A successful team is made up of a group of people who are bound by mutual performance goals and committed to a common purpose and mission. Their relationships are based on trust, open communication and the principle of free expression. The members understand that disagreements can be positive and in fact can ensure that ‘group think’ (i.e. being clones of each other, maintaining the unhelpful status quo, etc.) does not develop. A team is a combination of people with complementary skills that enjoys a fertile environment in which to work that facilitates top performance. Team Coaching is a process whereby a group of individuals take time out to learn about each other, to agree upon a group mission and to build a sense of trust and openness.

Who is it for?

Team Coaching is perfect for a group of individuals that need to work together as a team. It could be your current department which you feel are at odds with each other and do not see the common goals; it could be a new project team consisting of diverse players from different departments or companies (i.e. consultants); it could be an international team which has to work together in a virtual environment. In fact, Team Coaching is perfect for any group of people who want to learn to interact at a deeper, more effective level with each other.

How does it work?

The Team Coaching programme will be tailor-made to meet the needs of your group. Goals will be set and the number of coaching sessions determined. The sessions are generally half a day and involve plenary sessions plus group coaching sessions. The team members coach each other under the guidance of a group facilitator/coach.

Topics that could form part of the coaching agenda are:

• Understanding norms, values and beliefs and how these effect communication and decision making
• Working with different communication styles
• I’m OK, You’re OK – appreciating similarities and differences and how they complement each other
• Exploring personality types, and preferred work styles
• Ask better questions, get better answers
• Three degrees of listening
• How to solve disagreements and conflict within the team with ease
• Defining a team ’Code of Conduct’

Wat are the benefits?

• Work together effectively and constructively
• Understand what drives each others’ behaviour thus eliminating misunderstandings
• Listen actively to each other to facilitate better communication
• Use their knowledge of personality types to get the best out of each other
• Be decisive as a group and be able to quickly find common ground when searching for solutions
• Manage conflict and disagreements effectively whilst maintaining group cohesion
• Be able to draw on personal differences to enhance creativity
• Have an agreed ‘Code of Conduct’