Coaching Teams at Work
Coaching the Team at Work provides helpful insights about how coaching actually shows up when one works with teams, and what conditions need to be in place to make coaching teams a fruitful endeavor. As in most books, I find that I come away with more questions than answers. I've listed the questions below from this book that challenged my to thinking and approaches to team coaching.
Using teams and forming of teams
- All coaching starts with a need for change. How will I help the team clarify outcomes?
- When will you ask, "what do we want to see happen? What do they want to avoid happening?"
- How will you know if team coaching is appropriate? What other approaches may deliver better results?
- What is the responsibility of team members in this process? What roles are team members asked to play? What role will the convener of the team play? What is my role?
- When will you ask, "What do team members need from each other to thrive?"
- What do team members need to know before agreeing to be part of the team?
- What's criteria is used for selecting team members? What skills are necessary?
- What else does team coaching involve besides achieving a shared goal? What about the need for managing team dynamics, providing opportunities to learn together, celebrating successes, and drawing out each team members unique talents and perspectives?
- How will you interact with the team convener before and during sessions?
- When is it appropriate for the coach to be the team leader and when should the coach be an external professional?
- Will the team leaders who serve as coaches also be assigned a coach?
Building high performing teams
- What do you mean when you talk about "high performing teams ?"
- What distinguishes high performing teams from the norm?
- How sustainable is high performance? Do we expect too much?
- What does effective coaching look like?
- To become and remain high performing, will the team need other resources such as mentoring and training?
- How do you know, and measure when team coaching has been effective?
- How do effective team coaches facilitate the coaching conversation?
- What does an effective team coaching session look like?
- What roles will you play in inspiring the team and keeping them motivated?
- In what ways can you grow trust and collaboration within a team?
- How can you create a culture of mutual accountability?
- How will you help the team deal with bottlenecks, setbacks, and lack of follow through
- How can you help every team member to buy-in to the process and desired outcomes?
- When will check-ins occur throughout the coaching process to review results, rethink norms, expectations, outcomes, and process, and then reinvent future intentions?
Evoking new awareness in teams
- Coaching and mentoring are conversations that allow people to develop greater awareness of both these contexts and integrate that understanding in ways that support better decision - making , self-management, personal development and change.
- How self-aware are your team members? What values do they hold dear? Do they know their strengths and weaknesses, aspirations, dreams and fears?
- Are team member sufficiently aware of what is happening in the world around them, the resources they can call upon, the threats and opportunities they face?
- Are team members aware of how they impact others and how others impact them?
- Are team members aware of their organization's cultures, values, systems and processes?
- Are team members aware of the factors that will help or hinder their success?
- Do team members know how to translate the big picture into bite-size next steps?
- Do team members know the markers for measuring success, and if they're making progress?
- How do I want members to feel about their work?
Enhancing coaching conversations
- How will you listen for understanding – expecting to have assumptions and customary views challenged and changed as listening goes deeper?
- How will you encourage team members to be explicit about the way decision-making processes?
- How will you help members test their assumptions?
- How will you challenge members to be open, frank and respectful when questioning others
- How will you help members own their own views as well as evoke other people's perspectives?
- How will you help members explore what is unsaid and the implications of this for the coaching relationship and also in the rest of the team?
- How will I help members build rapport? Rely on each other's strengths?
- How will I help members pay attention to BOTH the big picture and their next steps?
Questions to use when evaluating teams
- Do we have a clear and shared understanding of what we are trying to achieve together?
- Do we have a clear and shared understanding of the priorities?
- Do we frequently put collective priorities ahead of individual priorities?
- do we have confidence in each other’s competence in their role?
- Do we have a strong store of goodwill towards each other?
- Do we have genuinely open dialogue about difficult topics?
- Do we have well-understood norms of behavior to manage conflict?
- Do we challenge our assumptions regularly?
- Do we have a high degree of interdependency?
- Are we are mutually accountable for the team’s performance?
- Are we very clear about who is in the team and who is not?
- Do we derive a sense of value from our collective achievements?
- Do we allow leadership to shift in line with individual expertise?
- Do we measure progress against collective goals?
- Do we take responsibility for both our own and each other’s continuous development?
REFLECTIONS | QUESTIONS
List the teams are you currently working with. Then, ask yourself"
- Which questions from this blog do I need to reflect on to improve my coaching impact?
- Which questions do I need to ask my teams to help them fulfill their outcomes and potential?
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5 Comments
Which questions from this blog do I need to reflect on to improve my coaching impact?
Do we have a clear and shared understanding of what we are trying to achieve together?
Do we have a clear and shared understanding of the priorities?
Which questions do I need to ask my teams to help them fulfill their outcomes and potential?
Do we have confidence in each other’s competence in their role?
Do we have a strong store of goodwill towards each other?
Do we have genuinely open dialogue about difficult topics?
Do we have well-understood norms of behavior to manage conflict?
I'm working with a church for Faithful Innovations.
Which questions from this blog do I need to reflect on to improve my coaching impact?
Do you have a clear understanding why this team has formed?
Do you have a clear understanding where this journey will take us during the upcoming months through May?
Which questions do I need to ask my teams to help them fulfill their outcomes and potential?
How will I help members build rapport? Rely on each other's strengths?
How will I help members pay attention to BOTH the big picture and their next steps?
I'm working with the Regent Exchange team (but as the Project Manager, not a coach). Relevant questions include:
When is it appropriate for the coach to be the team leader and when should the coach be an external professional?
Do we have a clear and shared understanding of the priorities?
How will I help members pay attention to BOTH the big picture and their next steps?
Are we very clear about who is in the team and who is not?
Do team members know how to translate the big picture into bite-size next steps?
I was really drawn to this section of "Are" questions. In many of the church teams that I have worked with these seem to be the first hurdle.
Are team member sufficiently aware of what is happening in the world around them, the resources they can call upon, the threats and opportunities they face?
Are team members aware of how they impact others and how others impact them?
Are team members aware of their organization's cultures, values, systems and processes?
Are team members aware of the factors that will help or hinder their success?
Wow, so many good questions to ponder. Here are a few of my favorites:
All coaching starts with a need for change. How will I help the team clarify outcomes?
When will you ask, "what do we want to see happen? What do they want to avoid happening?"
What is the responsibility of team members in this process? What roles are team members asked to play? What role will the convener of the team play? What is my role?
When will you ask, "What do team members need from each other to thrive?"
How will you interact with the team convener before and during sessions?
What does effective coaching look like?
To become and remain high performing, will the team need other resources such as mentoring and training?
What does an effective team coaching session look like?
In what ways can you grow trust and collaboration within a team?
How will you help the team deal with bottlenecks, setbacks, and lack of follow through
How can you help every team member to buy-in to the process and desired outcomes?
Are team members aware of how they impact others and how others impact them?
Do team members know how to translate the big picture into bite-size next steps?
Do team members know the markers for measuring success, and if they're making progress?
How will you help members test their assumptions?
How will you challenge members to be open, frank and respectful when questioning others
How will you help members own their own views as well as evoke other people's perspectives?
How will I help members pay attention to BOTH the big picture and their next steps?
Do we have a clear and shared understanding of what we are trying to achieve together?
Do we have a clear and shared understanding of the priorities?
Do we frequently put collective priorities ahead of individual priorities?
do we have confidence in each other’s competence in their role?
Do we have a strong store of goodwill towards each other?
Do we have genuinely open dialogue about difficult topics?
Do we have well-understood norms of behavior to manage conflict?
Do we challenge our assumptions regularly?
Are we are mutually accountable for the team’s performance?
Are we very clear about who is in the team and who is not?