What is Team Coaching and what are the benefits?
Team Coaching is a relatively new advance in organisational development.
Typically, organisations have been more inclined to invest in leadership training to build the capability of their individual leaders. Mainly in the hope that having more effective leaders will result in a more effective organisation. This type of training will certainly upskill your leaders but is unlikely to significantly impact the performance of the teams they lead.
Likewise, team development has largely been focused on team building. Typically, this involves a half or whole day where the team gets away from the office and spends some quality time together (or more recently a virtual online get-together). There are obvious benefits to this, such as building rapport between team members, socialising and perhaps de-stressing, but the benefits are short term and typically not transformational in terms of impacting team performance.
In Team Coaching, the goal is to create a deeper understanding of a team's internal and external dynamics. A coach works with an entire team including its leaders over a more sustained period of time. The whole team is involved throughout the entire process.
This typically involves a discovery phase, a team diagnostic and a comprehensive tailor-made plan that equips the team to function optimally for years to come.
Team Coaching promotes a greater understanding of the team: the people in the team, its dynamics, how it functions, its purpose, its goals and objectives.
The coach works closely with the team to help them create a foundation of safety and belonging, to build trust, and take more ownership. The objective is to guide and shape the team dynamic. A coach aims to leave the team in a better position where each member is contributing more and in turn the team is adding more value to the organisation.
Team Coaching is proven to yield consistently high returns on investment. The benefits include:
Greater Productivity & Profits
Studies show that 86% of US companies that have invested in Team Coaching report an improvement in staff morale and productivity.
Personal growth
Not only does your organisation benefit, but each individual learns their personal strengths and areas for development while also learning those of their colleagues. 80% of individuals who received Team Coaching report increased self-confidence. 70% report improved work performance, relationships and communication skills.
Ripple effect
Sometimes people are in more than one team. Often people work alongside or collaborate with others in the organisation that aren't in their team. We usually find that the skills and values people learn from Team Coaching carry over to other teams and projects. The ripple effect that Team Coaching has will significantly influence your wider company culture and overall work ethic.