Leveraging group coaching to develop effective and humane leaders

Abstract

Given the tumultuous state of the world, the need for strong leaders to navigate the escalating instability and uncertainty has never been greater. Leadership development is a priority in organisations worldwide and takes many different forms – from “traditional” training programmes to more personalised engagements, such as coaching and mentoring. Group coaching has been attracting increasing attention in the leadership development space, although relatively few studies have set out to (empirically) measure its effects from an organisational perspective. Essentially, group coaching is a facilitated approach to learning, where a coach guides the members of a group (coachees) in developing greater self-awareness, better understanding organisational dynamics, improving their interpersonal skills, Abstract and enhancing their ability to influence and lead others. At the heart of the group coaching approach is the concept of “peer coaches”, where each group member contributes to the learning experiences of other group members by sharing opinions and practical insights, participating in interactive sessions, and providing candid feedback. This white paper first positions group coaching within the context of leadership development. It then discusses an empirical study that set out to determine the effects of group coaching on participants in the Gordon Institute of Business Science’s Leading Women programme. The learning points arising from the study – some expected and some surprising – could be valuable to others considering using group coaching to address organisational and/ or personal goals and challenges.