Covid changed the way we relate and its impact is still felt in our daily work lives.
Patterns have emerged in the way people want to connect for coaching. Four years ago 90% of my clients I met face to face. Now I meet 90% of clients online.
I was cynical that coaching online could compete with face to face interaction and I was wrong. For most encounters with a clear brief and both coach and coachee fully committed to the process, it can work.
However the market seems to offer either one or the other. My findings and those of my associates, is that a blended solution delivers the best and most satisfactory experience.
Ideally we would recommend a first session face to face to explore the client’s desired outcomes and to establish a bond for ongoing online sessions.
Trust is key to any successful relationship and cannot be short circuited in something so personal as coaching. Rapport has to be built before trust can be fully established.
In practise lots of clients now choose to have one 2 hour face to face session followed by 6-8 online sessions of 1 hour. If we want to work on something specific such as time line therapy which works best in a large space and together, we factor that in. Every individual receives a tailored solution but for now we recommend a blended solution, that allows time to build a relationship and in the long term for many busy leaders saves travel time.
For team development there are now a variety of online packages to build teams. Teams that may never have met or are unlikely to do so in the future.
What is our position on this?
It works if you want to share information but very little else.
To build a team you need to build trust as in one to one coaching, yet it is much more complex with all the roles and potential interactions across a team. There has to be some “humanity” in the process. By coming together in person, there is the space and freedom to discuss the team purpose, culture, processes, issues of power and performance. As well as simply getting to know how other people “tick”. Who am I in this team? How can I contribute most effectively? What do I need from others to help elevate the overall motivation and performance of this team?
We know you will be finding your own way through the post covid world of work. We are sharing our findings and would love to hear about your experiences and in particular how you are managing coaching and team development.
All the best