book a short clarity call and we can help identify the best solution for you. Tap into the power of focused coaching and release the untapped potential in your team!