Career Management: 1-to-1 or Group Coaching – what’s best?

July 9, 2012

It has been said that the one key element to being a good manager is the art of communication. This makes good sense, primarily because it recognises not only the benefit gained by ‘the team’ from knowing what their manager is thinking, planning, expecting but also by the manager from learning how members of the team are feeling, coping (or not), performing and, crucially, what ideas they may be able to put forward to help the general effort – particularly if the ‘basic plan’ has been communicated to them in the first place. Simple, you might say; and sound business practice.

Career Management is a process in which your career will be examined, pored over, discussed at length and, finally, greatly enhanced by communicating with a professional, such as a TCMO Career Manager, who will have your very best interests at heart. They will need to spend a great deal of time communicating with you, finding out your key skills, experience, likes, dislikes, ambitions; in short – what, essentially, makes you tick. But because the art of communication is a two-way process, in time the career manager will also be able to advise you as to your best course of action in moving your career forward – something which, for the vast majority of people, is invaluable. This sort of close communication on a 1-to-1 basis – as offered by TCMO – allows our career manager to get to know you so well, and in a purely objective sense, that the advice they can offer benefits by being tailored specifically to the individual with their own particular background, needs and aspirations. In other words – you.

Conversely, working in a group coaching session will by its very nature be a general, and possibly even formulaic, approach. The benefits that will undoubtedly arise, however, come from the direct interaction between the coach and the participants: “OK, Shirley, what questions at interview do you dread most?”; “Andy, what would be your dream job?”; “Karen, what do you think most employers look for first on a CV?” The group discussions that follow will be of huge benefit, especially (but not exclusively) to those who take part. Much will depend on the skill of the coach in retaining the interest of a group, but this is also where the key elements of communication will work well. So whereas a group coaching session will never be as effective as 1-to-1, handled well it can be both enjoyable and informative.

For a free consultation on your Career Management needs, contact TCMO today on 0131 201 0181 or visit www.tcmo.co.uk