Team coaching – an introduction
Team coaching is a brilliant way for a team to stand back and reflect. Most teams run through daily business on auto-pilot. They can find themselves going off at tangents and focusing time on the wrong kinds of things. Whilst coaching a team try The Stephen Covey
Time Management Matrix to help the team focus on true priorities.
Before you agree to coach a team, the five questions to ask are:
- Who is the client, why do they want you to coach the team?
- What is the expected outcome?
- Am I aware of the forming, storming, norming, performing model?
- Am I confident enough to ride out the 'storming' phase?
- Am I flexible enough to be adaptable if things aren't working?
1.Team Coaching – who is the client?
Sometimes the obvious questions are the most helpful. Who is asking you to do the team coaching and why? Often the team leader asks you to do the work. If that is the case I'm always curious about the team dynamic (from their perspective). I like to have an 'off the record' frank talk about the team. Ask things like
- What is the team like?
- Is it functioning well?
- Are there some politics bubbling under the surface with the team?
- How happy would they say the team is?
It's good to establish whether the team is doing great work and is looking for a fresh injection of energy. Or it could be that the team is quite flat and there are some corrosive politics at work. It's always best to be prepared.
2. What is the expected outcome of the team coaching?
When a client wants some team coaching they can sometimes have unrealistic expectations. They expect you to come in and wave a magic wand.
Before the team coaching session discuss a realistic outcome. It's unlikely that you will change years of discontent in a 2 hr team coaching session. A simple 'theme' is a great vehicle to focus the team in the right direction. For example a recent theme I used with a school SLT was, "Creating a new vision." This was a great way to discuss values, ideas and priorities.
3. Being aware of the forming, storming, norming, performing model.
When it comes to team coaching, the forming, storming, norming, performing model is very interesting. Keeping it in mind can really help. In brief the stages are as follows
- Forming – This is the first stage. A team gets together and works out their purpose and challenge. It is a place of getting to know each other and inclusion.
- Storming – This can be a very uncomfortable stage for some. This is where different ideas are thrown into the pot and people 'compete' to be heard. When teams are unskilled at communication this can feel quite aggressive and competitive. A skilled facilitator at this stage is worth their weight in gold.
- Norming – The team settles into understanding each other and trusting each other. Watch out for complacency. It's possible for it to creep in which can lead to the stagnation of creativity.
- Performing – The team functions effectively as a unit and moves with energy towards a joint outcome.
4. Team coaching – Can I ride out the 'storming' phase.
The forming, storming, norming and performing model is a classic. Team coaching is not for the faint hearted. If you haven't got the rigour and confidence of riding out the 'storming' phase, then coaching teams is probably not for you.
As the coach it's important to be comfortable with conflict. For the team to be honest and open the coach needs to be able to take a step back and observe the dynamics. Allowing team members to be heard and to listen to each other is incredibly powerful.
I believe that unless team members feel as though their concerns have been heard, they will stay stuck. The 'storming' phase is where you get all the 'background' stuff out in the open.
Helping the team to understand each others' perspective often enables ‘breakthroughs’ to take place. The
traffic light feedback model for teams can be a very helpful way for the team to give each other feedback.
5. Are you flexible enough to change direction during the team coaching?
Having a plan for the day is a must. However being prepared to allow the day to develop at its own pace is also essential. If plan A doesn’t work, be prepared to be flexible and change direction. If you're not comfortable with spontaneous developments – then I would think twice about team coaching.
Summary
Working with teams is incredibly rewarding. Asking these five questions can make the difference between a team session being mediocre, good or powerful. Another useful tool to use when team coaching is
Belbin. Also using a variation of
Open Space Technology Technique can work well. Here's an illustration of a
team coaching session
I ran recently, please feel free to use it if it's helpful.
about the author
Liz Scott works extensively with leadership teams and groups. She is a Belbin accredited facilitator and has also used Open Space Technolgy with groups and teams.
Liz is the co-founder of Coaching Connect. The website and Coaching Connect days have been created to bring coaches together to share and support each other.
For more information on the work that Liz does take a look at her website
Liz Scott Coaching
more info
Further articles relating to team coaching
Time Management Matrix - great tool to use with teams to determine priorities
Open Space Technology Technique - a wonderfully creative way of working with groups
Traffic light feedback for teams - a simple technique to allow feedback during team coaching sessions.
Belbin - a wonderful tool to give non-threatening feedback to teams
Team coaching session - a template of a tried and tested team coaching session
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