7 Steps to Make the Most of Your Team Coaching Experience

Team coaching is a fantastic way for a team to build trust, grow faster, and far exceed team goals and higher-ups’ expectations.  To make the most of your team coaching experience, you’ll want to remember these 7 steps:

1. Clear your mind

Team coaching goes best when everyone on the team is fully present and engaged.  Before you get to your team coaching session, perform a brain dump (see step 1 of this article for instructions), turn off all distractions, leave someone in charge to handle anything, and give specific guidance on what constitutes an emergency worthy of pulling you out of the team coaching.  Everyone on the team is extremely valuable for the team coaching engagement to thrive.  So make sure you are all in.

2. Connect with your team before your session

As much as possible, show up early.  Connect to your other team members.  Use high EQ behaviors to foster positivity, a safe environment, and a creative space.  Humor often helps before the team coaching experience starts. Studies have shown that if a team can get into a positive frame of mind, they can come up with more alternative solutions than when they are in a negative space.

3. Hone in on the topic to discuss

Once your team coaching topic is set, you want to hone in.  The time is tight in team coaching, so rabbit trails can detract from the goal.  Plus, team coaching is a resource investment to your team.  You want to stay on topic so your team can receive multiples of their time and money investment.  

When you hone in, focus first on the part you play in resolving the issue, then see how you can add value to others’ parts.

4. Really contribute

Each person in the room is valuable.  So make sure you are contributing for the good of the whole.  That means: don’t dominate the discussion or interrupt people, don’t take up air time to sound smart, do speak up, do take risks, don’t hold back from saying things that may not be quite right but may help the team get closer to a solution.  You are there for a reason.  

5. Invite in the Introverts

Introverts take in more information than extroverts do, so they need more time to process.  They can’t always translate thought to speech as fast as some extroverts do.  That is not an excuse for them not to speak up.  But since they are also slower to interrupt, make sure you say something like, “Anyone else have something to contribute before we move on?”  

6. Brainstorm alternative solutions

Sometimes a solution may seem obvious.  That’s great.  However, you might want to explore alternatives.  So, “If you can’t do this solution, what could you do?”  Just see if elements from the alternative solutions may help with the original solution.  Many times, great ideas come from building on good ideas.

7. Commit to a plan of action

Once a plan is set, immediately commit by seeing what is the first step you need to do or what first step you can do - and do it as soon as possible.  I like to break my responsibility into meaningful steps that I can put on my calendar.  That helps me commit more.

Team coaching is fun, energizing, thought-provoking, stimulating, and effective.  The more you make the most of it, the faster you will see results.


Chew On This:

  • What do you offer to your team that stands out?

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.