Peers And GroupsPeer Coaching Trio
Three people rotate coach, coachee and observer, and the observer gives feedback on the coaching.
Reading about coaching only gets you so far. Coaching each other in threes gives everyone real practice on real topics, plus something rare: someone watching who can tell the coach what they actually did, not what they think they did.
How to use it
- Form a trio and agree Group Ground Rules, especially confidentiality.
- Set three rounds of about thirty minutes each, so everyone plays each role once.
- Each round: the coachee brings a real but manageable topic; the coach coaches for twenty minutes; the observer takes notes on the coach's questions and listening.
- Then ten minutes of feedback: the coach says how it felt, the coachee says what helped, the observer gives two or three specific points.
- Rotate roles and repeat.
- Meet every two to four weeks, with the same trio for a few months.
Example
Three team leads at a software company meet monthly. The observer notices one lead asks "why" questions that make the coachee defensive, and the lead switches to "what" questions next round.
Watch out
- Topics too raw for peer practice. Keep them real but not personal crises.
- Observers who only praise. Specific, kind honesty is the gift.
Grows into Action Learning Set and Intervision.