Coaching teams - not just individuals - buoys productivity
Think of your workplace team as a hand, say Phillip Sandahl and Paul Sherman. Let's say you sprain a finger. You can treat the finger, but the rest of the hand still is agitated and upset.
Sandahl and Sherman, of Team Coaching International, say most organizations try to fix dysfunctional teams by treating the finger - by looking for improved performance from individual team members. It is better, they say, to think of a team as a "living system" that requires systemic coaching efforts - to find a way to fix the sprained finger while acknowledging and addressing the discomfort of the hand at large.
Sandahl and Sherman were among speakers at the American Society of Training and Development International Conference and Exposition in San Diego earlier this month. Their session was well-attended, a reflection of the growing push for collaboration in today's complex and fast-moving work environments, and the attendant pressure for teams to improve their productivity. In fact, says Sandahl, "Most teams are under-performing. Dollars are spent on lifting individual performance - but not the team's."
When diagnosing a team's health, Sandahl and Sherman uses a tool that looks closely at two measures - productivity and "positivity." Their company's research suggests that members of teams with a positive vibe find it much easier to reach deep down to confront and overcome challenges. That means teams should work to reduce or eliminate behaviors such as blame, defensiveness, withdrawal and sarcasm.
Sandahl and Sherman suggest the following steps for leaders hoping to improve team performance:
- Find the compelling mission.
- Listen with the "ears of the team," rather than though individual perspectives.
- Reach conscious agreements about values, roles and rules.
- Increase positivity, decrease negativity.
- Start a conversation about team dynamics. The nature of teams is that, once a conversation is engaged, change of some sort is inevitable.
Like Team Coaching, Leading Edge Associates believes that high-performing teams tend to be inspired by ambitious goals and benefit from members who bring a diverse and complimentary skill-set.
Coaching teams - rather than individuals on the team - means getting the group to step back and examine its personality and processes. A work session will help the group embrace and/or challenge team dynamics and plan follow-up activities. Ongoing coaching will help ensure sustainability.
Larry Olmstead is president and executive consultant of Leading Edge Associates.