Beyond the Individual: How Coaching Transforms Teams

A lot of attention and discussion has been given to one-on-one coaching and how it can drastically transform an individual. Rightfully so. Executive coaching, leadership coaching, and personal impact coaching- all can take an individual from great to extraordinary by unlocking their potential in ways that can redefine their careers and lives.  

But, what if we could take that same magic and apply it to teams?  

First let’s take a moment to consider: what exactly is a “team”? It may seem like a simple question, yet many people have a limited definition. Teams exist in many forms across an organization— they can be intact teams, project-based teams, hybrid teams, and dyadic partnerships.  

Whichever the form, we all know when we are part of the something greater than ourselves, and conversely, we know when we are not. 

Patrick Lencioni captured it best when he said, “Not finance. Not strategy. Not technology. It is teamwork that remains the ultimate competitive advantage, both because it is so powerful and so rare.” 

Powerful. Rare. 

So, the natural next question is – how does team coaching create this type of rare competitive edge?

Reinforcement of shared values and a sense of purpose

Often during the day to day, things are heightened, and we get caught up in putting out fires. The most important questions get asked less and less until suddenly we’re no longer clear on our ‘why’. Team coaching helps realign us with our purpose and ensures our values are reflected in our actions. 

However, purpose alone often isn’t enough. We need to then determine what takes priority. How do we maintain a steady pace that inspires rather than overwhelms? The key is maintaining a pace that energizes rather than exhausts. When too many competing demands pile up, progress stalls—and with stalled progress comes a sense of failure. And when people feel unsuccessful, they often retreat into self-preservation mode. That’s when silos form, and collaboration begins to break down. 

Team coaching ensures that everyone understands the vision, strategy and the resulting decisions around priorities and resourcing. In this environment, decisions can be made to ensure we pivot in a timely manner. Everyone on the team understands the direction and is willing to support the decisions on execution. 

Develop a culture of psychological safety

Psychological safety is essential for high performing teams. Team members must feel secure in voicing their thoughts, ideas, questions, concerns, and even mistakes—without the fear of being criticized or judged. This sense of safety stems from an environment that supports interpersonal risk-taking and values every voice, including those of more introverted members. 

Critical elements of such an environment include a culture that views mistakes as opportunities to learn, a leader who openly shares their own challenges and missteps to build trust, and a feedback-friendly atmosphere where even the leader is open to critique. When psychological safety is present, teams exhibit balanced participation, heightened empathy, and candid discussions—creating a space where open communication is not the exception but the norm. 

Enhanced collaboration and communication

We like to think that everyone on the team is willing and able to contribute their thoughts and ideas. Unfortunately, it is often a few members who tend to dominate the conversation. Left unchecked, this pattern will ensue and other members of the team will slowly disengage. When this happens, the team loses some of its power. The role of the team coach is to ensure that all members weigh in on key topics and conversations. For some, this is a learned skill as they find their voice, while for others, they discover how to be curious for a little longer. This kind of open, balanced communication strengthens interpersonal relationships and significantly improves collaboration—enabling the team to perform at its highest potential. 

How is this achieved through the inner workings of team coaching?  

By strengthening values, purpose, trust, and communication, team coaching helps teams thrive. But what specific practices drive these improvements? Here are some key skills and mindset shifts developed through coaching: 

Tough topics are discussed, and communication is open: Coaching helps to establish a culture within the team where everyone is heard. Teams shouldn’t be dominated by a few, but rather it’s recognized and highlighted that each person and their ideas are valuable to the success of the team.   Additionally, strong teams are able to take on and work through difficult conversations and topics. This requires them to learn how to be vulnerable with others, debate assumptions, and think bigger about topics and challenges to achieve powerful outcomes.  

A chance to manage up: A key practice is enabling and encouraging team members to learn how to ask curious, open-ended strategic questions to help promote a culture of continuous learning.  Leaders of the team also need to be prepared and open to answer many of these tough questions such as ‘what is behind the decision or strategy’ that they have set.  This helps to broaden perspectives and create alignment within the team and the leaders. 

Ineffective behavior is called out: Coaching helps to establish norms within the group for accountabilities. Members are encouraged to surface reasons they are not working at optimum levels and with the team’s support learn to do better. Peer to peer accountability is one of the strongest motivators for increased performance, making open communication on this topic essential.   

Appreciation happens frequently: If there is a drought, it is often in the area of appreciation. We are so busy trying to move forward, that we miss opportunities to appreciate the small wins. A team coach can ensure that we don’t miss a moment to celebrate an insight, progress, or a demonstration of company values. When team members feel valued and appreciated their sense of purpose grows and as does their strength as a team.   

Utilizing a coach approach to problem solving: The team coach sets the stage by asking powerful questions of the group. The impact of this approach will inspire team members to do the same. Members of the team will understand that by coaching the people in the team and not the problem, powerful insights and new solutions are generated. 

Overall, when team members show up with the intention of learning and contribute to a culture of appreciation, stronger connections will develop, and the team will thrive.  

Are you ready to take your teams to the next level with coaching?  

Start by consider these first steps to set the team up for success before you begin investing in coaching efforts.   

Take a step back and have an honest look at the team.  

Ask yourself: Are the right people on the team? Do they work well together and contribute to collective success? 

Why? Team coaching isn’t remedial and won’t be effective if you have members trying to sabotage or aren’t bought into the effort. It’s essential to make sure everyone is ready to help elevate the team from good to great, otherwise coaching won’t be an effective solution.  

Consider a team effectiveness assessment. 

Ask yourself: As a team do, we truly understand where we need the help of team coaching? What are we good at and where are we lacking? 

Why? An assessment helps to understand the strengths and gaps of the team’s performance. It will also encourage the team to think about what could be possible if the existing barriers were removed as well as give clarity to success. 

Do we need this competitive Advantage? 

Think of the words of Patrick Lencioni.  Is this the right time to invest in something both rare and powerful? Where could this take us?