The Power of Group Coaching: Why Transformation Happens Best in Community
I'll never forget the moment during one of my early group coaching sessions when a participant said, "This supportive, safe space that feels like real community is so hard to find these days, yet so special". Everyone else was nodding. That's when I truly understood the magic of group coaching – it's not just about individual transformation, it's about what becomes possible when we witness each other's journeys and realise we're truly not alone in our struggles.
One-to-One vs Group Coaching: Different Paths, Profound Results
Don't get me wrong – individual coaching is incredibly powerful. In one-to-one sessions, we can dive deep into your specific patterns, work through personal challenges with complete privacy and dedicated focus on you, creating a bespoke approach that's entirely tailored to you. There's something sacred about that focused attention, that space where everything is about you and your growth.
Individual coaching excels when you need intensive, private work on specific issues – perhaps processing a particular life event, working through complex family dynamics, or developing strategies for immediate challenges. It's perfect when you prefer to process internally before sharing with others, or when your situation or preference requires complete confidentiality.
But here's what I've discovered after years of both approaches: while individual coaching creates powerful personal breakthroughs, group coaching also creates something profound and slightly different – it creates transformation through connection and community. Often times it’s by witnessing others lightbulb moments, or by having the structured process to move through which keeps everyone marching to the beat of the same drum.
Why Group Coaching Creates Different Magic
When we're struggling with feeling stuck or disconnected from our authentic selves, isolation often compounds the problem, despite how alluring it can be in those moments. We tell ourselves stories about being lost, the only one questioning whether there's more to life than what we're currently experiencing. Group coaching dismantles these stories by creating a space where vulnerability is met with understanding rather than judgment, by others who are willingly there to also be open about their own journey in return.
In my groups, I've watched participants discover parts of themselves they'd forgotten existed. A senior executive might rediscover their creative spark through another member's story about leaving corporate life to pursue art. Someone paralysed by the fear of making a career change finds courage by witnessing another person take their first brave step, chunking up the stages into bitesize, manageable doses of change. These moments don't happen in isolation – they happen because we're witnessing each other's courage and growth.
The neuroscience behind this is fascinating. When we see someone else successfully navigate change, our brain's mirror neuron system activates, literally helping us imagine new possibilities for ourselves. This is why transformation accelerates in group settings – we're not just working on our own limiting beliefs, we're expanding our sense of what's possible by witnessing others break through theirs.
While individual coaching gives you my undivided attention, group coaching gives you something equally valuable: the wisdom, perspective, and support of peers who understand your journey because they're on similar but different ones of their own. You're not just getting coached by me – you're being held and encouraged by a small community of people who you build trust with. Not to mention that it’s the most powerful form of networking there is!
The Beautiful Challenge of Real-Time Dynamics
Here's where group coaching becomes particularly transformative: it naturally brings up the very patterns and dynamics that play out in your real life, but within the safety of a structured, supportive container. Those moments when you find yourself people-pleasing in the group? That's the same pattern showing up at work. When you notice yourself withdrawing or going quiet? When someone does that thing or has that demeanour that really irks you? That's your real-world dynamic appearing right here, in real time, where you can gently explore it while feeling psychologically safe.
I've watched someone who struggles with perfectionism in their career suddenly become paralysed about sharing an imperfect insight with the group. I've seen participants who feel invisible in their personal relationships unconsciously fade into the background during group discussions. These aren't problems to be fixed – they're golden opportunities to meet these patterns with compassion and curiosity. No amount of shaming or blaming ever helped anyone, but that’s what we tend to reduce ourselves to in our daily lives - we’re only human.
What makes this so powerful is that we're not just building an understanding of your patterns; but you're actually experiencing them in the moment, with people who care about you and want the best for you. When your tendency to interrupt or your habit of deflecting with humour shows up in the group, there’s more of an opportunity to pause and explore it gently - whether by yourself until you catch up with me directly, or even within the group if you feel comfortable to share it. What's underneath that impulse? What would it feel like to try something different right here, right now? Would it be horrible - something you couldn’t do right now? Or would it be kind of interesting or productive? It’s all about figuring out what works for you, with the support of the group and me as the coach, holding this container with the respect it deserves.
This real-time awareness creates what I call "laboratory moments" – opportunities to experiment with other ways of being that are also inherently part of you (though it’s probably been forgotten for a while), in a space that's designed to hold whatever emerges. Instead of struggling with these patterns alone, wrestling with unnecessary anguish about why you keep finding yourself in the same dynamics, you get to practise moving through them differently, supported by both the structured content of our programme and the witnessing presence of your fellow participants, who are often more wise than we could’ve imagined at the start of the programme. Perspective, which we will unfortunately lack when it comes to ourselves, is so valuable when we can receive it kindly from our team mates in the group who want us to win.
The Unique Benefits of Shared Discovery
Group coaching offers something that individual coaching, however skilled, simply cannot: the power of shared discovery and group dynamics. When someone in the group has a breakthrough, it creates ripples that touch everyone. I've seen a participant's realisation about their people-pleasing patterns suddenly illuminate the same dynamic for three other group members. These collective "aha" moments create depth and richness that individual work alone can't match. And it’s how we start to play with something different that sparks the magic and liberation in our actual lives.
There's also profound healing in being witnessed during vulnerable moments. When we share our fears, our dreams, and our stuck places with others who respond with compassion rather than advice-giving (a strict rule of mine), something shifts. We begin to accept parts of ourselves we've been trying to change or hide. This radical self-acceptance becomes the foundation for authentic transformation.
The accountability that emerges in group coaching is gentler yet more powerful than external pressure. When you've shared your vision with five, six or seven other people who truly understand your journey, you're not just accountable to a coach – you're accountable to, and supported by, a community that's invested in your growth.
And here's something beautiful that happens in groups: you learn as much from supporting others as you do from receiving support. When you help someone else see their blind spots or celebrate their breakthroughs, you're simultaneously developing your own capacity for self-awareness and compassion.
From Struggle to Liberation: Learning to Be with Ourselves
The structured journey through our four pillars – Clarity, Purpose, The Internal Map, and The External Map – creates a gentle progression from wherever you're struggling right now to a more liberated and grounded place. But it's not just about reaching that destination; it's about learning how to be with yourself differently along the way - in fact, that’s the most life-changing part of the whole process.
When your familiar patterns surface in the group – maybe you notice yourself competing for attention, or shrinking back when challenged, or trying to fix everyone else's problems instead of focusing on your own growth – we don't shame these responses. Instead, we get curious about them. We explore what these patterns are trying to protect or achieve. You practice new responses in real time - because you’re being held by the space I’ve created to help you do just that.
This is where the magic happens: you begin to develop what I call "conscious choice points." Instead of being hijacked by automatic reactions, you start to recognise when old patterns are arising and create space to choose something different. The group becomes your practice ground for showing up more authentically, for speaking your truth even when your voice shakes, for being less tough than you might normally be which can yield meaningful results, for receiving support without immediately deflecting or reciprocating.
These skills – this capacity to be present with yourself and others, to navigate difficult emotions without being overwhelmed by them, to stay connected to your authentic self even when things get challenging – these are the gifts you take back into your real world. Into your relationships, your work, your daily life. Leaders start operating from a more evolved, self-aware and productive place, and individuals start surfing the waves of their life instead of being overcome by the tide.
The 10-Month Group Coaching Programme: A Journey from Stuck to Authentic
My group coaching programme emerged from a simple realisation: the people I work with aren't broken – they're just disconnected from parts of themselves they left behind in the pursuit of external success or in response to life's demands. They're high achievers and busy bees who've climbed ladders only to discover they were leaning against the wrong wall, and sometimes they’re just people who are trying to figure out how to get themselves motivated and on the right track.
This programme is designed for professionals (or just people!) who are experiencing some feelings of emptiness inside. Perhaps you've spent years building a career that no longer excites you, or you’re lacking a sense of belonging and connection to yourself and your future. Maybe you know you want to make a significant change – in career, location, or lifestyle – but you need space to figure out what that change looks like and how to navigate it thoughtfully.
Over 10 months, we create a small, intimate community of no more than eight participants who journey together from feeling stuck to discovering who they truly are and where they want to go. This isn't about quick fixes or surface-level goal-setting – it's about deep, sustainable transformation that nurtures your authentic self.
The programme combines my favourite elements from neurobiology, the Enneagram personality system, breathwork, and cognitive behavioural coaching. We begin with a comprehensive 5-hour "Find Your Purpose" workshop – what participants often describe as "like 10 years of therapy in 5 hours." From there, we explore your Enneagram type to understand how you might get in your own way, and we use breathwork to create space for parts of yourself that have been waiting to re-emerge. And the 4 Pillars are there to ensure we make a realistic plan that deals with the world around you and the world inside of you.
Throughout the journey, you'll have access to both group sessions and individual coaching calls with me, giving you the best of both worlds – the community support and shared wisdom of the group, plus the focused, personalised attention of one-to-one work when you need it.
Your Journey Begins in November
I'm starting a new cohort this November, and I'm already excited about the new community we'll create together. If you've been feeling stuck, if you know you're ready for something different but need space to discover what that is, I'd love to explore whether this programme is right for you.
This isn't about becoming someone new – it's about becoming more fully who you already are. It's about finding your way back to the parts of yourself you've been missing and discovering what becomes possible when you show up authentically in all areas of your life.
Because here's what I've learned: we don't transform in isolation. We transform in connection, in the beautiful mess of being supported by another human being (or several human beings!). And sometimes, that's exactly what we need to find our way home to ourselves.
To learn more about the November cohort or to book a chemistry check conversation click here.
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