Team coaching has become a buzzword in today’s high-pressure marketplace, but what is it all about and how can it help? Unlike executive coaching which focuses on the individual, team coaching is aimed at a group of people working together to achieve a common goal. Sarah Parr of Sirise Coaching is an independent executive coach who specialises in teams and helping them to deliver on their corporate objectives.  In this post, Sarah explores what team coaching is all about and how it can boost performance.

Teams have shared purpose

First, let’s define what we mean by the word team because a group of people working together are not necessarily a team. For me, the most important thing about a team is that they have a shared purpose. If there isn't a collective vision, then they’re probably not a team. Having said that, teams come in all shapes and sizes and I’ve worked with all manner of teams from functional teams to project-specific and leadership teams.

There is a reason why sports teams need a coach to excel on the playing field!  Team coaching is a relatively new discipline, within a business context, however, team coaching has been around a very long time and there are five key things that all high-performing teams have in common…

Five qualities of a successful team

There is much theory published around the qualities of a successful team, including the work of Patrick Lencioni who lists the top five as:

1. Trust

2. Commitment

3. An ability to be vulnerable with each other

4. Accountability; and

5. Attention to results

Patrick is a best-selling author and pioneer of the organisational health movement who is widely respected for his understanding of team psychology.  You will see these qualities presented by different coaches in different ways, however I’ve found that working on these five factors within a team structure can be transformational.

In fact, if you want to know what an ineffective team looks like you can use the same list, with those five things negated. It’s important to ensure that business teams are performing correctly. Otherwise, one stops achieving your objectives and this invariably results in loss all round, especially when good people leave.  See: How to spot a dysfunctional team.

This is why I am passionate about team coaching and am in the process of writing blog posts about each of these topics, starting with Trust.

If you develop these five qualities in your team, you will find it transformational to your organisation, delivering stronger relationships with customers, Increased morale, lower absences, and greater team effectiveness across the board. Find out more by reading Benefits of Executive Team Coaching.

Let’s talk.

Sarah

Please feel free to contact Sarah Parr at sarah.parr@sirise.co.uk to discuss your team coaching needs.