Coaching Circles

Coaching Circles combine the power of peer-led learning with the flexing of in-demand coaching and facilitation skills. Small groups come together over a series of short sessions to explore relevant topics through stimulating content and structured, action-oriented discussion. Coaching Circles are guided by either a professional coach-facilitator, or trained up members of your team.

Different, but good different.

Coaching Circles participant

Core, complementary benefits

How Coaching Circles drive performance

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Connect and develop your team

Coaching Circles provide a safe and social space for managers and leaders to share, discuss and reflect around relevant topics — from diversity and inclusion, to difficult conversations — with accountability for action deeply built in.

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Build your learning culture

All participants sharpen listening, questioning and communication skills; while appreciating the perspectives of their peers. And key team members can benefit from training to actively facilitate Coaching Circles too.

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A library of timely modules for teams

Our partners can access an ever-growing library of Coaching Circle modules, developed with subject experts and on-point to the most relevant challenges of the day. Modules combine topic outlines, curated reading, listening and viewing, discussion guides and key reflection questions to land what's learned. Participants engage with module content before, during and after their sessions.

Timely topics to tackle together

Some examples of what's being explored in Coaching Circles today

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What is privilege? How does it play out at work, and what's my Privilege Pledge?
Are we fully leveraging our values to drive performance?
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How equipped are our teams to have difficult conversations?
GP
What's the last microaggression we experienced and how would we better call it out and call it in?
YW
How well are we attracting and supporting neurodivergent talent?
What is strengths based feedback and how can we provide it to drive performance in teams?
YW
How can the Trust Equation enable us as people-managers?
GP
How well are we set up to onboard into our teams in a hybrid world?
YW
From buddy to boss, what are the challenges of managing friends and colleagues?
What do we make of the SEEDS model, and how might we remove bias from our decision making?
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What do we mean by managing up, and how can we create influence in all directions?
GP
What can Heraclitus and his river teach us about leading teams through times of change?
YW
Are our 1-1s as effective, inclusive and purposeful as they could be?

"Through working together on collective challenges, Coaching Circle participants are able to shift from a problem-solving mindset to a collaborative one — seeing themselves in the service of others learning. This shift has a huge impact on how they then lead, participate and influence within their own teams." Katy Kent, You Can Now Coach Facilitator

How Coaching Circles work

Coaching Circles offer a development space for a group of 5-8 peers to explore a topic of collective interest, reflecting on its relevance to their work and culture — and identifying ways to apply new learning together. Guided by a professional coach-facilitator, or a trained up member of the group, Coaching Circles are experienced over a short series of (typically 90 minutes) sessions, supported with content modules that stimulate and support the conversation through pre-work, discussion guides and reflection questions.

Key principles:

• Coaching Circles are run cross-organisationally, and within teams.
• Groups focus on a topic of collective relevance defined at the outset.
• Topic specific content modules are shared with the group at the outset for collective exploration throughout.
• The group comes together (remotely or in-person) to share and discuss key aspects of the topic through facilitated discussion and reflection.
• Accountability is created among the group for reflection and action between sessions.
• Over the life of the Coaching Circle, participants build coaching, communication and collaboration skills; and the confidence to transfer new approaches back into their teams.

Develop your team through Coaching Circles

Our partners use Coaching Circles to motivate and develop managers and teams — connecting them to different perspectives, and the challenges of the day. Our library of topic specific content modules is added to regularly, with Coaching Circles also curated cross-organisationally. Email hello@ycn.org to learn more.