Go Team! A look at the philosophy behind team coaching
Pep rallies, team songs and cheerleaders seem to work in the world of sport. But in the world of business the need to analyse risk, recognize opportunity and anticipate change has sharpened our critical thinking and problem solving skills to a fine point. That leaves little room for team spirit and lots of opportunities for accidental jabs and pokes. What suffers, in the end, is the morale and productivity of the team. Team members can feel hurt, criticized, and vulnerable. As an entity of its own, the team itself will lack a confident, respectful, harmonious voice.
Team coaching, a relatively new addition to the suite of services offered by professional coaches, examines the team as a system rather than as a group of individuals. The coach facilitates group interactions and provides a safe, inspiring space for the team to articulate its needs and values. “The team is the system,” says Sage Portfolio Group CEO Melanie Parish, “and all the wisdom is in the team already. The coach’s role is to bring out that team voice and to teach teams to relate positively with and about each other.”
It is this emphasis on positivity that defines team coaching. “In order to have a productive relationship with anyone, you need to offer five positives for every negative. If we’re nothing but problem solvers that just doesn’t happen,” admits Parish. “Sure, we can share the odd compliment or two. But our social norms dictate that we can’t speak for very long about the positive aspects of a work or team environment, or the pleasure we feel working with particular individuals.”
Team coaching can focus on a particular objective but Parish is quick to point out that this cannot be assigned from the outside. “It will be determined by the team itself,” she says. “Certain themes or common elements will emerge, and the coach will listen for these cues and articulate them for the group.” Parish has coached teams that were hungry for more time together. That wanted desperately to develop their leadership skills. That were interested in bringing forward new leaders so that the organization could grow. Once articulated, these “system needs” can be acted on and the coach can assist the team to identify ideas and strategies to move forward.
Team coaches use the Organizational and Relationship Systems Coaching (ORSC) model developed by Marita Fridjhon and Faith Fuller. They can administer a team assessment, which measures seven productivity and seven positivity factors and presents the results in an easy-to-read profile. The assessment is unique in that it measures the team as a whole. The coaching component often involves a day-long session, broken into 90 minute segments, that includes team building and examining real-life business problems that the team is working through. Follow up to the in-person session occurs in a conference call setting for a pre-determined length of time. Some clients choose to have ongoing team coaching. The involvement of the coach is in the ongoing development of the team, not in providing facilitation for the team.
Does all the positive talk and relationship building pay off in the end? “Absolutely,” says Parish. “Positivity provides a strong foundation for problem solving, because team members trust each other. Team coaching also allows those who have found what I like to call their ’sweet spot’ – the place where their skills and passion meet – to share that positive energy and pass it to others. When teams find their voice, they can accomplish great things. Most effective organizations want to hear the team voice and respond to it.”
