Background
Annie has more than 20 years of working experience. She is currently
working in a foreign company as the head of the sales team. After completing the course, she not only witnessed the transformation that team coaching techniques brought to her work team but also experienced the vitality these consulting methods injected into the teams she served. As the book “Team CoachingUnleased” states, a team is a living system, and through the professional guidance of coaching, we can unleash the team’s power and potential.
About Interview
Annie shared: “I experienced subtle changes and a growth of, honest and open communication, and a growing understanding and resonance within the team, especially during internal and external challenges.
I believe our experience during this period is the epitome of reflects every
team that strives for excellence. I saw real challenges, deep understanding, and sincere cooperation, which made both my team and our client’s team more vibrant.
Let’s hear more from Annie.
I work in sales and tend to be very strict with myself and others. I
hoped to improve my this aspectcommunication skills(especially questioning techniques) by learning from, initially intending to learn team coaching to enhance my communication skills with the team (especially questioning techniques).
I didn’t plan to pursue team coaching projects. I was hesitant to enroll, wondering about its relevance to my career. But I decided to join, considering if I would regret not taking this opportunity later in life. In the beginning of the practical sessions of the course, my experience was superficial when I rigidly followed the techniques. However, the real-world corporate coaching project I conducted with my partner unveiled the charm of team coaching and benefited me a lot. It positively impacted my current job and made me eager to empower more teams. So, not only did I gain professional skills, but I also experienced a shift in my thinking.
The team I worked with, along with a classmate, wasis a national
salemarketings team, which I am familiar with (as I also lead a marketing team). The General Manager and marketing team of the client company were very experienced and had an active mindset.
They were curious yet skeptical about the team coaching model without PowerPoint presentations. Initially, I was nervous about this, but after completing the team coaching workshop, the team’s overall evaluation was 4.99 out of 5, with positive feedback all around.
One key experience I had during the one-day team coaching process was a real revelation about the organization’s issues. These are often overlooked by the organization and leadership. For example, when we look at KPIs, it’s easy to blame individual reasons for poor performance, but it might actually be organizational or systemic issues.
Also, in our routine conversations with senior managementrs, they often can’t agree with us if it’s just verbal communicationthrough words. But if they sit and stay with the team and go through a process together, observing consciously, they will start to recognize and become aware of issues. Once the team is aware of issues, they are motivated to make adjustments.
So, there’s a systemic issue here. My observation of the
mechanism is that the teams needs to experience and, so that they can
become conscious of identifying and understanding the root causes of
problems. Experiences coupled with awareness lead to new discoveries and judgments.
During the team coaching process, the coach intentionally guides the
participants’ awareness, helping team members see aspects they previously missed. This process is very effective.
The pre-course one-on-one interviews were quite revelatory. By talking
deeply with team members, I discovered underlying organizational issues.
Some might seem minor but were leading to some negative changes negatively impacting organisational change. On the basis of report, we have discovered more The discoveries from these interviews. It helped was beneficial for my co-lead and me to set a new focus for the team coaching workshop — to open up helping team members to open up, establishing better communication foundations, and facilitateing more genuine and in-depth conversations. This was crucial.
During the interviews, when clients were willing to share more information and feedback, it was incredibly encouraging for me.
I also applied some team coaching elementstechniques to other client teams. At the end of a day’s activity, we used a long rope to let each team member summarize their take aways day. When each presentation the rope formed a network, members spontaneously expressed that w theye are a team with a common goal, inspiring their leaders to recognize the team’s diversity. It’s quite meaningful to sSeeing the team become active, with each person feeling seen and rediscovering themselves, and becoming more three-dimensional and lively, was very meaningful. In this way, the entire team gradually became more vibrant through the team coaching process.
For me, team coaching is like someone loosening the soil — when planting
flowers and grass, loosening the soil makes the land more nourishing and
vibrant, leading to more lush and bright plants.
The process of team coaching is about enriching the team’s soil, making it more vibrant. Facing challenges, I now have a new systemic perspective — when flowers and grass don’t grow well, we need to understand what’s happening with the soil. I really appreciate your sharing about these real-life scenarios, their impact, and especially your analogy, which resonates so much!
An important point is that after our team coaching, their team had a day-long meeting. The improved communication during team coaching greatly aided the subsequent meeting. This highlights the value of team coaching before meetings! I am grateful to my co-lead for providing such practical opportunities after leaving the classroom. We are preparing for another project, and a factory team will also undergo team coaching.
We’ve gone through evaluations, report explanations, team coaching, and need further follow-up work. We’re consulting for advice on these next steps.
In my team, and while working with clients, I apply what we learned in class, using various methods. For example, in our year-end summary, I added a discussion on values. I encouraged everyone to share their personal values and shift the conversation from ‘what I need to do’ to ‘what we need to do’ – from ‘Me to We’.
Initially, I was concerned that the discussion might not take off and would end quickly, but to my surprise, we talked from 2 PM to 7 PM. This discussion significantly increased trust and understanding among us.
Everyone experienced some change, like a feeling of the soil being loosened. We shared our stories, family and professional challenges, dreams, and confusions. These sincere exchanges brought us closer and helped us see more seeds of mutual support. During this time leading the team, I deeply explored our core values and relationships, considering more how teamwork can improve overall performance and team morale. I increasingly realized that many issues that seem individual problems that seem to be caused by individuals are actually rooted in the team’s culture and communication methods.
I believe there is a significant market for team coaching, although many are still unfamiliar with the concept. Organizations are constantly evolving, and challenges are inevitable. Team coaching can help us coordinate various aspects within a team. As the head of a business department, I find it crucial to be aware of the team’s condition and to develop a systemic view, which is key in leading a team. I think it’’s essential for people in business departments to learn about team coaching.
My key takeaway points are:
Our habitual thinking is to look at surface-level situations and overlook deeperproblems. However, deeper issues are more critical. For example, shifting from a KPI perspective to a systemic one. Approaching problem-solving from It’the KPI perspectives is like treating tonsillitis by removing the tonsils. But from a systemic perspective, what we really need to do is address the underlying causes of the inflammation. Tonsillitis is a systemic symptom, and removing it doesn’t solve the actual problem but rather allows it to persist.
To solve the root issue, we need to return to the systemic level. When we can pinpoint the problem accurately, we will be able to resolve it more quickly and efficiently, leading our teams towards higher effectiveness and sustainabilit.
