FAQs about Group Coaching

Frequently Asked Questions about
Group Coaching

by Madelyn Griffith-Haynie, CTP, CMC, ACT, MCC, SCAC

Source: Phillip Martin, artist/educator

How does Group Coaching WORK?

A small group gathers by phone, two weeks per month, using a telephone bridge to connect to each other for 90 minutes.

Is this an internet thing?

Nope! You will “come to class” using your phone.

It is not necessary to have a computer at all during any of the calls. These are TeleClasses not Webinars. We don’t need internet distractions during our time together.

The Group meets on the phone over a “TeleBridge,” a type of phone technology which makes it possible for a number of people to call the same number at the same time to be connected to each other (“bridged”).

In addition to the phone number of the bridge, participants are issued a confidential access code (a “pin”) that allows them to join the Group calls each week.

Except for the need to dial the pin number when prompted, Group calls are placed exactly like any other call you place.

SEE BELOW for more detail about how that works
& what else you might want or need

You will have everything you need for the Group as long as you have a phone, a notebook, a quiet place from which to call, and reliable weekly access to a computer — at work, through a friend or friendly neighbor, at school or at a library, etc. (Either Mac or PC is fine)

Everyone DOES have to know how to use a computer, however (unless they have a friend or family member willing to “drive”).

I may need to send you email with mid-session reminders, assignments, weblinks, and/or material in .pdf format.

The Group may want to email each other between sessions, too (opt-in only).

BASIC computer skills are all you need 

As long as you know how to read and reply to email, click to open an attachment, visit this blog and do basic web-browsing, you’ll be fine.

Some of you WILL want to spend some time and focus upgrading your skills and technology during the months you spend with the Group, but that is NOT required (or necessary) for participation.

I do NOT provide computer training or support, nor am I able to provide alternate forms of communication or content delivery.  So if you need that kind of support, you will have to line it up on your own and outside of our sessions.

What will we be covering?

A few Coaching skills, distinctions & a bit of new vocabulary

Specific, brain-based techniques proven to work best for neurodiverse individuals

• Specific brain-based information for a working knowledge of some sneaky Attentional deficits as a result of Executive Functioning struggles in neurodiverse adults
• Coaching tips and tricks for working with & around the 9 particular Challenges most commonly troublesome
• Listening & Languaging differences that will change how you think about your challenges and help your brain disengage from some of the “old tapes” that have been keeping you stuck
• Practical tools, strategies, and “assistive technology”  to help you move forward
  

 

What is the ongoing time commitment?

• TWO Tuesday night sessions each month for as long as you remain in the Group: 90 minutes per session, 8-9:30 pm Eastern (first & third Tuesdays)
• Habit retraining: at least one hour’s focus per week on a habit YOU choose.
• Homework & Reading: no more than an hour each week for most students, frequently much less – targeted to what you, specifically, want to accomplish.

Supplemental activities are readings and exercises for your specific challenges, interests, goals, and the availability of your time.

Even though these activities are not an essential part of the curriculum, obviously, the more time you can commit to activities designed to support your goals, the faster you will progress — and the sooner you will experience the dividends of professional Group Coaching!

 

Will you offer Groups at other times?

Possibly, but only if there are enough people interested in a new Group at a different time.

For example, since England is 5 hours later than East Coast USA, I could schedule a Group as early as 3 pm for me/8 pm for them, as long as there were at least 6 participants ready to jump in.

We’d need 4 more to actually begin, or my time would be eaten up in marketing and admin to keep the Group full enough that I could afford to do the work required to put things together – more hours than the ones I spend on the call itself.

Unfortunately, at low fees, I am limited in how much flexibility I can offer if I expect to meet my financial obligations and keep a roof over my head!  I can only afford to offer time to small Groups who are willing to agree to an increased fee for a longer time commitment than month to month.

If that’s the case – SURE!

The current meeting time works best for most Continental US callers, where interest in enrollment seems to be highest (ending early enough for the East Coast, not starting so early that the West Coast can’t make it – even if they have to call in the second work is over).

Once the group begins, we can see about moving the time earlier or later, depending on the wishes of the members of the Group — as long as I can make the time available in MY schedule.

How does the Group thing work?  What’s the format?

The first hour is most like a class, covering specific information about our monthly focus: areas like time or transition management, working with and around short term memory glitches, organization and clutter management, activation and task completion, and/or any of the other Challenges that impact functionality.

WHY?  Almost 30 years of coaching and training have taught me that it is almost always necessary that some of our time be spent in “content delivery” and explanation.

Our focus will be on skills training and information that is neurological (brain-based) rather than neurotypical psychological ideas (conflicts/blocks/resistance).

Once the Group gets to know one another and we hit a rhythm together, we will use the Socratic Method wherever possible (question and discussion).

You will be able to ask general questions during the first hour, of course, but the final 30 minutes will always be a dedicated Q&A session where you will be able to get personalized coaching.

Group discussion will be designed to foster participant growth, based on the specific individuals in the group and what you are most interested in tackling.

After the first month, and with a bit of guidance from me,
the Group will set its own agenda.

Non-session activities (such as a bit of reading or you-focused homework assignments) will be designed to provide the background for your participation in sessions that are as interactive as your preparation will support:

The more time you spend on homework and background information, the more time we will be able to spend in discussion and coaching.

How does this “bridge” thing WORK?

As I said, in addition to the phone number of the bridge, participants are issued a private access code that allows them to join the Group each week.

Except for the need to dial the “pin” number when prompted, Group calls are placed exactly like any other call you place.

Are there charges for this bridge service?

Only the standard telephone charges currently charged by whatever telephone provider you use. The number of the bridge will appear on your personal phone bill as a regular call placed at that time to any number with the same area code as the bridge.

I won’t pay your phone bill, but this is not “a 900 number” or anything of that sort. I have no type of revenue sharing or discount relationship with the phone or bridge companies — I even pay my own phone bills.

(Compare it to the cost of driving to an “in-person” session, parking your car, the time to get presentable as well as the additional time to get there and back, and you will probably agree with those of us who say, “WELL worth it, and actually cheaper than ‘live and in-person.'”)

Do I need a special phone?

NOPE!  Bridge Technology has been around long enough that most phone types are now supported. I do request that you NOT use speaker mode, because that tends to change the sound of the bridge and to “feed back,” and that you don’t call from a cell phone in a windy or noisy environment (or from your car, unless it is parked).

It’s always best, if possible, to have a “regular” phone on a “land line” as back-up for the first few calls, to make sure that whatever you have works with the bridge line, but if you only have ONE choice, don’t worry. It will probably be just fine!

What about a HEADSET?

A headset is not required for the calls, but if you don’t already have a one (and can afford it), now is the time to buy it.  You will probably want one eventually, and you will be SO much more comfortable and cognitively available without the chronic distraction of holding a phone to your ear while you try to listen and take notes!

If you need to buy BUY one, do NOT go with “blue-tooth” – for now, get the kind that plugs in to your phone if you possibly can.  Blue Tooth technology is still iffy on bridges, and some brands are a disaster. You can try it with a blue-tooth you already own, but until you have time to investigate what others are using (and NOT using!), play it safe and cheap.

Speaking of price – any brand name will do, but don’t go all the way down to the “no-name” headsets from drugstores or discount stores.

If you don’t know “brand-names” – check with a couple of cell providers to see what they recommend as a quality budget headset (ask for price, and keep a list). Then buy anything that seems to be recommended more than once at the low end of your budget.

Until you know what features you need and want, don’t pay for anything “top-of-the-line” unless your rich uncle’s buying it for you!

My experience has been that Hello Direct is pricey, but worth it if you spend a great deal of time on the phone — and that Radio Shack is still iffy (even when you buy something that someone else adores – quality control doesn’t seem to be consistent).

Long-distance truckers use headphones all the time, by the way, so some of the best inexpensive ones can usually be found at Truck Stops, even if you’ve never heard of the brand. (You will be happy to have the back-up some day if you decide to upgrade down the line.)

ONE MORE THING – unless you already know that “in the ear” speakers work for you reliably, you will probably be happier with an over-the-head/cover-the-ears headset WITH a mic on a stick (not the dangle kind).

You’ll be miserable if you have to fuss with the darned things popping out when you talk, smile or chew! (ear canals are unique, and they all change shape when your mouth moves)

What does Group Coaching cost?

Click HERE for a summary of fees and payment options

Click HERE to Enroll

©Phillip Martin, artist/educator

Other Questions?

Ask them in the Comments Section below.
I will update this FAQs Page as new questions become frequent, and will respond to questions posted below.

For more Group Coaching Basics
click sitelinks below

• Introducing Group Coaching
• Group Coaching Details & Pricing
• Madelyn Griffith-Haynie Trainer Bio
• Contact mgh for Info re: Group Coaching and more

• Signing up: Group Coaching Enrollment
• Group Coaching LinkList – ALL Group Coaching related articles

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