Small Group Coaching

Are you struggling with isolation at work?
Do you need more support to navigate new terrain and develop strategy? Wish you had someone at your level to bounce ideas off of and new perspectives to draw on? 

Group coaching includes time with a trusted group of peers, skill building for today’s changing conditions, and real time support and strategy building, so you can feel more confident.

You’ll leave connected, energized, and ready for your work.

Small group coaching can help you develop the skills to:

  • Face complex issues and quickly changing terrains 

  • Strategize across organizations, networks, and coalitions 

  • Lead for equity and racial justice 

  • Develop organizing strategy

  • Set up—and consistently use—systems to support strong teams

And you’ll do this all while building relationships with 3-5 peers who hold similar roles and face similar challenges. 

As your small group coach, I am committed to: 

  • Creating a welcoming space where you can arrive just as you are.

  • Holding a confidential container for issues you need support with. 

  • Bringing extensive experience to the table to help you develop strategy and skills.

  • Making time for you to develop peer relationships with other group members.

  • Offering a warm presence and support you can lean against.

If you long to receive support as you work to transform the conditions in your community, I would love to be your coach. 

Options for enrolling

I invite you to consider small group coaching, where we bring together three to five changemakers who want coaching, connection with peers, and a way to build an external network.

You can put together your own group of people you’d like to learn from and with:

  1. Bring your friends, sign up together, and collectively invest in your growth. Your group members can be people who work at the same organization.

  2. Alternatively, you can join a scheduled group that will take place when I have enough interest from multiple people to enroll a group.

Either way, you can start with a Discovery Call and if group coaching is a good fit, we’ll also talk about how to get you into a group.

Are you a manager investing in professional development for your staff? 

My small group coaching is a great fit for:

  1. Onboarding multiple staff members 

  2. Developing a leadership cohort for equity and racial justice skills

  3. Leveling up your team’s organizing strategy skills.

If you need coaching for staff members who are on the same bounded team working toward shared goals, please visit my team coaching page.

Start with a 1-hour discovery call to explore what you are seeking for your team.

I am particularly skilled at supporting: 

Organizers, campaigners, and others doing political work on the frontlines of movements for liberation

Nonprofit team leaders

New managers developing their approach

Experienced managers and executives making the toughest decisions

Community leaders and committee chairs

Mission-driven and community-focused small business owners

Educators, healers, and artists doing community change work

Here’s how we’ll work together: 

  • 1. Your Plan

    Each group member will do some writing on their own time. It may be as simple as a journal reflection or a written assignment to support your goals. The writing will become your plan, which will help you dream, brainstorm, and connect in between our sessions. 

  • 2. Meetings

    In each meeting, 1-2 members of the group will receive coaching. The rest of the group will witness, reflect on, and learn from the coaching.

  • 3. Homework

    During our meetings, we’ll agree on action items to support your learning. Action items may include things like reflection exercises, journaling, conversations you’d like to have, and more.

  • 4. Between Sessions

    In between our meetings, I’ll be available by email. We may exchange documents or have a virtual asynchronous conversation in your plan.

    Group members are encouraged to choose a communication channel to connect, share ideas, and get feedback from peers between our group meetings.

Rates & Payments

A typical contract includes two small group meetings per month and covers six months. 

I offer a sliding scale to make coaching more accessible. Folks who can pay more help make it possible for me to offer a range of price points. 

Sliding scale rates include six-month contracts ranging from $1,800 to $3,600 per person.

Final rates will be dependent on the agreed-upon role, scope, and resources of the contracting entity. Payment plans are available.

Small Group FAQ

  • Group coaching gives you the opportunity for more connection with peers, which can help with the isolation of changemaking work. You get to learn from others AND an experienced coach. 

    Group coaching can bring several team members on the same page of learning and development. 

    It may be a more cost effective way for your budget to get coaching.

  • Groups are made up of 3–5 changemakers. 


    You can put together your own group of people you’d like to learn from and with, and sign up together. You can sign up with people you know from multiple organizations, or your group members can be people who work at the same organization. 


    Alternatively, you can join a scheduled group which will take place when I have enough interest from multiple people to enroll a group. Either way, you can start with a Discovery Call and if group coaching is a good fit, we’ll also talk about how to get you into a group. 

  • Sometimes individuals seek out group coaching for themselves. 

    Other times, managers invest in their staff by signing them up to receive group coaching. Group coaching helps develop individuals even if they work in the same organization. You can choose group coaching for a cohort of 3–5 members of your staff. For example, staff members in the same role, but who are on different teams, can receive coaching together. This may be appropriate for a group of managers to receive skill-based coaching together or for a group of staff with shared identities who need a coach to facilitate their group as a cohort.

    Team coaching is designed to create more effective teams by looking at the team as a whole and is designed specifically for people who are on the same team working toward shared goals. 

    If you are a manager looking for coaching for your staff and you still aren’t sure which is best, we can discuss that in our discovery session. 

  • Small group participants often ask their employer or fiscal sponsor for professional development funds to cover all or some of the coaching cost. Others pay out of pocket, from grant funds, or other sources.

  • The ability to pay more may be indicated by comfortably paying your mortgage or rent, having access to inherited assets and/or wealth, an institution covering the cost of your coaching or holding privileged identities such as whiteness.

    If you are new to sliding scale rates or would like more guidance to consider your rate, the Green Bottle image and metaphor from Alexis J Cunningfolk may be a useful resource.

Connect with me

Let’s meet for a free one-hour discovery session.

  1. Click the button below to fill out an intake form to guide our conversation.

  2. Choose a time to talk.

On our call, we’ll explore your struggles or what you need for your team and help you get clear on your next moves, which may include an invitation to work with me.

I look forward to talking with you soon!

Discovery Session

  • "Mary Alice is a proactive communicator, and she thoughtfully tends to details. I feel her attentiveness to my needs and the needs of our group when we gather."

    —Heather Heater

  • "I feel like I'm being mentored by Mary Alice in how to do the work with caring and attention to the people and the details." 

    —Alix Davidson