Team coaching is often confused with “team building.” While team building, often a day or two out of the office, can be wonderful for teams that are tired, or worn, or need a boost of energy, the results can be short-lived. Team coaching is not a one-off event; rather, it is a process. The results of successful coaching are not forgotten as the novelty of a team building exercise wears off or as the team must get “back to work.” Interpersonal and intrapersonal development and the ability to commit to a common purpose are strengthened through the team coaching process.

While a business team coach and a sports team coach are often compared to one another, there is a fundamental difference between the two. Where a sports coach guides, directs, judges, decides for and leads his team, a business team coach is there primarily to listen, observe and playback for the team the coach’s experience of them without judgment. Rather than directing the play, a business team coach watches the game to feedback the experience of the team so they can deepen their understanding of both the team’s dynamics and their own contributing behavior.  One of the tools that I use as a team coach to help me make sense of the information gathered is called a sociogram.

A leader is responsible for turning a group of individuals into a team; for making that team stronger and more effective than the sum of its parts. It can be an exhilarating challenge, or a heavy burden. Team coaching is a process that is meant to strengthen and solidify teams around a common purpose. At the same time, it empowers leaders to become effective guides and help to inspire others to dream, learn, do, and become more.

The Current Landscape

Today’s leaders are often not set-up to successfully do everything and be everything to everyone. Here is a scene that plays itself out in organizations all over the world: the leader rushes into a meeting, likely late as her last meeting just wrapped up. She opens her binder, and throws some information, analytics, or thoughts at the group. Then she wonders why, at the end of meeting yet another meeting must be scheduled before things can get started.

It is important that a team knows that team coaching is not something that is done to them; it is something that is done with them. This process is not about dwelling on the past; it’s not about forcing people to fit into some idea of what a “team” should be; it’s not about a one or two day “Rah! Rah!” event. Team coaching is about enabling a team to do its collective best work while at the same time empowering individuals to do theirs.

Step #1 – Leader Relationship Building

“Great leaders intentionally influence and develop other leaders, build teams and foster collaborative culture. In other words, they become Legacy Leaders, building a multigenerational thumbprint for others who will use these same principles of learning and training with their own staff members.” Drs. Jeannine Sandstrom and Lee Smith, Legacy Leadership.

Living one’s legacy rather than leaving it behind is likely something I’ve always thought about, even if unconsciously. It is grounded in my family values; we were raised to do our best, to strive to do our best. We did not “try.” That was a word my parents did not use very often. If you decided to do something, you went out there and did your very best, and if you were not committed to doing your best, you didn’t bother. This has translated into a workplace philosophy that has guided my work. What was “best” and what type of thumbprint was I leaving for others?