Creative Coaching Circles
A couple of years ago, I was very excited to create one of my first offerings for group coaching: a Creative Circle for folks launching or expanding into creative work. There ended up being three participants and we were going to meet weekly in one of their beautiful art studios. Each of them had a vision and a vague timeline for what they hoped to accomplish with our time together. One was about to start writing a new book, another was thinking of launching an independent business, and the third was making new work and evaluating their income strategy. We planned to meet monthly. The first session was wonderful, everyone connected and built trust quickly. The second session each member began to get even more vulnerable talking about their challenges and what was in the way of their vision. The third session we began taking turns coaching each other to go deeper. That was January, February, and March 2020. You know how this story goes: the world shifted….
The group decided to continue meeting online during the pandemic once a month, but I felt really weird about charging for coaching when everyone had shifted from “visioning” to “getting through”, so I suggested we stop. They refused and counter offered that I should shift from facilitator to full participant and we should keep going. Everyone needed extra support to process and adapt to life within a global shut down. Over the months, and now years - we have supported each other through significant life changes, title changes, job changes, work challenges, family changes, deaths, births, world travel, new homes, new cities, and all the way through connecting about what we are making, what we are learning, what we are letting go of, where we feel shame, where we are digging deep to be better, what is still bugging us, what is finally making sense, and above all, witnessing each other’s growth.
It was from that Circle, and two others that I ended up facilitating or joining during the pandemic that helped me realize how powerful consistent, structured, community support is and how rare it is. Most people seek input and advice from their friends, families, partners, colleagues - which is wonderful, but rarely unbiased. The people closest to us often have strong opinions or impressions of what we are doing, could be doing, or should be doing.
Coaching Circles open up room for reflection and inquiry, but with ground rules. When structured well, they allow for:
- space to be coached and to coach within a group of trusted peers
- safe and confidential space for mutual learning and growth
- bounded accountability for goals or dreams that may not be ready for the public
- reflection, encouragement, motivation, challenge, radical honesty
They often begin through a designed and held space. And in my experience, they then spin off into the wilds of true friendship.
I look forward to launching a few new Creative Coaching Circles this year.
