Introduction to Team Coaching

For ever, coaching has touted to be deeply effective only in a one-on-one setting. However, in most circumstances, the coachee is working in a team and just like coaching a sports team, coaching a work team involves honing both individual and collective talent hand-in-hand to achieve shared organizational outcomes.

What is Team Coaching

Team coaching works systematically with a team of individuals as a single unit, with an agreed upon common purpose and with the same powerful energy as an individualized coaching engagement to radically benefit the larger, human systems we work in. Teams can then identify and resolve their challenges, resulting in deeper learning, sustainable performance and ongoing development.

In the following piece, we discuss various facets,of team coaching. But, before that, we must get some things out of the way.

What is the difference between Team & Group

A team is a set of individuals knit as one unit, work together, have a common goal and are coached as a unit. A group, on the other hand, is a set of individuals, who, not necessarily connected but have a common problem. Though the goal is the same, the paths to the goal are different and individuals are coached based on their pace, requirement and attention.

A group is a set of individuals who complain of inability to manage time for work could be put together in a coaching setting. The way to get to the resourceful state may vary but the end goal of time management is common to all of them.

A team, say, your work team in the organization has certain targets, issues, commitments that are unique for the team, that have to be addressed as a team. This is where team coaching steps in.

Having straightened that out, it is imperative for teams to draft a team agreement that can act as a compass at the beginning of every team coaching engagement. 

Setting the Team Coaching Agreement

An agreement is an ongoing, dynamic document with a clear set of objectives that govern how the team works. Often, being impatient to act, we directly set out to draft actionables to work upon but well in advance, the team coaching agreement should be drafted to help answer what goals need focus and why the team should get there.  

If the team is stuck and doesn’t know the way forward, it must revert to the agreement for clarity, convenience and effectiveness. If it doesn’t exist in the document, it must be updated and then the team should go ahead. 

Nothing is done on assumption, such that even if the team meets for the 100th time, the team must browse the agreement, probably make required changes and then move into action.

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What does a Team Coach do?

A team coach helps in setting the right and progressive team coaching agreement for the team. Teams can get pulled in different directions because of diverse thoughts and opinions but a Team coach brings alignment and a common direction to the agreement. 

Having set right our team coaching agreement, let’s now get into the brass tacks of team coaching and what a Team Coach can do! 

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The team coaching scenario

Whom do you coach?

There are three major entities involved in the team coaching scenario: the team, the team leader and the stakeholders. Whom do team coaches focus on? Whom do team coaches ‘coach’?

The team? The most obvious answer. Or say the topic, umm, or maybe the process itself? Some of you might go: Naah! Everyone in the line needs coaching.

All said and done, team coaching focuses on the field of interaction. Anyone looking to build the team coaching muscle must tackle this field of energy and then, only then, can they become master team coaches.

How to make a team great? What is the responsibility of Team Coach?

Ask yourself this question: As a team coach, is it possible to make your team great?

Yea! That’s why I was called. Or ‘Not really’.  

A good number would likely fall in the ‘not so sure’ category.

Team coaching experts are, maybe sadly, of the opinion that a team coach cannot make a team great!

Why?  Two reasons.

One, as a team coach, you could look at the team’s actual potential: They are already great!

Is it actually that easy? Consider this: Your son comes home with test scores shy of a ‘C’. What do you do? Give him a piece of your mind or smile and encourage him to explore his actual potential?

The catch is to make a sincere effort to look beyond biases and judgments that cloud one’s vision. It is darn simple to make judgments about the team to be coached but extremely difficult to oversee them and more so, put in sustained practice to succeed at it.

Two, you accept them as they are. Why label them as ‘great’ or ‘not great’?

Teams will be messy,  have unhappy voices, drop accountability sometimes but despite all of this, we must accept them as they are, without intervening to ‘make them great’.

How about we now discuss the golden triangle of team coaching in the light of what we have read so far? 

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The golden triangle of team coaching

The golden triangle of team coaching

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Three Ps of Regal Team Coaching

Purpose: It is a team’s meaningful and enduring reason to exist.

Do you stay fixated on the next quarter’s target of x crores?

Perhaps, to benefit from the team’s expertise and develop your potential?

Or, to make a difference to your customer; to serve the people?

The output of teamwork is a function of the level of understanding of the purpose that drives the team and that is precisely why a deep appreciation of the team’s purpose is necessary right at the beginning of charting the agreement.

The pharma company Novortis regularly puts out awareness pieces on diabetes since they further the cause of diabetes prevention and not only medicinal intervention which, funnily enough, in business light, is detrimental to the company’s profits.  

Potential: Team coaching counts on the acceptance of team talent and capabilities as an expression of their potential.

Talk about team potential and the first thing that flashes in most minds, thanks to the movie, is the Indian cricket team of 83’. Guess what would have happened if the Indian manager didn’t trust the team’s potential and gave up on them like every other person in the Indian team management or literally, the world. We wouldn’t have such a nail-biting story to tell, would we?

Play: Play refers to deftly handling the subtle energies of the group.

There will always be unhappy voices on the team but can there be some happy voices despite the unhappy ones? Can we bring everyone on board? Maybe simple things like calling out to share, asking for help or clarity. These tough conversations build trust and bring people on the team to hum together.

Team coaching is thus a factor of two important things: Time & Patience necessary for people on the team to play along.

And while we play along, let us breeze into understanding effective teams and how they work. Such an understanding will only help recognize teams and their dynamics better, making team coaching effective. 

What do Team Coaches do: In a nutshell

The team coach, with no prior judgment or bias, observes the team dynamic, their strengths and weaknesses. They oversee the drafting of the team charter, along with setting the agreement, compelling group goals and success criteria. They ask tough questions about the way the team shall reach the desired resourceful state and nudge participants to ponder, ruminate and speak up their thoughts, feelings, views and opinions. Finally, being in the light of an action-oriented stance, the coach encourages harnessing compelling competencies towards the fruition of collective commitments.

Having discussed the various aspects of team coaching, it is time to ruminate on the essence and necessity of team coaching for your team.

Do you think team coaching can aid your team to reach a more resourceful state? Maybe help you reach common goals or smoothen out paths of interaction? 

There you are! 

Make the most of ICF Team Coaching with REGAL Unlimited

Regal Unlimited offers team coaching to leading organizations across the globe, enhancing productivity and interaction with customized team based offerings and continued support. If you wish to hire a team coach, then visit www.regalunlimited.com and get in touch with internationally certified team coaches. 

Well, if you are not so sure and perhaps just want to have a chat on team coaching, you are welcome too! Just log onto https://www.regalunlimited.com/icf-team-coaching/  and drop in a mail to procure an appointment with our esteemed team coach, Subash CV who can then guide you with both information and support. 

Here is a chance to build better teams. Give it a go! 

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