NACE Journal / Spring 2025

Fei Mofor and Lee Silverglate could hardly be more different students, but both enrolled in a group coaching program offered at New York University’s Stern School of Business that encouraged students to talk openly about their M.B.A. journey. In the course of candid exchanges, Fei and Lee built an unlikely bond. 

Fei and Lee’s experience shows the promise of group coaching in higher education. Indeed, leading business schools and some undergraduate programs are using this format to solve two problems at once—helping students cope in the present, while simultaneously preparing them for the future.¹

In the company of others, students can replace the stress, isolation, and loneliness they often feel with a sense of community and belonging. At the same time, group coaching prepares students for the world of work they’ll be joining. It also enables colleges to deliver career services more efficiently by allowing a smaller number of career staff to provide rich learning experiences at scale. 

While deep, intense, and even existential questions come up in group coaching, it is not group therapy. Instead, it is a collective experience designed to help participants clarify goals, build skills, and take action toward personal or professional success.

Group coaching can take a number of forms. Perhaps best known is the “T-group,” or training group, popularized by Stanford’s Graduate School of Business and its legendary Interpersonal Dynamics class. T-groups tend to have open-ended agendas. By contrast, Stern’s followed a curriculum of set discussion topics, such as mindfulness, burnout, identity, impostor syndrome, and meaningful work. A key component to the program's success was its grounding in the science of positive psychology, with weekly sessions designed to support both students' career development and well-being.

Gary Fraser, Ed.D., associate dean of the full-time M.B.A. program at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, is a fan of group coaching. Last year, Anderson launched a group coaching experience called Alive @ Anderson. By prompting authentic conversations and creating deep personal ties, Alive develops intercultural competence—the ability to communicate and interact effectively with people from cultures different from one’s own, particularly in global or diverse settings. According to Dr. Fraser, intercultural competence is essential for managing diverse teams and building inclusive workplaces. 

“To be an inclusive leader, you have to engage with everyone with the same general level of connection. We tend to connect better with people who are like us,” he says.

To Fraser’s point, the benefits of cultural competence are well-documented. They include improved employee performance and engagement, increased profits, and better decision making.² As many university students do not naturally gravitate toward those who are different from them, it is incumbent upon institutions of higher education to create opportunities for students to do soGroup coaching programs like the one offered at UCLA are intentionally composed with diversity in mind so participants have a chance to manage cultural miscommunication, to practice giving and receiving feedback, and to enhance their own self-awareness.

Clarity around one’s calling and the ability to articulate it are increasingly central to effective leadership, as employees seek out authentic and inspiring leaders.

Career services departments may have mission statements that stress the importance of authenticity and purpose along with related concepts, such as discovering one’s intrinsic motivation and becoming more self-aware. In addition,, when it comes to soft skill development in particular, students will hear about emotional intelligence, psychological safety, and the necessity of building trusting relationships across a team. However, students often have little opportunity to put these critical leadership mindsets and skills into practice. 

A well-executed group coaching program can plug those gaps, according to Nate Pettit, Ph.D., Stern’s vice dean and associate professor of management and organizations. The collective experience, in particular, prompts students to dig deep on matters including foundational values and personal vision.

“There are no easy answers in leading, and you will not get there through self-assessment alone. It requires social facilitation in the presence of others who are struggling with the same thing,” Dr. Pettit says. “That is the valuable part of group coaching.”

Introducing group coaching at your university can feel daunting. Here are five steps to get started:

Start by clearly defining group coaching, its benefits, and how it differs from other formats. Ana Paula Nacif, a senior lecturer at the University of East London, defines group coaching as “a collaborative and time-limited experience in which a professionally trained facilitator uses coaching principles to support a number of individuals, especially around setting and pursuing personal goals.”³ Emphasize how group coaching supports student well-being now and equips them with leadership skills for the future.

Survey students using a combination of focus groups and online assessments. Evaluate students’ level of stress as it relates to their career development journey as well as their sense of belonging and community at the school. Once you have baseline information, launch a pilot program with one or two cohorts. Conduct a pretest of students on key measures. At the conclusion of the pilot, gauge the results with a posttest and build out the program based on lessons learned.

The most important expertise for facilitating a group coaching cohort is possessing at least three years of experience coaching individuals and groups. “Hard” career services skills, e.g., resume and cover letter writing, mock interviews, and offer negotiation, are helpful, but not required for successful group coaching. Additional requirements include:

Building a strong business case for group coaching is essential. Point out the risk of high levels of stress and anxiety among students. Community and belonging are not nice-to-haves anymore—they are must-haves. The business case can include data gathered through a survey of students.

It is also important to identify allies to support you and to provide resources; these may include the office of student affairs/engagement, the dean of students, and others.

A recurring challenge in the adoption of group coaching stems from how it is  marketed. In addition to the traditional mix of channels, student leaders can be effective ambassadors in generating interest. Timing and targeted populations are also key. Introduce group coaching during orientation as an opportunity for holistic coaching at the intersection of achievement and well-being. Engage students at moments of heightened need, such as after winter break during recruiting season. Tailor the program to specific populations, such as  first-generation students, students seeking internships, and international students facing challenges with belonging. The key is to meet students where they are and present group coaching as a dynamic and empowering experience.

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Launching a group coaching program takes some work, but the effort pays off for students in the form of improved well-being, better career clarity, and heightened preparation for the emerging business world. 

¹ Dhindsa, A., & Frauenheim, E. (2024, July 25). Restore a Sense of Community Among Your MBA Students, Harvard Business Publishing Education. Retrieved from https://hbsp.harvard.edu/inspiring-minds/5-tips-to-create-a-group-coaching-program-for-mba-students.

² Hunt, V., Prince, S., Dixon-Fyle, S., & Yee, L. (2020, May 19). Diversity wins: How inclusion matters. McKinsey & Company. Retrieved from www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/diversity-and-inclusion/diversity-wins-how-inclusion-matters.

³ Nacif, A. (2021). BeWell: A Group Coaching Model to Foster the Wellbeing of Individuals. International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring, (S15), 171–186. https://doi.org/10.24384/t7td-p612.