Better Teams, Bigger Results: Group Leadership Coaching that Drives Business Growth

For companies, investing in group leadership coaching may seem like a task to check off the to-do list, or a program to implement so you stay current with what your competitors and contemporaries are doing.  However, there is a lot of potential for leadership training to invigorate your entire team and lead to positive results for your bottom line too, when done right.

But first – if you are unsure why you should pursue continuing education opportunities for your team at all, read on!  Many businesses are seeking the exact benefits leadership coaching offers, but do not realize the name for the training can misleading in itself. 

Who is business coaching for, and is it worth it?

Leadership coaching isn’t just for a business owner, or executive – it’s even more important to receive for up-and-coming staff members who are just starting to delegate to others.  It’s for your middle managers who have real experience already, but carry a lot of responsibility for your company.  In their roles, they may be seeing familiar challenges come up for the very first time. 

Even greater than members of the team, leadership coaching is for the person in charge most of all.  As the head of the company, they likely have a tremendous amount of successful leadership experience already, so they may not be lacking in their skills to delegate, resolve conflicts, etc.  But within a group leadership coaching setting, their presence and participation along with their team creates a positive example for their staff to emulate. 

That positive example is a powerful mover for business owners hoping to inspire their teams, as well as create community.  Being present will amplify any message given by a business coach, or consultant, delivering your company’s training, and the success rate in this investment will go up tremendously.

What will leadership coaching help me change?

Here is where we get to the good part!  What does leadership coaching do for an organization? 

If you are a business owner, you are thinking of the time and literal cost investment of such an endeavor when seeking out options and what will both be efficient and WORK.   Without knowing the benefits and what you can get out of leadership coaching as an owner, the allocation of resources will feel skewed, and likely heavy.

What if I told you that leadership coaching for your entire team could help you…

• solve future staffing problems
• increase productivity and output
• make your company a more pleasant environment to work in for your team

…and the one we all want to see:  increase sales and your bottom line?

That is a ton of benefit within a group business coaching engagement, or series for your team, and the value becomes more clear.  If leadership training can do all that good for a business, it is well-worth the investment. 

The reason many business owners do not take advantage of these programs are the same reasons we have ongoing to-do lists as leaders.  Sometimes, there is just too much to do in the “here and now” to stop and take a break to invest in a program like this for your organization.  However, if you are caught in an operations spiral, the churn of sales and attrition going around in circles, or high staff turnover becoming the norm, you are the most in need of the type of jumpstart group leadership coaching can provide.

Here are some ways leadership development can benefit your team:

Improve sales performance with leadership training

Leadership training teaches accountability, clear delegation, and the confidence needed to confidently run a sales desk.  When your sales, or admin team is speaking with a customer, they need to feel like an authority within your organization and speaking on behalf of the brand.  Every interaction is an opportunity to demonstrate who you are on the company-level.

By this logic, empowering your administrators and sales team to embrace their own leadership roles will lead to better sales metrics and persistence.

At the end of the day, the art of sales is about consistency and clarity, which are skills of great leaders.  Your sales team are leading the interaction with the potential customer, or client too, and opportunities to boost the confidence of your team should be embraced.

Leadership training increases productivity and output   

Leadership training should not be exclusive to managers, or senior-level employees.  Instead, group business training is best applied when everyone in the same department – or entire small business – and a mix of position levels are attending.

Of course, there are trainings for only executives and geared towards the highest levels of decision-making responsibility too.  We discuss this further at the end of the article.

The reason bringing your entire team into leadership training is so beneficial is in the community created and helping everyone in the organization feel empowered through this shared experience and benefit.  Great business coaches offer unique insights that any professional can put to use in their career now, or down the line. 

By giving this opportunity to your junior and senior staff, you are showing your team that you care about their future.

For your junior-most team-members – who are often the implementers of strategy, not the strategists – you are providing them with a sense of clear contribution and recognition through these experiences, especially.  This group of rising stars is also the portion of a team who will benefit most from group coaching, as this information is part of a new experience for them.

The result, when implemented well by an inspiring business coach, is a more productive and driven team.  Leadership training will improve their output by giving them a greater sense of task-ownership, as well as a recharged confidence in their work and output.

Let’s not forget about senior team-members and owners, though!  Leadership training can also help them become closer to their teams through demonstrating their ability to be led, their willingness to participate, or their enthusiasm for the information being shared.  At the very least, spending this quality learning time with the team will create a connection point.

Create a positive work environment for your team

Becoming a place of business that feels like a second-home to your team is the dream, but not the most realistic feat.  At the end of the day, you will find that work has to stay ‘work’ for your team in order for them to lead happy, healthy, and rewarding lives. 

However, you should definitely strive to be the very best work environment that can be created.  One that feels comfortable, easy – not free of stresses that are a natural part of working hard towards a goal, but free of toxic workplace stresses that can come up from inter-office struggles (even virtual offices!).

Group leadership coaching for a team allows a window into the dynamic of the group as a whole.  You can learn…

• Who are your stand-out players? 
• What activities and gatherings does your team enjoy? 
• Who are your team-members within the group, and as individuals. 
• What are your team-members’ different strengths and weaknesses?

These insights for a business owner, department head, or executive can be very valuable in directing your team’s efforts to their strongest areas of performance.  You may learn from a training that certain team members are better on the client-facing end, or better with internal tasks. 

When the insights and opportunity to come together are used constructively, there is no limit to the amount of good you can do for the work environment your team experiences.  The key is opening a channel for listening to your group, and leadership coaching provides a perfect window to do so.

The primary benefit of leadership coaching:  learn how to build high-performing teams

For your entire organization, the main benefit you will receive from group leadership training is the opportunity to learn how to build high-performing teams – and in a setting that lends itself to change through good old-fashioned peer-influence (aka peer-pressure, but the good kind).

A company will receive the same insights at the same time during the training, which will improve efficiency with rolling out any new plans in response to the info received.  But even greater, there is a level of accountability added when an effective training is delivered by a third-party source. 

Leadership insights are directed at the individual and creating their place within the whole organization.  This type of training puts everyone on alert with how they can play their own part in increasing total performance, as well as educating them on what everyone’s part should look like to be constructive.  That type of theoretical understanding of a business for all team members leads to positive results and an appreciation for all work that is being done. 

What are the advantages of group business coaching vs. one-on-one coaching?

Both group business coaching and one-on-one business coaching have their specific uses and benefits, depending on the goal.  These are not pros and cons, but rather, a purpose each setting works towards more effectively.  The end-result you are seeking as a leader should dictate which path you select for your organization.

1:1 Business Coaching Benefits

One-on-one business and leadership coaching is best for an individual looking to improve some aspect of their work performance, or productivity.  Like a professional wanting to improve their workflow, work / life balance, or their sales as a solo entrepreneur.

A business leader can absolutely commission one-on-one coaching for their team members too, though!  We see this all the time for organizations that need personalized attention and strategies for different individuals, or a portion of employees. 

The closed-setting can be very beneficial when skills of focus could cause unwanted attention and even embarrassment for a team member, or if the help is too personalized for a group setting for any reason.   

It could be that the areas of concern are so varied for each team member needing business coaching that having one-on-one trainings ensures personalized attention can occur too.

Group Business Coaching Benefits

By contrast, group business coaching opens up a new layer of perception and possibility within an organization that is a totally separate benefit from the coaching itself.  The combined training allows team members to align with a single objective in mind and listen to a single voice. 

When you are looking to bring a group of people together to work in harmony, they need to train together too.  Referencing the same guidance, and seeing the different interpretation and take-aways one another received from the session(s) gives a team a new way to learn how each other thinks and operates.

This shared experience – whether good, or bad, honestly – gives your group the chance to build community and a sense of validation around their own experiences.   Not having this community established and no sense of shared responsibility will lead to disjointed teams and a mission that is interpreted differently between each individual.

Group training allows for a single perspective to come into focus that your staff can rally behind and maintain as their purpose each day.  That sense of identity can only be generated when an individual understands how they fit into the big picture, and a perfect opportunity for this insight is created when you bring everyone together for education. 

How group leadership coaching improves team performance – in summary

There are tremendous benefits to group leadership coaching to all individuals within an organization, regardless of the level of their position.  In every role, some degree of leadership is needed. 

By equipping your team with leadership skills they can apply to their ‘piece of the puzzle’, you create a driven environment filled with individuals who have the opportunity to see and appreciate the value in what they do for the whole operation.   Essentially, you have a company full of leaders who want to take accountability for their work — and isn’t that the dream?

Bringing your team together for group business coaching helps with creating synergy and connection between team members too – especially those who do not work together regularly.  Appreciating each other and the unique contributions that make a company run is where teamwork starts.  This shared understanding of each-others’ experiences leads to more conscientious work and better collaboration.

Outside of group leadership, or business training, bringing your team together for events and gatherings that have no work agenda are the most powerful opportunities to bond as fellow people.  Creating community does not have to be a drag – it can be fun too!

On top of business coaching, consider the potential of hosting an event as simple as a pot-luck for your team, or each department of your company.  There are also picnics, outings, and even dinners!  

Your call to action for business development – a unique goal for leaders

Would you like to build a stronger, more united team for your organization?  Contact us to learn more about our group leadership coaching, as well as our full menu of coaching and business development services.