Team coaching versus individual coaching

This summer I had the opportunity to accompany several work teams during my stay in Ivory Coast. We have used team coaching techniques that have allowed them to reflect and identify their strengths, values and objectives. From that base they have built a concrete action plan that will drive and guide them to achieve them.

In relation to the fundamental principles of team coaching, I would like on this occasion to recommend a book that I found inspiring. It is Alain Cardon’s book, “Team Coaching”.

What is the difference between an individual coach and a team coach?

(Metasysteme Coaching 2014 May 2014 Interview of Alain Cardon

MCC by Dana Maria Andrei, in Romania)

What is team coaching?

I would like to highlight here some of the messages that this book reflects and that I consider key in the accompaniment of the teams:

The author states that the coach must be very attentive to how communication is carried out between team members, it is necessary to observe how the other members listen while one speaks, how they look at each other while developing ideas, what the body language is, etc.
It may be interesting for the coach to ask a particular member to participate in an unexpected way, for example by asking for their opinion on a topic, to check the reaction of the rest of the team members.
The coach at a given moment can offer a totally different and original reflection on a specific topic that is being defended by a member of the team, for example, and then leave the conversation to see what happens with respect to that intervention and what is the performance of the other members of the team.
It is useful to ask the team open-ended questions of reflection that can allow them to identify “insights”, (discovery that increases the understanding of a person’s motivations, interests or attitudes).

How long will it take you to solve this problem?
What totally original approach could you propose?
Have you made progress regarding the moment in which you started the discussion?
What main points do you agree on in the team?

The role of the coach in team coaching

The coach must also be aware of the specific space that the team has given to deal with each topic in a meeting, (at the beginning, in the middle, at the end) as well as the time that the team decides to dedicate to each topic.
What important issues have not been discussed? What are the themes that the team considers central and which are more accessory?

Do you know what topics, concerns, or worries are recurring and not addressed until the end of meetings?

What are the issues that consume the most energy, money or time of the team but do not contribute much?

Do you know which decisions are forgotten or simply not addressed?

I also find very interesting the ideas put forward by Alain Cardon that the coach, in team coaching, should adopt a “disruptive” role and introduce elements in team meetings to observe how the team reacts to these situations.

Examples in team coaching

Some examples:

A person who is asked to take on an unusual role in the meeting.
Cut the time on the agenda, or lengthen it just to see what happens.
Start the meeting at the end.
Take the tables out of the room or go to work somewhere else.
Refusing to treat something perceived by everyone as urgent and indispensable.
The coach must observe how the participants feel in the team, and going a little further:
Who sits next to whom and in front of whom?
What are the subgroups composed of members in immediate proximity?
Who is usually close to the leader?
What are the spaces or ruptures in the group’s geography?
Who sits in front and who in the back of the room?
Do you know who changes places regularly and who keeps the same place?
Who stands at the extremes?
Someone is left out of the circle and who is in the center

I find it very interesting to also highlight some more practical tips that the author recommends to take into account for the coach’s work:

Stating the facts with clear words, short messages are best.
Be precise, specific, direct, do not wrap what you are going to say with complex expressions.
Avoid abusive generalizations.
If it has not been understood, ask for clarification.
Avoid opinions disguised in the form of questions.
Do not stop with a joke or lose the thread.
In case of boredom or loss, say so. Most likely, he is not the only one in that situation.
Do not sit in any way, but upright on the edge of the chair, thus showing interest and energy.
Do not lose your nerve. Wait and observe reactions.
Not justifying oneself is a waste of time and energy.
If a debate is established between two participants, do not hesitate to intervene and ask the others for discussion.
If the discussion is exhausted or at an impasse, ask someone who has stood aside to give their opinion.

Questions about team coaching

Finally, I would like to summarize some questions, which, in my opinion, could serve at times to redirect the reflections:
What is the decision you are approaching?
How would you reformulate what you have just said in the form of a decision?
What benefits will what you have just decided have for the team?
Why are you changing the subject without making a decision?
How are you going to ensure that this decision is implemented in the team?

I hope that these reflections inspired by Alain Cardon’s book (“Team Coaching”) can guide you in your coaching processes or in the management of your work team.