Group Coaching: Fostering connection and belonging — ASN Events
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  3. Group Coaching: Fostering connection and belonging

Group Coaching: Fostering connection and belonging (#132)

Stephanie McCarthy 1 2
  1. University of East London, London, United Kingdom
  2. Fraser Health Authority, Surrey, BRITISH COLUMBIA, Canada

As organizations consider ongoing remote and hybrid working arrangements, a critical need exists to determine mechanisms which strengthen connection and wellbeing in the workplace. It is proposed that group coaching is one medium organizations can adopt to enhance wellbeing and a sense of belonging which ripples beyond the coachees (O’Connor & Cavanagh, 2013, 2017). Recent research demonstrates that coaching groups can be significant in increasing wellbeing (Nacif, 2021; McCarthy & Ertubey, 2021), where high-quality connections (Dutton & Heaphy, 2003), positivity resonance (Fredrickson, 2016), and therapeutic factors (Yalom & Leszcz, 2020) are instrumental facets of group coaching and help foster bonds across multiple domains. 

The practice and advancement of group coaching is impacted by a lack of conceptual clarity, including diverse processes and methodologies utilized in extant research (O’Connor & Cavanagh, 2017), thus presenting difficulties for practitioners to implement interventions informed by empirical research.

This presentation will highlight how to structure and design group coaching interventions that create the conditions for connection and belonging to emerge.  Design and interventions are independent of the focus and learning outcomes of the group coaching. Participants can expect to learn:

  • How belonging and connection emerge in group coaching.
  • Group coaching practices, including design, coaching methodologies, and group composition, which foster trust, connection, and belonging.
  • Interdisciplinary phenomena, including group processes, which arise in coaching groups and contribute to relational outcomes.
  • Implications for practice.

The presentation builds on the researcher’s graduate research exploring group coaching and positive relationships as well as extensive leadership development and coaching practice. The presenter will draw upon their experience running coaching groups among diverse populations in higher education, mixed-organization groups and, most recently, with senior leaders in healthcare.

  1. Dutton, J. E., & Heaphy, E. D. (2003). The power of high-quality connections. In K. S. Cameron, J. E. Dutton, & R. E. Quinn (Eds.), Positive organizational scholarship: Foundations of a new discipline (pp. 263-278). Berrett-Koehler.
  2. Fredrickson, B. L. (2016). Love: Positivity resonance as a fresh, evidence-based perspective on an age-old topic. In L. F. Barrett & J. M. Haviland (Eds.), Handbook of emotions (4th ed., pp. 847-858). Guilford Press.
  3. McCarthy, S. & Ertubey, C. (2021). Understanding relationships in group coaching for leaders working remotely during COVID-19: An interpretative phenomenological analysis. Manuscript submitted for publication (copy on file with author).
  4. Nacif, A. P. (2021) BeWell: a group coaching model to foster the wellbeing of individuals. International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring, (S15), 171-186. https://doi.org/10.24384/t7td-p612
  5. O'Connor, S. & Cavanagh, M. (2013). The Coaching Ripple Effect: The Effects of Developmental Coaching on Wellbeing across Organisational Networks. Psychology of Well-Being: Theory, Research and Practice, 3(2), 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1186/2211-1522-3-2
  6. O'Connor, S. & Cavanagh. M. (2017). Group and Team Coaching. In T. Bachkirova, G. Spence & D. Drake (Eds.), The Sage Handbook of Coaching (pp. 486-504). Sage Publications Ltd
  7. Yalom, I. D. & Leszcz, M. (2020). The theory and practice of group psychotherapy (6th Ed.). Basic Books.
  • Please select up to 3 keywords from the following list to best describe your submission content: Business and Organizations, Coaching, Relationships
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