I had a major aha moment last week related to walking the walk of my own talk.  It was very interesting and I thought I'd share.

"Record everything, everything, everything!" That's what I tell my community of learners and I do a pretty great job of doing that myself.

"Transcribe everything, everything, everything!"  Usually I do pretty well with this part. too.

However…

I was writing a blog post the other day and it was taking me much longer than usual to write.  I would think of what I wanted to say, type it on the page and keep going from there.  After a few minutes, I realized my thoughts related to the post were things I'd said recently on one of my calls with Mastery candidates.  It was a fairly new call so I hadn't had it transcribed yet.

Through the experience of rewinding my brain, I realized I was actually reinventing the proverbial wheel by trying to capture those thoughts and memories that were so brilliant for me during the Mastery call.

If the transcript of the call had been complete, the blog post would've been finished in short order — a little bit of cutting here, with some pasting there, add a picture or two, and the post would've been finished.

I've actually used transcripts from Group Coaching in 33 Minutes as the foundation for my upcoming book.  How kewl is that?

Don't transcribe a thing!  It's just not worth the expense or the time, right?

Here's the lesson for you:  Transcribe everything, everything, everything so you can repurpose that delicious "in the moment brilliance" for blog posts and so much more.  That is all.

Wendy Y. Bailey - Master Certified Group Coach

Wendy Y. Bailey is a Master Certified Group Coach, Certified Experienced Coach and Certified Neuro-Linguistic Programming Practictioner. Affectionately called "WendyY" by her business associates, colleagues and friends, she's also the Creator and Founder of Group Coaching Mastery - Master Group Coaching with an NLP Twist. WendyY helps coaches, speakers and trainers learn to create, design, market, fill and deliver bestselling group coaching programs using Neuro-Linguistic Programming (persuasive marketing, language skills and influence strategies.) More about Group Coaching Mastery programs

Last weekend, I saw the movie, It's Complicated.  It was sidesplitting hilarious, heartwarming and poignant all at the same time.  A divorcee of ten years steps out of her very tidy and perfect comfort zone and experiences a few adventures and new discoveries.

The movie made me think about how important it is to step out of your comfort zone when you're delivering your group coaching programs.  It means you have to shed your inhibitions; or share yourself generously; and listen to your learners (or group members) with compassion.

When you step out of your comfort zone, you're free to coach your learners with depth, skill and authenticity.  You stand confidently in your expertise and it readily shows in your interaction and how you deliver your content.

Thomas Leonard coined this sense of freedom in your coaching as "coaching from your big toe."  I just love that!

I know it sounds absolutely wonderful, right?!  You CAN step out of your comfort zone when you know the steps to easily guide you:

Step 1:  Invest in your own personal foundation

Very simply, get your own proverbial house in order.  As coaches, we sometimes overlook the importance of looking within ourselves for understanding, clarity and direction.  Hire your own coach or therapist to work through your personal goals and challenges.  In THE FOUR AGREEMENTS, Don Miguel Ruiz' agreement #4 is: Don't take anything personal. Having a strong personal foundation almost guarantees you're well-positioned to follow this agreement whether you're in an individual or a group coaching setting.

Step 2:  Know your content like the back of your hand

You developed your group coaching program from your own experiences and research.  You know your content because you developed it!  That makes you the expert, right?  I challenge you to get very familiar with your content so you don't have to rely heavily on your notes or an outline.  Wear your content like a new outfit so you grow more comfortable with it.  Then, you can focus on being the expert you truly are.  How kewl is that?!

Step 3:  Bond with your learners, compassionately and purposefully

Get to know your group learners and give them an opportunity to know, like and trust you, too.   Bonding begins by listening and caring for your learners with one clear objective in mind:  understanding how you can help solve their problem.  Remember this is the problem that brought her to you in the first place.  Keep this in mind as you continue to build the relationship with the individual learner and the group as a whole.

Now, you it's your turn to try coaching from your big toe for yourself.

Get ready to step away from your notes.

Focus on staying in the present moment by listening to your learners.  Then, surrender to your expertise and knowledge.

Step out of your comfort zone whether it's complicated or not.  You'll experience rich rewards and so will your learners!

What will you do to step out of your comfort zone a little more each time you lead a group coaching program?

Wendy Y. Bailey - Master Certified Group Coach

Wendy Y. Bailey is a Master Certified Group Coach, Certified Experienced Coach and Certified Neuro-Linguistic Programming Practitioner. Affectionately called "WendyY" by her business associates, colleagues and friends, she's also the Creator and Founder of Group Coaching Mastery - Master Group Coaching with an NLP Twist. WendyY helps coaches, speakers and trainers learn to create, design, market, fill and deliver bestselling group coaching programs using Neuro-Linguistic Programming (persuasive marketing, language skills and influence strategies.) More about Group Coaching Mastery programs

Developing content for your group coaching program is vitally important if you truly want to help your participants learn and grow.  When you build on the design or content, the delivery falls into place quite easily.

Having masterful content ensures you know exactly what your ideal client wants from your group coaching program and you know how to make sure she gets it.  You develop masterful content based on what you want your learners to see, hear, think, feel, know and do after being in your group coaching program.  Listen to this audio and you'll discover the keys to designing masterful content that guarantees a content-rich, insightful and transformational group coaching experience specifically for your ideal client.

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Wendy Y. Bailey - Master Certified Group Coach

Wendy Y. Bailey is a Master Certified Group Coach, Certified Experienced Coach and Certified Neuro-Linguistic Programming Practitioner. Affectionately called "WendyY" by her business associates, colleagues and friends, she's also the Creator and Founder of Group Coaching Mastery - Master Group Coaching with an NLP Twist. WendyY helps coaches, speakers and trainers learn to create, design, market, fill and deliver bestselling group coaching programs using Neuro-Linguistic Programming (persuasive marketing, language skills and influence strategies.) More about Group Coaching Mastery programs