“You don’t get to work with perfect people.”
This a quote from one of my clients. "You don't get to work with perfect people." Too many leaders who are having problems with their teams, immediately decide to remove someone or restructure. My experience as a coach tells me that you can try working with the team first. If you can get the whole team working more effectively, you can either solve the problem without letting someone go or you will highlight where the real issue is and make the right decision. You can help the whole team work more effectively through coaching the team.
Coaching teams is not the same as having a team building session. Coaching teams is far more effective than conducting team building sessions. Team building sessions create a "feel good" atmosphere during the session and maybe, if you are lucky, for a short time after the session. Coaching teams takes a few sessions, some time, some one-on-one coaching work and some measurement.
Team coaching also takes a committed and courageous team leader. The leader is the force who drives the team to make changes. The leader shows leadership by changing first. The leader must also be prepared to look at themselves honestly and make their own changes. Often there is feedback for the leader to consider. Effective teams are not solely about the leader, each person will have to commit to doing some things differently.
Here is how it works. 1. Contracting with the leader . "What is the current state?" "What does this team do well?" "What does the team need to be better at?" "In a perfect world, how do you see this team operating?" 2. Measurement. Usually this is in the form of structured interviews. Interviews should be conducted with both team members and "clients" of the team. The interviews can be supported by on-line surveys or assessment tools. 3. The First Team Meeting. The meeting is to set the stage and start working on changing the team dynamics. "Here is what we learned from our interviews. Let's talk about what this means for your team." The focus of this meeting get the team's agreement to commit to some new "team behaviors" and some new team "process". (Team process is really meetings, communications, decision making, team vision). To have lasting change, the team usually needs to focus both on the "soft stuff" (team behaviors or "norms") and on the "hard stuff" (team process). 4. Implementation and next steps. This is different for each team. It almost always involves some ongoing work with the leader, the whole team and some of the individuals on the team. 5. Re-measurement. At the end of a time period (usually a year), re-measure using the same tools and process from the original measurement. Provide the team with the data to celebrate their success and decide on the next steps for the team's on-going development.
Teams can continually improve just like individuals. Teams can get better and better. The trick is to focus on the team itself, spend a little time and measure your progress.
Sandra Oliver - January 29, 2008
Filed under:
coaching,
leadership,
teams
Sandra Oliver
Sandra Oliver Sandra Oliver is a leadership coach and consultant with more than 17 years experience in Corporate HR leadership roles. Her expertise includes change management and succession planning. Sandra is the founder of IMPACT Consulting Inc.
