Team Coaching and Facilitation

Teamwork in the business context

There are several applications of coaching in the organisational context - executive coaching, line manager coaching, performance coaching and so on. Yet there can be few applications which have more direct benefit than team coaching and facilitation. In our view it is one of the most under-utilised means of performance improvement in many organisations. We think there are several reasons for this:

• A lack of understanding of what team coaching can achieve
• A confusion over what it is - can be mixed up with outdoor development and other team-building approaches
• A negative experience in the past of going through a teamwork process

All of these reasons are perfectly understandable particularly the latter. Team coaching and facilitation is a highly skilled activity and many facilitators simply don't possess the range of competencies to take on complex work. Things can get opened up but the skills are not always in the room to deal with them.

Our track record

We have been facilitating team development of Boards of Directors and Senior Management teams for nearly twenty years and have built up a model of practice which has produced consistently excellent outcomes for our clients.

We have always begun with a careful diagnostic phase where we meet team members on an individual basis to learn what are the key issues. From there we design a team workshop, on the back of what is needed. We never run a standard team building course.

Team Performance Issues

In our experience performance issues within teams invariably arise out of one or more of the following:

• Lack of agreed common purpose
• Problems around team leadership
• Lack of trust and openness
• Unfinished business or baggage between members of the team
• Poor communication
• Unclear roles
• Inefficient use of time
• Inability to deal with conflict constructively

Benefits

Some of the very tangible successes from our team coaching have been:

• Record annual profits
• Best ever staff survey
• Rapid achievement of Investors in People
• Premier football club academy achieving highest ever league position

• "Improved communication
• Greater understanding of self
• Common purpose
• Less personally defensive
• Better control over my emotions
• Recognise my impact on others more
• More open dialogue
• Happier in myself and feel better about the company
• Address conflict sooner
• Understand my people better
• More trust and empowerment
• Higher emotional intelligence
• Benefits are also showing up at home - in my family"

To move forward

Whether it is your top team or teams at any level of the organisation, contact us to discuss your needs. There are huge gains to be made from undertaking well facilitated team processes.