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“Not finance. Not strategy. Not technology. It is teamwork that remains the ultimate competitive advantage, both because it is so powerful and so rare.” Patrick Lencioni (2002; vii) … Or
“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” Henry Ford
The fact that team coaching is on most organisations agenda is no surprise. In 2013 The Ridler report suggested in the next three years, 95% of organisations would be using team coaching, or considering doing so, and we are starting to see this happen in practice.
What is team coaching?
There is not one definition of team coaching, and it is often used to describe a variety of interventions including team building, action learning, team facilitation and group coaching.
I see team coaching as a powerful development intervention that brings individuals together to develop their own skills, awareness and learning as a team. It is about creating synergy, helping the team work collaboratively to achieve more together, than they do apart. Team coaching focuses on interpersonal skills and interactions, and looks at enhancing current and future performance, developing team capability and direction beyond what currently exists.
Why have management team coaching?
The most common reasons for business to introduce team coaching are to help senior leadership teams work more effectively together to develop strategy, or as part of wider organisational interventions aimed at developing a more collaborative and empowering culture. Increasingly this approach is being used throughout organisations for management teams who may be:
- In transition, with people stepping up to new roles and feeling apprehensive about the challenge
- Undertaking a complex change project and would like support in clarifying their next steps
- Feeling overwhelmed, like there isn’t enough time in the day to achieve their goals
- Feeling they are genuinely ready to grow their overall team and leadership capabilities
Deciding to use management team coaching
Team coaching tends to suit people working in teams that are involved in the delivery of complex or challenging projects. Only your team can decide if working with a coach is right for them, but there are some factors to consider:
- The coaching process is goal orientated. Your coach will help you, as a team clarify what’s important to you, where you want to go and how you’re going to get there.
- Action is required. With your coaches support you will set the pace and decide what you want to start, stop or continue doing in order to move towards your goals. The actions specified can be undertaken by the team as a whole or individuals within that team.
- You take ownership and accountability. Your coach will work through challenges or issues that are important to the team, or to individuals within that team, and focus on what you can do, say or think to positively impact your circumstances.
If you would like to find out more about how to use coaching to leverage high performance from your teams please join us at our Team Coaching workshop in London on 28 April 2015.
Alternatively if you would like to run team coaching sessions please contact us for an informal telephone consultation.
Elizabeth Crosse
Practice Director
Maximum Coaching
Tel: +44 (0) 1582 714280
Email: [email protected]
