Executive Coaching High-Performing Teams

 

From Good to Great

 
Initial Situation A leader approached us after being promoted to supervise a team of senior managers who had formerly been his peers. Team members often had misunderstandings with one another and frustrations were rarely aired. Conflict among some team members held the team back to make difficult decisions as a group. In addition, the new leader felt his new role wasn’t respected and couldn’t understand why.
  ResultsBy the end of a year, team members reported a dramatic increase in the trust they had for one another. Honest communications increased considerably, and conflict was addressed quickly. Team members commended one another for improvement related to coaching goals and the leader was rated as more effective by his peers. Because the team was on the precipice of a large organizational change, they attributed the coaching to their ability to navigate ambiguity and change together. Just one year later they were publicly recognized as of the most collaborative—and profitable—teams in the company.
 
 
By means of structured interviews and a 360 process with each of the team members as well as the leader, our assessment revealed that there were several team dynamics that required our attention. First off, the team relied more regularly on blaming one other for the lack of team cohesion. Most team members also complained that the leader hadn’t yet transitioned from a peer to a leader: he often complained about his direct reports to other members of the team, creating a divisive climate, and he generally lacked the ability to make tough decisions that might anger his former peers.

Based on our results, we started by reviewing each person’s assessment results with him/her. We discussed key goals for each manager that would positively influence their ability to be more effective on the team. While in a few cases this involved technical skills, most team members were equipped with the skills/knowledge for their jobs; what they needed more of were enhanced social/emotional competencies. Goals varied from helping members communicate more succinctly, to being less micro-managing of peers, to initiating difficult conversations without blame. We also facilitated mediated conversations between members of the team where history had made reconciliation more difficult and conversations were stuck.

Our next step was to begin coaching with each of the ten members of the team as well as the team leader. In weekly coaching sessions we worked with each person around her/his specific developmental goals. Coaching ranged from discussing assigned reading for the individual to more experiential sessions aimed at personal insight. Often we assigned “homework” to each of the members aimed at increased self-awareness as well as behavior change in between sessions.

During the coaching period we also initiated a team meeting during which team members discussed their developmental goals with their peers. Individuals were able to slowly build more trust by becoming more vulnerable and honest with each other. The leader in particular discussed his journey of moving from a peer to a leader and asked his reports for support in making the transition happen.

We continued to facilitate quarterly team meetings for over a year, during which we focused on a specific team dynamic that was challenging during each meeting—including personality issues, role overlap, conflict resolution, etc.