Pamela Rea Van Dyke

Virtual Group Coaching Pamela Rea Van Dyke

Press Release Abstract / Description Technology has changed the way we conduct business and interact with each other. Whether we are accomplishing tasks, completing projects, or enhancing our personal development, we are no longer confined to face-to-face encounters. Our society is becoming more and more reliant on virtual means to communicate and to conduct business. These changes and advances in technology have impacted the way in which we live our lives and conduct our business. A qualitative study was conducted using a structured interview process with 21 business professionals who participated in a virtual group coaching process. This study describes the experiences of each of these participants in detail from the perspectives of each virtual group coaching participant. The study's participants are representative from across the United States, Canada, and Australia and included 19 different virtual coaching groups that met over a consistent period of time ranging from a minimum of 6 months to a maximum of 4 years. The interviews were analyzed using categorical content analysis to reveal 5 major themes and 23 subthemes. The 5 major themes identified were a) Business Education, b) Group Process, c) Group Facilitation, d) Personal Development and e) Virtual Community. In total, data analysis revealed that the virtual group coaching participants gained knowledge about their businesses and insight into themselves as individuals as well as revealed the importance of the role and skill of the coach as facilitator. Besides being directly applicable to coach practitioners as a viable new coaching methodology, this approach may also help future researchers by creating vocabulary and processes which distinctly describe the virtual group coaching process. With such a new pathway created, new discoveries can be made. Onward!