It might be helpful to say what Team Coaching isn’t.
It’s not consultancy; I’m not coming in to advise you as a leadership team or diagnose you in any way. It’s not team-building either – building a raft on a riverbank is fun but short-lived and ultimately irrelevant.
Team Coaching harnesses the innate potential of a leadership team. The team learns to view itself and move itself forward in the way that is best for that team.
So, you use me as a mirror in which to see yourselves. I don’t direct or guide you but focus instead on reflecting back what I see from you as a team; what is happening right now between you? Is it serving you? What decision will you make about that?
You are coached as one entity, not as a collection of individuals. You are more than the sum of your parts. Paul, John, George and Ringo were brilliant individuals but extraordinary as The Beatles. What is your team entity capable of?
Team Coaching is affirming – nothing is ‘broken’ and no one is to blame. Everyone can speak freely knowing that their contribution represents some aspect of the team as a whole. So all information is useful and helps the team move forward more consciously and intentionally.
Smart individuals in fast paced environments with heavy workloads often don’t have time to focus on this relational stuff – the dynamics, rather than the mechanics if you will. So, tensions and strains in leadership teams are perfectly normal. This work is about carving out the time – a protected space – to check in on the relational health of the team. A bit like a regular MOT for a car to keep the car working optimally.
Questions? Naturally. I’d love to answer them and perhaps say more about process when we speak – book in call to talk it through.
Here’s what often changes for teams I work with:
Team Alignment & Vision
- Shared clarity on goals and priorities
- A greater understanding of team purpose
- A stronger sense of team values and mission
Collaboration & Trust
- Greater trust and psychological safety to share ideas and challenge each other
- Constructive handling of conflict and tension
- Increased empathy and understanding for each other’s agendas and priorities
Team Culture & Performance
- Shared behavioural norms to bring out the best from each person and the team as a whole
- Greater engagement and morale across the team
- Stronger sense of team identity and ‘oneness’
- Ability to hold the bigger picture while managing day-to-day pressures
- Better problem-solving and innovation as a team
Like many people, I was a little unsure about the value of team coaching sessions and the risks of this going awry. With the skilled facilitation of Jess, I’m now a complete convert. I was particularly impressed by the openness of the team to share their most sensitive personal stories and to reframe the natural tendency to think of their own positions rather than taking the team perspective. Well done Jess.