Coaching Teams at Work

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?

Which questions from this blog do I need to reflect on to improve my coaching impact?

• 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?

• 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?

• What roles will you play in inspiring the team and keeping them motivated?

• How will you help the team deal with bottlenecks, setbacks, and lack of follow through

• 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?











Which questions do I need to ask my teams to help them fulfill their outcomes and potential?

• How self-aware are your team members? What values do they hold dear? Do they know their strengths and weaknesses, aspirations, dreams and fears?

• Do team members know how to translate the big picture into bite-size next steps?

• How do I want members to feel about their work?

I want to put these questions in a survey and send them to the leadership team or all members depending on the team I'm working with.

• 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?

I am not currently working with any teams, but I appreciate having these questions in advance of working with the Session at my church this summer as we work through our next steps in the Matthew 25 commitment we have made to our community.



Which questions from this blog do I need to reflect on to improve my coaching impact?



*What is the responsibility of the team members in this process? What roles are the team members asked to play? What role will the convener of the team play? What is my role?



*How will you interact with the team convener before and during sessions?



*How sustainable is high performance? Do we expect too much?



*How do you know and measure when team coaching has been effective?



*How do effective team coaches facilitate the coaching conversation?



*How will you challenge members to be open, frank, and respectful when questioning others?





Which questions do I need to ask my teams to help them fulfill their outcomes and potential?



*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 have genuinely open dialogue about difficult topics?



*Do we challenge our assumptions regularly?

So, like many others have said, I don't coach any teams (although I do coach groups), but I work with resourcing a lot of teams (church committees). questions that I am really drawn to are:

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?

How will you help the team deal with bottlenecks, setbacks, and lack of follow through

When will check-ins occur throughout the coaching process to review results, rethink norms, expectations, outcomes, and process, and then reinvent future intentions?

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?

Do team members know how to translate the big picture into bite-size next steps?

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?

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 challenge our assumptions regularly?

Clarifying question: can you share the author's name?

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?

Do we frequently put collective priorities ahead of individual priorities?

How do we measure progress and evaluate our goals?



Which questions do I need to ask my teams to help them fulfill their outcomes and potential?



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?

Are we very clear about who is in the team and who is not?

Do we take responsibility for both our own and each other’s continuous development?

I'm a team member on our Discipleship team, and I lead our Connections Ministry, which comprises three ministry teams. We share vision and mission across the board, which helps—everything we do points to or fosters or engages in the mission and vision in some way. Volunteers comprise most of my team, so I contextualize my questions and expectations.



Questions to improve my coaching impact:

-How will I help the team clarify outcomes?

-When will check-ins occur throughout the coaching process to review results, rethink norms, expectations, outcomes, and process, and then reinvent future intentions?



Questions to help my team fulfill their outcomes and potential:

-How can you create a culture of mutual accountability?

-Are team members aware of how they impact others and how others impact them?

-Do we allow leadership to shift in line with individual expertise?

I am not currently working with any teams, though I see the value IF most parties are committed to the process. First and foremost, do we have a clear and shared understanding of what we are trying to achieve together? Then we can get into the focus for the session.



Working in a church, I can't help but picture our Session as team that would benefit from coaching. We often think of church members as having a shared vision and willingness to be vulnerable, but I haven't see that very often. With them, I would want to start with individual sharing: How self-aware are your team members? What values do they hold dear? Do they know their strengths and weaknesses, aspirations, dreams and fears? THEN, we can move onto a shared goal.

I'm working with two groups right now - one is a family who sees me monthly, and the other is a team that I'm trying to help raise up in its leadership/ownership.



I can see the questions from this blog that can help in both angles:

- "What do we want to see happen? What do you want to avoid happening?"

- "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?"

- "How can you create a culture of mutual accountability?"

- "How will you become aware of your impact on others?"

1. Which questions from this blog do I need to reflect on to improve my coaching impact?

I haven’t coached teams yet but all these questions are worth pondering on. I especially like these following:

o How will you listen for understanding – expecting to have assumptions and customary views challenged and changed as listening goes deeper?

o How will you encourage team members to be explicit about the way decision-making processes?

o How will you help members test their assumptions?

o How will you challenge members to be open, frank and respectful when questioning others?

o How will you help members own their own views as well as evoke other people's perspectives?

o 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?

o How will I help members build rapport? Rely on each other's strengths?

o How will I help members pay attention to BOTH the big picture and their next steps?



2. Which questions do I need to ask my teams to help them fulfill their outcomes and potential?

o All coaching starts with a need for change. How will I help the team clarify outcomes?

o 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?

o When will you ask, "What do team members need from each other to thrive?"

o What do team members need to know before agreeing to be part of the team?

o How will you interact with the team convener before and during sessions?

I need to reflect on:

Do we challenge our assumptions regularly? (No, we don't. I need to spend time thinking about how to help them do this without a huge pushback in every conversation. Perhaps it is as simple as the "is there another story I could tell here" question.

Do we have a high degree of interdependency? (No. They have a high degree of codependence in some cases, but not true interdependence.)

Are we are mutually accountable for the team’s performance? (Also no. If it doesn't happen, it falls on me or other leadership)



I need to ask my team to reflect on:

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?



It seems a little backward to have chosen what seem to be coaching-centered questions for team members to answer, but I think currently they are really struggling to take ownership over any change and that having some deep conversations about what bite-sized next steps could be and measurable markers would be huge for them.

When it comes to teams I'm usually focused on landing planes with plans and ownership of whatever situations the team is working on. But what I need to work most on is helping teams function better as a team. Learning from them what's holding them back, what it will personally or philosophically take for each person to move forward with the team un unity.

"Do we have a strong sense of goodwill toward each other?"

"Are Team members aware of how the impact other and how others impact them?

"How do I want members to feel about their work?"