How does our peer coaching programme work?

Let's start with what coaching is. We'll then explain the nuances of peer coaching. Finally, we'll outline our approach to peer coaching. Just scroll down!

What is coaching?

Coaching is a conversation-based approach to help someone get from where they are right now to where they want to be.

It is based on a beautiful paradigm – that all people are creative, resourceful and whole.
As such, it is 100% non-advisory. You don't tell the person what to do, you help them figure out their next step for themselves.

How? Mostly, by providing them with a space to think – listening intently, repeating back to them what you've heard, highlighting key threads and asking them insightful open-ended questions.
We cannot teach people anything. We can only help them discover it within themselves.
Galileo Galilei

How is peer coaching different?

In a traditional coaching relationship, the coach is a professionally trained individual who offers their undivided attention to their client. The client is paying the coach for their service.

Peer coaching is a process whereby two people at a similar level take turns to coach each other during the same session, without paying each other. They have a basic understanding of the coaching principles and follow guiding frameworks to run their sessions.

The two are complementary – peer coaching often helps a person deepen their awareness of what they may need to tackle with a professional coach or a therapist.

Where peer coaching shines

  • Having a space to talk things out loud, so you can process them and find a way forward
  • Having someone to notice the things you keep repeating and may choose to ignore
  • Having an accountability partner who challenges you and helps you stick to your goals

Where peer coaching struggles

  • Not paying for sessions makes it much easier to bail out when you most need the session
  • Slipping into chat or advisory mode, in the absence of clear frameworks and guidelines
  • Dealing with complex issues identified, better suited to be discussed with a coach or therapist

Our approach to peer coaching

We combine the human intelligence, technology and data to minimise the challenges and maximise the benefits
Step 1

Find a like-minded, inspiring peer

  • We'll suggest to you a few peers who we think you will work well with
  • You'll then have 2-3 discovery calls to meet peers and decide
  • OR you can join with a peer who you already know and would like to work with
step 2

Learn how to peer coach

  • Join a 3-hr group workshop to learn & practise key coaching techniques with your peer
  • Get assigned an experienced coach as your 'pair facilitator' to help you improve your sessions and coaching skills
  • Learn-by-doing with our in-app coaching frameworks & prompting questions
step 3

Get a high ROI from your sessions

  • Book 95-min sessions every 2 weeks or 2-hr sessions every 3 or 4 weeks
  • Use our web app to run your sessions more easily, learn to coach faster and facilitate post-session accountability
  • Get detailed feedback from your pair facilitator who will join your 3rd or 4th session

Wondering who's going to be your peer coach?

You have two options – you can EITHER let us help you find a like-minded, inspiring peer coach OR join with someone you already know.

During the signup process, we'll ask you a few questions to better understand your preferences. Based on those, we'll propose a few matches that we think may suit you – we optimise for sufficient similarities as well differences in perspective. If you disagree with us, you can decline the match. If you find them potentially suitable, you'll book a discovery call with them so you can make up your mind.

And even then you're not trapped – we'll be taking a pulse on your sessions from time to time, such that it's never awkward to swap partners if things aren't working out.

What else?

A tech-enabled platform & ongoing support from an experienced coach

  • Run your sessions with our web app, which makes it easy to follow the session structure & provides you with coaching frameworks
  • At the end of each session, record your key insights and commitments in the app
  • Get email & Slack prompts to reflect on how much progress you've made on your commitments

Questions that may still be on your mind

Who will be my peer coach?
You have two options – you can EITHER let us help you find a peer coach who you relate to and are inspired by OR join with someone you already know.

During the signup process, we'll ask you a few questions to better understand your preferences. Based on those, we'll propose a few matches that we think may suit you – we optimise for sufficient similarities as well differences in perspective. If you disagree with us, you can decline the match. If you find them potentially suitable, you'll book a discovery call with them so you can make up your mind.

And even then you're not trapped – we'll be taking a pulse on your sessions from time to time, such that it's never awkward to swap partners if things aren't working out. We recommend that you have the same peer coach for up to 12 months, but it's really up to you.
How much time will I have to commit?
We recommend that you have sessions every 2, 3 or 4 weeks. If you have sessions every 2 weeks, we recommend having 95-min sessions. If you have them every 3 or 4 weeks, then a 2-hour session is what we've found to work best.

You and your peer coach will decide together on the frequency and duration of your sessions based on how much time you're able to commit. During the signup process, we'll be asking you about your preferences and we'll try to match you with a peer who has similar ones.
What will we actually do during sessions?
Your peer coaching sessions will have 3 key parts and you will both take turns on each of them:

1) Reflecting out loud on what went well and didn't go so well in each of your life domains – personal, work and social – and the commitments you made in your previous session

2) Diving into a specific topic that's taking up your headspace to find a way forward

3) Noting down in our web app your key insights and the actions you're committing to

Our tech-enabled platform will then use this data to send you and your peer coach reminders of your commitments and prompts to reflect on your progress in-between sessions.
How much will I have to pay?
We want to be transparent about our pricing and to make sure that you are comfortable with it before signing up. Please check our pricing here.

💡 Your employer may be willing to cover this fee as a Learning & Development benefit – why not ask them? To help you pitch it to them, check out here some of the potential benefits to your employer.
How do I join?
Firstly, thank you for your interest in joining us!

To join, please click on one of the JOIN OUR WAITLIST buttons. Jot down your details and wait to hear from us. We'll let you know within a few days where we are in our participant recruitment process and how long until we can welcome you.

If you have any question ahead of joining, please email hello@runyourself.co – we care deeply about each person interested in what we have to offer and we'd love to hear from you.

What you'll gain

A space to reflect
Reflect out loud with a like-minded peer to gain perspective, solve challenges and make better decisions faster
An accountability partner
Gain an accountability partner who you relate to and are inspired by, to help you stick to the actions you commit to
A core skill – coaching
Learn and practise coaching – empower others not by telling them what to do, but by helping them think for themselves