In team coaching a skilled and experienced coach will facilitate a conversation with your team in your normal team meeting setting as you do real work. The coach will negotiate with the team to discover how you want to be coached and what your desired outcomes are. You all take responsibility for your own learning, but the coach will work with you to find appropriate accountability for your actions. The coach will challenge you and push the boundaries of your comfort zone in order to make change and transformation possible. The key is that you will be working with real issues in real time which really matter and affect the way in which the team works.
How is team coaching different from Action Learning?
In Action Learning there is no one in the leadership role, everyone contributes to the work of the Set as an individual and there is equality of participation for every member of the Set. Set members bring issues that are live for them; they may not be relevant to the life and work of the team as a whole. In team coaching the team works with real issues in real time which really matter to every member of the team. The team leader is the leader.
In what ways is team coaching more beneficial than individual coaching for members of the team?
The bottom line is that it is much more cost effective. In addition the team works together on the team’s issues rather than individuals coming up with their solutions. It is less likely that decisions will be made which do not take account of each team member’s perspective. It builds trust and openness between team members which will benefit other areas of the team’s work.
Who sets the agenda for team coaching?
The team does. The coach will work with the team to create a clear contract for working around content, working style and outcomes. The team members can renegotiate the contract with the coach at any time if they want to work with different material, work in a different way with the coach or work towards different objectives. Team coaching is non-directive, what the coach does is not of prime importance, what matters is the coaching relationship which the coach and team co-create. It is the quality of this coaching relationship which will deliver what the team is looking for.
How can we evaluate the coaching we receive?
By the quality and effectiveness of the actions which arise from the coaching. The coaching is non-directive, it is not advice giving or telling. The team will work with their issues together until it becomes clear to them what action needs to be taken in order to move the team forward. The team decides what to do, when and how. The coach will work with them designing their actions and working with them around what accountability they need to hold them to their action, but the responsibility to decide what to do and to do it lies 100% with the team. You know team coaching works when identifiable changes happen in the way the team works. Good team coaching will be reflected in increased energy, motivation, action and results for the team.
How can we help you? What would you like to be different in your team by the end of our work with you? Call Claire on 0845 458 0154 or email info@3dcoaching.com
