Coaching Practice Pods

These sessions are for coaches who want a steady space to build their coaching skills and confidence. They’re for coaches who value feedback, self-reflection, and learning from peers.

Participants say they are especially useful for coaches who are:

• Newly qualified, seeking to embed core coaching skills and discover their style.
• Feeling out-of-practice and wanting to freshen-up their coaching.
• Looking to experiment with new techniques or build confidence in their coaching. 
• Missing the kind of supportive and reflective space that training offers.

In the context of these sessions, coaching is about guiding or partnering with clients in working towards what they want to achieve. If you’ve trained in line with the principles of the ICF, EMCC or Association for Coaching, your understanding of the role of a coach will be aligned with the approach of these sessions.

Most coaches join the sessions from the UK, Europe and the USA, but coaches anywhere in the world are welcome.

If you’re not sure if these sessions are right for you, feel free to get in touch to find out more at natalie@inpractice.space

Sessions follow a similar structure, roughly as follows:

• Brief welcome, grounding and guidance in plenary
• Triad coaching practice – in breakout groups of three (approx. 90 mins)
  • Quick introductions. 
  • Each coach will coach another member of the group for 20 minutes, then reflect on their own coaching and receive feedback from the coachee and observer.
  • Every member of the group will have the opportunity to coach, be coached and observe a short minute coaching session. 
• Individual reflection with suggested prompts.
• Brief debrief conversations in pairs and/or plenary.
• Brief wrap-up and check-out in plenary.

All participants are asked to commit to the group contract, which will be shared in advance, including respecting the confidentiality of breakout conversations.

Clear guidance will be provided for the structure and timings of coaching in breakouts, and for offering feedback that is sensitive and useful.

Natalie will be available after the session ends for anyone who needs to debrief anything from the session.

Groups tend to be small and supportive, with coaches from a range of coaching schools and at different stages of their coaching journeys. Many coaches find themselves practising with people they are meeting for the first time.

Triad practice is a well-established way to develop your coaching, and you’ll find opportunities to do it in many places. What coaches tell me stands out about the Pods is:

• A wide range of coaching styles – coaches from different training backgrounds and accrediting bodies bring different approaches, giving you the opportunity to observe and learn from a variety of ways of coaching.
• Thoughtful feedback, offered with care – timings and guidance are carefully designed to create the conditions for feedback that’s specific, useful and sensitive.
• Time to reflect and integrate – each session includes dedicated time to make sense of what you’ve learned, connect it to your regular practice, and develop the habit of reflecting deeply on your coaching.

If you’re choosing between different options, why not give each of them a go? There’s always something to be gained from practising and reflecting.

Coaching Practice Pods are offered on a pay-what-you-can basis. This helps cover the time and costs involved in designing and facilitating the sessions, while keeping them accessible to coaches who are newer or working in high-impact low-pay contexts.

If you’re not sure what to contribute, here’s a rough guide:

Standard (recommended) – for participants who are able to pay a fair contribution for the session: £20

Accessible – for coaches who have limited disposable income: £5-15

Supporter – for people who are financially comfortable and wish to support the ongoing accessibility and development of the Pods: £30+

Everyone’s circumstances are different and money shouldn’t be a barrier to your professional growth.

All contributions are gratefully received and help make the Pods possible – thank you!

While these sessions are not accredited, most coaching bodies accept a wide range of learning and development activities, from formal training to more informal reflective practice.

If you can describe how these sessions contributed to your development as a coach, you should be able to count them as CPD. You are free to submit session resources as evidence of how we used the time, and I’m happy to confirm your participation if required. 

I can’t make any guarantees regarding CPD. If you’re unsure about whether you can count these sessions, please ask the relevant coaching body directly. 

You may find the information at the following links useful: 

Association for Coaching: What does CPD include?

EMCC: CPD Centre for Excellence

ICF: Credential renewal guide

You may count the time you spend coaching in sessions (20 minutes per session) as paid coaching time towards coaching accreditation – so long as you are not already counting the session as CPD.

All our sessions follow the same format as described above, starting with an introduction for the whole group.

You’ll receive a session guide in advance, with the agenda, code of practice and tips for getting the best out of the session.

It’s usually a small, friendly group and most people there are also meeting people for the first time too. Breakouts typically include a mix of new joiners and regular participants who are more familiar with the format.

Many previous participants have told me they felt nervous about joining, but that they found the group really welcoming and supportive and gained so much from the practice and feedback.

If you have any questions or requests to support your participation, please feel free to email me at natalie@inpractice.space