the team will gradually follow suit. Given time, old habits may return. The moment the leader de-prioritises collective learning and supporting the work the team has achieved to that point, is when progress can stall and the focus and effort can quickly fall away. We see it in individual coaching as well. The difference is, it’s a whole lot more obvious and impactful with a team . When the leader backs off, the team backs off, often returning to their silos and their comfort zone - getting directed ‘by the boss’. Everyone gets comfortable and growth stops. That doesn’t mean to say the team themselves, can’t pick the baton up and continue – it is possible, but it typically requires some effort from someone in the team, to take the lead. Team coaching shines a light on how the team and its leader are showing up – this means it’s not always a comfortable place for people – this is about ‘readiness’. A team’s development is also not linear or smooth sailing, there are lumps and bumps along the way. The team coach’s job is to bring this normal human being response to change, to the attention of the team, without judgement, and to put it back to them, as to what they want to do next. What’s the future of Team Coaching: ICF [ the International Coach Federation https://coachingfederation. org/credentials-and-standards/teamcoaching/competencies] indicates that team coaching is one of the biggest growth areas in the sector. This is due to the pace at which organisations are needing to move, change and make decisions. This in turn, means they must find ways to work they want the team to do together. That’s why we say, “Boss goes first”. In this way the leader can demonstrate their own commitment to the learning, by their actions, not just their words. This includes accountability for the learning and agreed collective actions between sessions. In addition, and ideally, they will resist the dialling down of team coaching when the normal pressures of work or deadlines kick in, making convenient excuses for their team. When we see this happening, we encourage the CEO into conversation. Instead they’ll use the team coaching forums to help the team prioritise, obtain support from each other so they can cope better with the new pressures. If the CEO/Team Leader is seen not to be committed, not making it a priority, distribute daily decision-making away from the CEO/Team Leader. There’s a growing need for teams that are more cohesive, more collaborative, less individually motivated, effective, and able to adapt quickly to new challenges. Unlike individual coaching, which focuses on developing the skills and capabilities of a single person, team coaching works with the entire team as a unit. PHQ has developed its programs for Leadership Team Coaching by integrating principles from executive coaching, organisational development, strategy, team dynamics/ group process and overlaying all of this with a systemic lens - adopting an ‘outside in/future back’ approach [Professor Peter Hawkins]. What this looks like is posing a couple of questions to the team early on in the discovery process, like: “What do your customers and stakeholders need from this team now, so you can deliver on your stated promises into the future? Think leadership behaviours as opposed to technical/operational competence”. To help the team understand how they may be ‘showing up’ in this regard, we ‘bring’ their customers and key stakeholders; [Board, partners, staff, vendors, suppliers etc] into the room during conversations. Most teams, given the right context, set up and with a bit of courage, will happily focus on their internal dynamics – i.e., what works/doesn’t work between themselves, relationship-wise, as a cohort by saying things like: “We need to hold ourselves accountable to each other more.” “We need to follow through more on what we say we’ll do”: “We need to be firmer on performance management than we are.” etc.
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