Hi Amber,

The last couple of days we explained how to open your sessions and then get people to share. We'll get back to that soon.

But today a great coach I know asked a very subtle and important question about how to deal with the energy drain of LEADING Group Coaching sessions... so I was inspired to share our insights with you right away because it's such an important topic.

She told me that she came to our Live Workshop which immediately boosted her confidence (yes!!) so she courageously created a group session using what she learned and it went really well.  First off, way to go with speed of implementation and being Action-Oriented!  Can we all just LOVE and ADMIRE her right now for that!?  :-D

(BTW, just about everything that we teach can be used immediately in your NEXT session, so start USING it! Try it! GO!!!!)

She also shared with me that delivering her group session took so much energy output and intensity that she got a headache and then had to clear her schedule the next day.  This can be really common at the beginning of the journey because a really connected leader of group coaching deeply feels the energy in the session, and holds space for ALL the participants, regardless of the group size.

We discussed how different that is compared to individual 1:1 coaching.   There's a higher intensity energy output because you're creating a sacred space for many, simultaneously.  And of course you want to deeply serve ALL of them.  (Using our techniques really helps you do that!)

But you still need to summon the ENERGY for your people!  Just like performing music on stage, it takes time and reps to build up the muscles to exert that level of power output and sustain it for an entire session, especially if that session isn't short.

What I told her is that she needs to start addressing this in the DESIGN of her session! (That's the first D of our core framework, The 3Ds of Group Coaching).   She should design not only for her group members, but for HERSELF too!

The next level for coaches leading groups is for them to know their own energy needs and design that into sessions intentionally.  But how do you do that?  Examples will be helpful, so here are some quick and easy ways to significantly ease the energy burden for YOU as you deliver your sessions:

1. Take the extra time to DESIGN activities that give YOU energy.  This includes your session arc and the individual session activities.
2. Design some participant activities that give you a breather, and use that time to breathe and center yourself. Predict when you might need them.
3. Create an activity using breakouts.  When you send your participants into breakouts, stop the recording and energize yourself: get up and move your body, drink water, breathe, meditate, or pet your dog.  You can turn your video off for a moment since your participants are busy focusing!  (But don't walk away!!)
4. Convert your teaching segments into group teaching segments like we do, because interactive experiential learning is usually more effective anyway. Then the pressure isn't on YOU to do all the teaching... let your group share their insights.
5. If you're doing the teaching, then consider using a screen share or a slide so people are looking at your screen instead of you.  Then you can turn your video off for a bit, so that you lower the performance pressure.
6. Play a prepared video for your group.  Use the time to center yourself and release tension and pressure on YOU.
7. Schedule decompression time immediately after your session.
8. Get your group to appreciate, share or acknowledge what they're learning or what's valuable.  When you receive validation in the session, it helps your energy by giving you a boost of confidence.  You don't have to wait until the end, when you'll execute our ALIVE! Ending wrap-up method that captures that anyway, because you may need that sustenance during the session.
9. Pay attention and stay aware of your own energy during the session then insert an easy-to-execute deep breathing exercise on the fly.   Don't worry about sharing that you need it too!  Participants will appreciate your vulnerability.  Example:  "OK...  Let's pause...  Let's take a minute to do a breathing exercise right now.  I know some of us, like me, could use that right now.  Everyone close your eyes and breathe deeply and slowly for a few breaths.  It will take about a minute, and I'll let you know when to come back.  Stay present to yourself in this moment.  Let's start now."  Come back when YOU are ready... your participants benefit too because they're more grounded, and they benefit again because YOU can serve them better, PLUS they'll be paying more attention.  A break can INCREASE the learning, because oftentimes, Less Is More

Please reply and let us know which of the 9 methods above was your favorite, or can you reply with something that YOU would do that we didn't list?  We might elaborate more about these in the future.

We teach that awareness of your own energy is a critical skill.  In total transparency it's something that even we forget to do, but we are getting better with every rep, and so are our group members as we learn together faster.  The best way to get better at this is to join us in session to see how we do it... but also you need to PRACTICE it, so DESIGN it in then practice the reps for yourself!

When you do that, you significantly increase the likelihood of creating a GATE for your participants.  GATE = Group + Authentic + Transformational + Experiential.  When you work with us, our promise is to help you make every single session into a GATE for your members to have breakthrough after breakthrough, every single session.

Sending you Virtual Hugs,

Daniel (& Rob)

P.S.  If you want to go deeper, join us for The Surefire Group Coaching System 6-Week LIVE Training & Coaching Experience coming soon, with experiential coaching and training.  You transform as a participant, you learn as a coach, you're supported in a community, and you get all the templates, session plans and resources on our best tools.  groupcoachmagic.com