3 reasons how the presence of a team coach helps

Most of my career, like many, I have worked with teams in one form or the other. Be it functional or cross functional, individuals come together and contribute in achieving the objectives of the organization.

HR department, line managers spend a lot of time in team building to keep people engaged so that they collaborate and reach their optimum and help meet the organizational goals.

While working with teams as a coach, I found the following benefits accrue to make it a win-win for the individual, the team and ultimately the organization.

Exploration & Conflict management: As a coach, as I listen and observe the team as a single entity, my questions are more focused towards the team goal and provide a possibility to explore out-of-the-box solutions. When positives or negatives in the team dynamics come up, a directive approach apart from the non directive approach are offered for the team to move forward.

Enhanced focus: I use data points, assumptions, behaviors, etc. displayed in the current and earlier sessions by the team members to reflect, inquire and create awareness in the context of the team goal. It helps to harnesses the team’s performance avoiding any directionless pursuits due to the diversity of factors involved.

Foster autonomy and sustainability: In sessions I find that as individuals share their feelings, beliefs and doubts, the team becomes open and expressive instead of hiding their concerns. Using coaching or other modalities in the same or separate sessions, the team moves towards resolution; building a secure and sustainable future to achieve greater results.

The International Coaching Federation (ICF), earlier this year, came up with a Advanced Certification in Team Coaching (ACTC) to meet the growing demand for coaching teams.

ICF’s Team Coaching Competencies model provides a clear, concise definition for Team Coaching – partnering in a co-creative and reflective process with a team on its dynamics and relationships in a way that inspires them to maximize their abilities and potential in order to reach their common purpose and shared goals.

A team naturally reflects the mindset of the people that constitute it; therefore, the performance of the team is based and can also be augmented by changes in human behavior.