Creating and running an energised SF Support Group

Wendy Van den Bulck & Julia Kalenberg Jan Marklund and Sandra Rosa-Collins

If you use a VPN, click the “Watch on You Tube” button.

Photo by Dustin Humes on Unsplash

Introduced by John Brooker

Welcome to this enlightening exploration of the Solution Focus Support Group, a remarkable collaboration among Wendy Van den Bulck, Jan Marklund, Sandra Rosa-Collin, and Julia Kallenberg, affectionately known as the “four-leaf clover.” They share their journey of mutual support, personal growth, and professional achievement, offering guidance on how you might establish your own SF Support Group.
This support group emerged organically at a retreat in Switzerland, originally aimed at helping members enhance their online visibility. Over five years, their meetings evolved from a sole focus on professional projects to fostering deeper personal connections. The group adopted a structure inspired by the success teams of Business and Professional Women (BPW). Each session follows a clear and effective format, making it easy for others to replicate:

Kick-off Meeting: Members introduce their chosen topics and share their desired outcomes.

Regular Meetings: Held every six to eight weeks, these meetings are structured into 15-minute segments for each person. They cover recent achievements, areas needing feedback, open questions, and next steps.

Resource Gossip: A unique and uplifting practice where participants positively "gossip" about a member’s strengths, fostering a supportive and reinforcing atmosphere.

Reflection and Preparation: Members set aside time before each session to reflect on their progress and prepare discussion points, ensuring focused and meaningful interactions.

The group emphasises adaptability, regularly assessing what works and refining their methods accordingly. This flexibility is exemplified in their evolution from “SF Onliners” to “Solution-Focused Progress Team,” eventually transforming into the “Solution-Focused Support Group,” which reflects their changing focus and collective identity. Each participant brings diverse experiences—writing and publishing books, teaching yoga and breathing therapy, developing online platforms, and navigating personal challenges. This diversity enhances their discussions, offering broad perspectives and practical solutions.

The video illustrates how easy it is to create similar groups. Participants encourage viewers to start small, choose members from existing networks or events, maintain consistent meeting logistics (such as using a recurring Zoom link), and keep interactions both structured and flexible. Ultimately, the video encourages you to directly experience the benefits of peer support, community engagement, and structured collaboration. By adopting their strategies—clear structures, regular reflective preparation, positive reinforcement through “resource gossip,” and a commitment to consistent meetings—viewers can create their own effective, resilient support groups.

The session wraps up with breakout discussions, empowering viewers to immediately visualise and begin planning their support communities, thus fostering a broader, solution-focused ripple effect. Join us in exploring how structured collaboration can profoundly influence both your professional projects and personal growth.

If you have experience in setting up a Solution Focus Support Group, please let us know at zoom@sfio.org.

This online Global Chapter was supported by Solution Focus in Organisations (SFIO), a global group of SF practitioners, and Netzwerk Lösungsfokussiertes Arbeiten (NLA), which serves German-speaking SF professionals across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

Listen on Soundcloud