Coaching The Team – A Team Health Check

How do I know if my team is sick or healthy? Many Chief Executives and Senior Managers often have a ‘hunch’ that all is not quite right in their team. Sometimes there are overt signs like controlling or dominant individuals; relationship conflicts or breakdowns; ineffective team processes; ‘ganging up’ against a member of the team. Sometimes there are covert signs like lack of engagement, lack of enjoyment, declining energy; lack of creativity; snatching defeat from the jaws of victory on key projects or decisions; repeatedly unproductive meetings.

A key concern for these Chief Executives and Senior Managers is how can I find out what, or if, there are issues affecting the performance of this team in a way that is safe, not judgmental and gains the increased ‘buy-in’ of the team, rather than alienating them by forcing some intervention on them.

The idea of a health check is a neutral approach to team development. It neither ignores nor assumes that there are issues for the team to look at. If the result is that the team is in good health then they are encouraged. If the result is that there are issues which are affecting the teams performance then the team will be in charge of deciding what the issues are and the agenda for dealing with them. Buy-in is therefore achieved. A team health check is simply another form of business audit.

The process has three stages to it:

This involves:

• 1:1 interviews with each member of the team
  
  
• Creating an anonymised report from the discussions
  
  
• A day meeting with the team to look at the report and talk through the issues raised

• From the issues that have surfaced and been discussed, we facilitate the team in creating its agenda for its development
• All is well-no further work needed at this stage
• A days investment by the team in using the Myers Briggs Type Indicator© as a well known tool for maximising the personal differences within the team for optimum performance

• Coach the team through its agenda
• Help the team to integrate any recognised developmental issues into agreed goals
• Any individual issues which surface can be taken off line in 1:1 coaching

What is the Value-Added?

1. The health of the team is clarified
2. Any issues are surfaced by the team rather than an ‘outsider’
3. A safe environment is created for acknowledging and processing any issues
4. The team agrees its own agenda for development

The result is ‘buy-in’ by the team and improved performance from the team.