Coaching Club Or One-to-one?

Here's a question I recently answered on LinkedIn:

I'm doing some research and interested to hear from those who have participated in either or both of the above. Have you joined a coaching club and how did that work for you? Or do you prefer one-on-one coaching and why?

Group mentoring or coaching needs skilful facilitation. A “hot seat” approach where group members are permitted to ask questions of their colleague but not offer suggestions, promotes insight. Alternatively, exploration to uncover key issues, then brainstorming a range of options is also a powerful use of the mastermind concept. In both approaches the recipient, reflects on the information generated and decides their action for themself. 

One-to-ones have the advantage of confidentiality. Issues can be explored at a deeper and more personal level. The silences that often precede an “ah ha” moment sit more easily between two people who know and trust the process. 

I have experienced both. I have two mentors that I engage for different aspects of my business and one coach for more holistic life issues. I also have a peer mentoring relationship that is reciprocal (I mentor him/he mentors me) and spans both business and personal matters. Both of my business mentors run webinar that provide group interaction. This provides the best of both worlds!