I Radically Transform with a Little Help from my Friends

I have been coaching and mentoring yoga teachers for over a decade. And much of that work was done one to one. My clients liked the personalised feedback and undivided attention. And some did progress this way. But I noticed that too many were enthusiastic and committed during our sessions, but then struggled to implement changes. In short, all the great things we talked about didn’t “stick.” So, I decided to run an experiment.  I offered group mentoring sessions with 5 teachers.  

Before each group meeting, I gave every mentee a question to prompt reflection.  During our 2-hour sessions we discussed their answers to the question.  Over the weeks we spent together the teachers opened up about feeling alone as they struggled with how to avoid injury and burn-out from teaching enough classes to earn a living or how to teach in packed rooms with everything from first-timers to advanced yogis. They spoke about not feeling good enough to teach or feeling hypocritical that they where always preaching the benefits of yoga but barely had time to practice themselves. And again and again, the other teachers in the group said things like, “Me too.” or “I thought I was the only one.” 

Mentors and coaches help clients see themselves more clearly and help create a framework for change. But any change – big or small – feels overwhelming when you feel alone. In a group of your peers, you quickly realise that everyone else struggles with imposter syndrome, creative blocks, and fear of failure. You learn that setting clear boundaries is hard for everyone. Or that stuffing up publicly once or twice is just the norm. 

At ServiceQ we do a lot of group work.  Within those groups we teach people some specific and very useful habits to improve their health, their mindset, their relationships, and their customer service.  Individual employees will find their own unique ways to try these habits on. But what we observe is that no matter how hard one person tries to make a change in how they serve customers, these changes don’t stick if they feel like they’re going it alone. It’s just too hard. When we witness profound organisational change, we know it’s because the people in an organisation feel like they are in it together.  Habits begin to stick as people from all parts of the organisation share a laugh about the awkward moments and celebrate the little wins. 

As a leader wondering how to get your team to commit to great service, you may be tempted to target individuals. Instead, we recommend you commit to training that is built around human connection and makes each of your employees feel like they’re part of a larger mission with people who get them and have their back. Expect people to cope with the messiness of change on their own and they will fail. Put the value of human connection first and organisational transformation will follow. 

By Jennifer Crescenzo