One of the questions we hear often at The Roundtable is: “What’s the difference between group coaching and team coaching?” Both involve a group of people, and while they seem to be almost interchangeable, there are a few subtle differences between the two terms.
Let’s start with defining what each means.
Group Coaching Defined
We define group coaching as a collaborative approach to coaching often between a small group (6-10) of cross-functional leaders to address situational challenges and facilitate personal and professional development.
Team Coaching Defined
Team coaching is facilitated coaching for individuals who are all aligned and headed to a shared purpose, goal or outcome. Typically, team size is no more than 10 members.
When to Use Group Coaching or Team Coaching
In both cases, individuals are seeking to improve their skills and performance. Here are some common scenarios for using group coaching or team coaching.
Group Coaching
Typically, organizations find group coaching beneficial:
- To support leadership development during times of growth
- To build resilience and strengthen corporate culture after a merger or acquisition
- To help new leaders quickly adapt to their roles
- To build networks and create a climate of inclusion
Group coaching is a strong lever to pull when you want to build leadership bench, foster collaboration throughout your organization or build an intentional, common culture that’s aligned with strategy.
Team Coaching
Team coaching, on the other hand, is used:
- To help build team dynamics
- To improve team communication and collaboration
- To get clear on team purpose
- To accelerate team performance
- To increase individual and collective understanding within a team
In short, team coaching is all about helping a team and team leader get clear on their goals as a team unit, to build trust between members, to help define the team decision-making process and to get everyone pulling in the same direction towards a shared common goal.
Download a handy reference glossary of terms as a quick reference guide.
