Expectations for Cohort Facilitators

A cohort is a place to: 

• set goals
• get accountability & encouragement toward MTD
• Troubleshoot with peers
• Share what's working // gain new insights
• Be vulnerable about fears & roadblocks one is currently facing in MTD
• Expect breakthroughs!

The cohort is offered to Reliant missionaries at no charge as part of the many benefits of their employment with Reliant. 

The group is limited to 7 people at a time, not including the coach. 

As we at Reliant are diving more into the idea of MTD health, we have realized the need for coaching beyond the initial phase of MTD. While we do not think individual coaching is necessary, a group coaching cohort can be exceptionally helpful for encouragement, goal creation, and accountability for those willing to jump back into MTD. Below are the expectations for a cohort leader.

Goal: to facilitate an 8-week group coaching session for seasoned missionaries to create and achieve specific goals to increase their personal MTD financial health.

Average 8-week MTD Goal: Financial progress for every person in the cohort, people are leaving with a better foundation for MTD/ the tools they need to continue MTD after exiting the cohort, at least 10 asks total per person. 

The cohort model is based on four pillars: 

1. Shared Knowledge: We all have something we do well in MTD. The cohorts are a place to share that knowledge - for support-raisers to teach one another. The coach facilitates this conversation and fills in gaps where needed. But, mainly the cohort is teaching the cohort. Tools: The “What’s working” question and having cohort members answer each other’s questions/ feedback needs. 
2. Accountability: Recording and discussing action items provides the reminders and motivation needed to reach goals. Tools: Action Items & Goals Spreadsheet. Asking for several asks and action item updates. 
3. Camaraderie: People work better when they know they’re not the only ones. Hearing how others are overcoming the same obstacle builds camaraderie and strengthens resolve. Tools: Group phone or video calls with people in similar MTD stages. Asking: What’s in the way? What’s been an obstacle for your MTD this week?  What questions or discussion items do you have for your cohort today? 
4. Structure:  Tool: Weekly call & asking the same questions during reporting time.

Weekly Coaching Group Call (8 Weeks)

Schedule group call each week

• No more than 8 people to a cohort (not including spouses).
• Should be scheduled & kept routinely each week (ex. Tuesdays at 2 pm).
• Call should be an hour-long via an online video platform or phone call, whichever works best for people. 
• Must be able to commit to at least 6 weeks in the cohort. Much of what we do relies on momentum. Missing weeks hurts momentum. 

Facilitate discussion

• Come with some basic questions to engage people
• # of Financial Asks this week
• Something you are thankful for in MTD this week.
• What’s in the way? What’s been some obstacles for you in MTD this week?
• What’s working for you?
• What questions came up this week as you engaged people? What discussion items do you have for your cohort today? 
• Action item update. Look at the action items they wrote for last week. Ask what they accomplished. Dig in, if needed. Encourage them to write new action items for this week. 
• Help people move quickly through their reports. This is not the time for long stories. Record questions or discussion points that come up. Address these later in the Q&A time. The reporting time should be completed before the 30-minute mark.   Be sure to allow/help everyone to speak up during this first part. 
• Be sure to allow people to ask specific questions
• Participants can submit questions before the call on column B of the Action Items spreadsheet. 
  

Help create goals and encourage accountability

• Have each person create a weekly goal for themselves
• Save time to check in on goals from the previous week (use Action Item Spreadsheet)
• If last week’s Action Items weren’t met, you can dig in a bit (especially if this is a trend with this individual) Here’s a sample: 
  • It sounds like you missed some of those. Did anything happen this week that prevented you from accomplishing what you wanted to?
  • This gives them a chance to share something tough that happened, or own up to letting other priorities seep in, or to just being lazy. If it's laziness or avoidance of the MTD work, accountability can be motivational. If they KNOW you’re going to ask these “why” questions next week, it can provide the motivation needed for them to overcome their fears and put in the effort needed to reach their goals. 
• Be sure to have time to pray at the end of each call.
• As a leader, you can either ask someone else to pray or pray yourself.
• Email notes and resources to the cohort after each call. Please copy Jenni.Saniuk@reliant.org and Keva.Ambre@reliant.org on these emails. 
  

Share knowledge, strategies, and motivators

• As a facilitator, help others share their knowledge (allow the group to answer first before sharing your thoughts. Learn from each other).
• Use first-hand experience and Solomon to steer people in the right direction.
• Help individuals discover what motivates them. Some common motivators:
  • Financial
  • Fear of Failure
  • Peer Pressure
  • Rewards-based (think competition) 
• If someone knows their Enneagram number, refer to this (core desires = core motivations). 

Report to Reliant how things are going

• We have provided you with a Google spreadsheet for notes and numbers. Click here to make a copy for your cohort.
• Keep track after/during each call so we can see progress