CEI: Facilitators’ Community of Practice: From 1-1 to Many
A reflective, practice-based learning arc for coaches who facilitate groups, teams, and systems.
The Facilitators’ Community of Practice (CoP) supports coaches who are expanding into group, team, and system-level work. Together, we develop the facilitation capacities that underpin ICF’s team coaching competencies, group coaching skills, and collaborative leadership practices.
Purpose
To deepen confidence and skill in holding space for many—whether in workshops, coaching circles, team environments, or organizational systems. The CoP emphasizes:
- ethical and trauma-aware facilitation
- psychological safety and group process
- presence, pacing, and design
- peer reflection and peer supervision
- low-stakes practice and developmental support
This is a practice-first, community-led approach aligned with ICF competencies and standards
Series: From Presence to Process—2026 Program Arc
An eight-session developmental series exploring the core dimensions of facilitation. The arc moves through a natural progression: grounding in presence, expanding into process, and integrating through reflection and peer supervision.
Schedule
(Single registration for full-series access; alternating lunchtime and evening, Sessions are 90 minutes)
Jan 14 (12 pm) | Welcoming and Grounding: Opening space with intention
Jan 21 (6:30 pm) | Holding the Container: Design choices for safety and flow
Jan 28 (12 pm) | Facilitating Participation: Presence, pacing, and flexibility
Feb 11 (6:30 pm) | Peer Supervision for Facilitators
Feb 18 (12 pm) | Teaching as Process: Using story, metaphor, and rhythm
Feb 25 (6:30 pm) | Responding in the Moment: Adapting and attuning with grace
March 11 (12 pm) | The Practice of Closure: Ending with intention and care
Mar 18 (6:30 pm) | Peer Supervision for Facilitators
The arc is emergent. Adjustments may occur based on group needs.
How It Works
- Register once for full-series access.
- Attend as many sessions as you can; cameras on when possible.
- Practice together—members will be invited to open sessions, lead short exercises, and co-hold the space.
- Engage in structured peer supervision.
- Participate in a dedicated ICF Engage Channel for ongoing learning.
- Themes may evolve based on group needs.
Structure of Each Session
Each gathering follows a consistent rhythm:
- Arrival & grounding
- Short framing or story
- Facilitated practice in group/dyads/triads
- Reflection & harvest
- Closing
This mirrors the facilitation cycle: arrive → orient → engage → reflect → integrate.
Rotating Participation & Facilitation
Members will be invited to lead small portions of the sessions (optional). This includes openings, groundings, simple activities, or closings. Supported practice builds confidence, presence, and attunement.
Showcase Sessions (April 2026)—Pitch & Practice
Members of the CoP may present short experiential sessions or micro-workshops to the wider ICF Toronto community. These sessions allow coaches to:
- test emerging ideas
- practice with real group dynamics
- explore shared purpose and relational process
- strengthen group/team coaching competencies
Pathways to ICW 2026 (May 2026)
CoP members who wish to expand their Showcase into a full session for International Coaching Week 2026 will have access to a supportive developmental pathway, participation is optional. Support is available for anyone who chooses to bring their work forward, including:
- design guidance
- peer reflection
- rehearsal opportunities
- feedback on session structure and flow
Recordings
- Parts of each session will be recorded and shared with registrants.
- Breakouts, reflective exercises, and supervision will not be recorded.
- Registration provides access to resources, slides (if any), and recordings (if any).
Eligibility
Open to all ICF Toronto members and ICF guests who have paid the Annual Activity Fee.
Lineage & Influence
This program draws on facilitation as an ethical, embodied, relational practice informed by systems thinking, trauma-aware approaches, and group dynamics. It aligns with ICF’s recognition that coaches working with groups and teams must:
- hold systemic awareness
- support shared process
- engage collective learning
- practice presence across multiple perspectives
Why Facilitation Matters for Coaches
As soon as coaches begin working with more than one person at a time—in a group, a team, or a wider system—the practice shifts. The coach is no longer only attuning to one client’s inner landscape, but to the field between people, the relational dynamics, and the collective movement emerging in the room. This is where facilitation becomes essential.
In team coaching, the client is the team as a single entity. Coaches must navigate multiple voices, patterns, and behaviours while supporting collective purpose and performance. ICF’s Team Coaching Competencies acknowledge this explicitly: team coaching requires facilitation skills, presence across a group system, and the ability to work with relationships, dynamics, and shared agreements.
In group coaching, individuals are developing inside a shared container. The coach is listening to the group as a whole while supporting each participant’s insight and growth. Here, facilitation underpins pacing, safety, structure, and the shared sense-making that allows individual learning to be amplified by the group.
Facilitation itself is the practice of holding and guiding group process—creating the conditions for psychological safety, participation, reflection, and collaboration. It is not tied to any one modality. Instead, it
strengthens everything coaches already bring: presence, listening, inquiry, ethical sensitivity, scope awareness, and attention to power and difference.
Across all three domains—team coaching, group coaching, and facilitation—the core capacities overlap:
- Reading the room (emotional, somatic, and relational cues)
- Holding the container (structure, time, clarity, boundaries)
- Working with pace and activation (titration, stretching without overwhelming)
- Supporting participation and voice
- Responding in the moment to what emerges
These are developmental capacities. They grow through practice, reflection, witnessing others, and being witnessed.
The CEI Facilitators’ Community of Practice is designed to support this growth. We focus on the intersection where coaching presence meets group process—for coaches moving toward team coaching, deepening group programs, or simply wanting to hold rooms with more steadiness, clarity, and ethical rigour. This space invites coaches to expand their range, strengthen their facilitation presence, and practice the art of working with groups, teams, and systems in real time.
About the Facilitator
I am Suzanne B. Jones, a Regenerative Leadership Coach, Facilitator, and Director of the Coaching Entrepreneurship and Impact Portfolio for ICF Toronto. My work sits at the intersection of somatics, systems thinking, and trauma-informed practice. I support leaders, teams, and practitioners to integrate purpose and presence in their work and to bring reflection, ethics, and embodiment into how they lead and learn together.
I’m offering this series as a way to practice facilitation in community. It’s a space for us to keep learning while supporting others who are also offering or preparing to offer group programs. My hope is that it feels like good company, a place to practice, reflect, and grow together.
Suzanne B. Jones
Director, Coaching Entrepreneurship & Impact Portfolio, ICF Toronto
suzanne@icftoronto.com
Questions about registration? Please contact Heather at: info@icftoronto.com.