Team Coaching
Introduction
High-performing teams are critical to organizational success. However, even the most talented individuals can struggle to collaborate effectively without shared goals, norms, and priorities. The challenge becomes larger with culturally diverse and geographically dispersed teams. Team coaching offers a structured approach to enhancing communication, fostering trust, aligning goals, facing transition, and increasing team cohesiveness. According to the International Coach Federation, an increasing number of organizations use team coaching to improve team performance, with 63% of organizations reporting use of team coaching in 2022, an increase over 51% in 2019.
What Is Team Coaching?
Team coaching is designed to improve team dynamics, communication, and overall performance. Unlike individual coaching, which focuses on personal development, team coaching helps teams function as a cohesive unit, strengthening relationships and maximizing collective potential. The team develops a team culture, norms, and processes that make it more effective. Team coaching is adaptable to meet each team at its unique stage of development, while using proven techniques to help teams manage internal and external changes.
Why use team coaching?
Organizations that invest in team coaching see improvements in performance, morale, and innovation. Some studies have shown that teams with structured coaching experience a 20-30% increase in efficiency and engagement. Another showed that 39% of teams demonstrated improvements over their baselines.
Coaching makes teams more effective and cohesive by creating a space for your team to focus on what is most important. It helps team members improve how they communicate, engage in problem-solving, make decisions, and engage in productive conflict. Teams use coaching to build a team culture, create a focus on professional development, strengthen leadership, manage transitions, design strategies, and make plans.
Team Coaching Approach – Steps in the process
Identify your team. (What is their shared purpose? Does it include people who work for multiple teams? What assessments or reports can you share to give a better picture?)
Meet with the coach to describe your team and their needs.
Everyone on the team participates in a confidential interview.
Themes from the interviews inform recommendations on what the team needs in coaching and whether they also require team-building or training activities.
Initial coaching session with the team to identify goals, how they would like the coach to support them, and how they want to make changes together to improve how the team works.
Four to six additional coaching sessions, 60-90 minutes to work on the team’s selected goals.
The team will increasingly rely on team members to observe their behavior and take over from the coach.
Team commitment:
45 minutes with the team leader or representative for contracting.
30 minutes per team member for interviews.
Provide useful background information like organizational charts, results of team assessments,
Five coaching sessions with the whole team, 45-60 minutes each.
Active engagement in open and honest communication and development
Complete activities within four months of the start date.
Financial commitment: $2000-$3000, depending on team size. **Substantial discounts if your team allows group sessions to be recorded for training.
Coach commitment
Commitment to support your team as a complete unit.
Complete confidentiality with background information, assessments, and interviews. Interview information is presented as themes and not attributed to any team member.
Active engagement with your team and showing up in a way that the team finds most supportive. Confidentiality with information shared in team coaching sessions.
Observations and feedback on group dynamics and communication so your team can make any needed changes.
Support your team until they don’t need the coach.
How to get started with team coaching
To learn more about getting the support your team needs, contact us for a brief consultation. This is not a sales call, but a chance for us to learn about your team and help you design a good plan for them. Click here to set up a meeting or contact us for more information.