By Julius Ordoñez, MCC, ACTC

In today’s business world, teams play a critical role in achieving organizational goals. In fact, teams are the backbone of organizations.

Effective teamwork is essential for success, but it’s not always easy to achieve. Many factors can affect and impede team performance, like communication, conflict and lack of trust. This is where Team Coaching plays a crucial part. Team Coaching, specifically ICF Team Coaching, is a collaborative process that helps teams identify and overcome obstacles to their success, and work together more effectively towards achieving their goals. It is an important tool for organizations that want to improve teamwork, increase productivity, and achieve better results. In this article, we will explore some of the different ways ICF Team Coaching can benefit your organization.

ICF Team Coaching is grounded in the International Coaching Federation’s (ICF) coaching competencies, which are a set of skills and behaviours that are critical for effective coaching. Team Coaching under the ICF focuses on developing effective communication skills, building trust among members of the team, and managing conflict.

Improved Communication

One of the key benefits of Team Coaching is that it helps teams to communicate more effectively. Communication is vital in any team, and team coaching enables team members to actively listen to each other and ask questions to clarify their understanding. When team members communicate better, they can share their ideas and opinions, make well thought-out decisions, coordinate their efforts and work together efficiently, avoiding misunderstandings and allowing them to focus their efforts towards a common goal.

Increased Trust

Trust is also critical in any team. When team members trust each other, they are more likely to share their ideas openly without fear, be honest, and work better together knowing they have each other’s backs. Trust can be built through team coaching by creating a safe and supportive environment where team members can be vulnerable and share their real thoughts and feelings. In team coaching sessions, team members can learn to respect each other’s differences, build rapport, and establish a culture of trust. When team members trust each other, they can work together with no holds barred and consequently achieve better results.

Better Conflict Resolution

Conflict is a natural part of any team. In fact, a team without some degree conflict once in a while is not truly optimized, because that means everyone thinks the same. However, conflict can be destructive if not managed properly. In team coaching sessions, team members can learn to identify and manage conflict effectively, in such a way that it will not get in the way of performance and results, nor damage relationships among themselves. They can learn techniques for resolving conflicts, such as active listening, compromise, and negotiation. When team members can manage conflicts better, then can avoid unnecessary tension and work together more harmoniously.
Increased Productivity

When teams are better optimized to eliminate conflicts, communication blocks and lack of trust, they naturally achieve better results. Team coaching make teams more productive by first identifying and then removing these obstacles to success. By improving communication, building trust and managing conflict, the team becomes better united and more agile to work together more efficiently towards hitting those goals and targets. As a result, the whole organization improves and their bottom line improves too!

Improved Leadership Skills

Team coaching can also benefit leaders individually by improving their leadership skills. Leaders can learn to create a healthier and more supportive environment for their teams, build trust, and manage conflict better. They also learn to communicate more clearly in ways where their message is better understood, delegate tasks effectively, and set goals that are aligned with the organization’s objectives and purpose. When leaders have these skills and regularly practice them, they can inspire their teams to emulate their example, thereby producing better results across the board.

ICF Team Coaching is important for any organization that wants to succeed and lead the way in this day and age of hyperfast change and innovation. If your organization is struggling with teamwork and feel disjointed instead of one solid unit, consider team coaching as a way to improve performance. The benefits, as you see above, are numerous (and those are just some of them!), and the return on investment can be significant.

Here are some famous examples of companies that have benefitted from team coaching initiatives:

  1. Google– Google is known for its innovative and collaborative culture, and team coaching played a significant role in achieving this. In the early days of Google, the company hired a coach, Bill Campbell, who worked with the executive team to build a strong culture of collaboration, trust and openness. This coaching helped the company to become one of the most successful and innovative companies in the world.
  2. General Electric (GE)– In the early 2000s, GE hired a coach, Steve Kerr, who worked with the company’s leadership team to develop a coaching culture throughout the organization. This coaching helped the company to become more agile, collaborative, and innovative. As a result, GE was able to navigate the challenges of the 2008 financial crisis and emerge as a stronger and more successful company.
  3. Johnson & Johnson– J&J is a global healthcare company that has benfited from team coaching. In 2010, the company launched a team coaching program that focused on developing leadership skills and improving team collaboration. This coaching helped the company’s teams to work more effectively together, resulting in improved productivity, higher employee engagement, and better business outcomes.
  4. Procter & Gamble (P&G)– P&G is a consumer goods company that has a history of using team coaching to drive business results. The company has used team coaching to build more effective teams, develop leadership skills, and drive innovation. As a result, P&G has been able to stay ahead of its competitors and continue to grow and evolve as a company.

As discussed in these examples, team coaching can help to build stronger teams, develop leadership skills, and drive innovation and growth within organizations. It is an essential tool for any company that wants to be relevant, dynamic and stay ahead of its competitors.