In past blogs, we’ve talked about what Team Coaching is and the structure of Team Coaching. Now we want to discuss how a team decides what to talk about in their Team Coaching sessions.
The first step is that the team needs to be really clear about what they are ultimately trying to achieve through all their team coaching sessions. If you have not already done so, please create a SMART goal that the team wants to use. For example, let's say your team’s SMART goal is to “improve the departments’ profits by 5% in 12 months.”
The next step is to spend some time in the first session of a team coaching engagement, creating a preliminary plan for how the team wants to reach that goal. Let's say the team above decides the plan is to:
Understand where the department is right now: what’s working, what’s not working, where profits are being hurt, and where they can be grown
Understand how to better leverage each team members’ wiring and strengths to achieve greater profits
Hear how each team members is planning to increase their emotional intelligence
Develop plans for how to grow profits and/or how to reduce losses in their specific sections
Future sessions are then based on this initial plan. Sessions also incorporate any refinements made to the plan as the team works to achieve their overall SMART goal.
Celebrations happen as milestones are reached. Team communication becomes more open and authentic as the team fights to achieve the goal. Their level of collaboration goes up as each one gives the best of what they have to achieve the overall goal. Conflicts are resolved by employing higher levels of emotional intelligence. Trust levels go up as they see each person giving the best of what they have to accomplish the goal.
Chew On This:
Have you ever worked in a team where everyone fought for the same vision? If so, what was that like? If not, what could be possible if your whole team were united today?
Ryan C. Bailey & Associates is an organizational effectiveness firm focused on equipping leaders to develop in-demand high-performing teams to increase the health and effectiveness of the greater organization.
*This blog is an amalgamation of a few different clients. No client is being singled out.