One of the undoubted virtues of coaching is to be able to develop the self-awareness, confidence, and insight of the individual participant. One of the potential drawbacks is that the process is limited to only one person.
Imagine then the power that team coaching has as it allows up to 10 people to simultaneously benefit from the same process with only a fraction of the investment.
Putting the investment benefit to the side for a moment, I would like to identify some of the other extraordinary benefits that team coaching provides as it plays strongly into the concept of team dynamics and provides a sound basis for the development of really powerful inclusive teams.
It is also appropriate to identify the fundamental difference between a group and a team. Do you know the answer?
It is actually very simple…a group has no collective vision whereas a team does. Once a clear vision for the team has been established then the rules of the game around how the team plays can be devised.
There are some other really important benefits of team coaching and the dynamics it develops:
To be a part of a successful team coaching process an individual has to agree to be open and committed to developing their self-awareness and professional skills.
The facilitation of a team coaching session relies on the coach facilitator to begin to introduce the concept of and the skill behind asking “open” questions. This is an emerging leadership skill that can be transferred to the leadership of any team within business and outside of it. What is an open question I hear you ask…simply put, it is a question that you cannot answer with ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
Participants get an understanding of how effectively a team can function when there is a group of people dedicated to achieving a vision and way of being with an open mindset.
Participants have the ability to pass on and practice the skills they learn in the team coaching sessions to their own teams within life and business.
Participants begin to understand what respectful and accountable behaviour looks like and how to find it in others.
The beginnings of understanding how a proactive team works and what a proactive team requires.
The communication dynamics around the team coaching process develop confidence so that people are more curious and prepared to be more authentic with each other.
These are some of the benefits of team coaching and I might say that as a coach the process is such a pleasure to facilitate and be immersed in.
How might the concept work in your life and business pursuits?