Team coaching with Marion Gillie: frequently asked questions
- What is team coaching?
- How is team coaching different from other forms of team development / facilitation?
- How is team coaching different from coaching individual members of the same team?
- When is team coaching appropriate?
What is team coaching?
Team coaching means different things to different people. This is how The Gillie Partnership views team coaching.
Just as executive coaching helps the individual client unlock his or her potential with a view to becoming the most effective leader (and satisfied human being) that they can be, in team coaching the 'client' is the whole team. The team meets with the coach on a regular basis over a period of time challenging themselves to learn from each other, stretch each other and deliver performance together that is 'more than the sum of the parts'. The approach is highly systemic and, therefore, can cover many areas: how the team supports the growth of each member; how the team members relate to one another; what the team needs to achieve together; how the team functions as a whole; how the team engages with stakeholders; how the team is seen by those in the wider organisation; what the wider organisational issues that the team needs to attend to are (e.g. legislative frameworks, corporate governance, ethical considerations etc.). [back to top]
How is team coaching different from other forms of team development / facilitation?
In team coaching, the whole team is the client, and the whole team are engaged in agreeing the contract, deciding what the 'end' outcomes will be etc. Whilst the boss is still the boss, the emphasis is on collective leadership and treats leadership as a systemic issue. The coach helps the team explore how the individual members of the team, including the leader are co–creating the leadership / followership experience in the system. In team facilitation / team building, the consultant would typically agree the terms of reference (contract, outcomes, methods etc.) with the senior leader / sponsor, who sets the agenda to which the consultant then designs the intervention. This sponsor / team leader would be seen as the 'client' for the work. [back to top]
How is team coaching different from coaching individual members of the same team?
Team coaching may involve coaching individual team members. However, to describe the process as 'team coaching' the whole team needs to agree the overall desired outcomes and objectives for the team as a whole, and the individual coaching then focuses on how each member is contributing to that outcome. The individual coaching interweaves with meetings of the whole team, where both team and individual progress are discussed by the whole team. [back to top]
When is team coaching appropriate?
For any coaching, team or individual, the client needs to be 'coachable'. Team coaching is likely to be effective when: there are few interpersonal problems in the team; team members' perceptions of each other are good to excellent; the team is not in 'deep trouble', e.g. seen as dysfunctional by those in senior roles; there are no serious performance issues (either for specific individuals or the team as a whole); motivation for the intervention is medium to high. This means that team coaching is appropriate when the team is functioning reasonably well, but wants to be even more effective, and less appropriate when there are serious performance issues. [back to top]