There has been reams and reams of reading material, training programs CDs and DVDs produced on creating and managing effective team and I suppose one of the main reasons for this is because teams are so critical to the success of any project or endeavour. Whether you are working as a sole trader with your team of accountant, solicitor, coach (I hope) or part of an expedition to climb Everest, the necessity for an effective team is critical.

I would like to share with you a relatively new approach developed by Zeus & Skiffington 2004 to creating and maintaining effective teams with specific focus on the workplace. This approach does not involve requiring all team members to attend lengthy team building training programs even though some of these can be very useful.

This approach is based on the fundamental premise that individuals want to make a positive rather than negative contribution, they want to do work that interests them and they want to feel appreciated for the work that they do. If you can get these right, you are on the way to having a committed, motivated and focused group of individuals whose energy and time can now be focused through a group setting towards achieving specific outcomes and objectives as a team.

The approach I am about to describe requires the use of an independent facilitator or coach who possesses the following competencies: understanding of group dynamics, can assess his/her own and team members strengths and weaknesses, is able to develop commitment to a shared purpose and vision, is focused on achieving, performing, stretching and challenging tasks, good communication skills including listening, questioning and testing assumptions, always moves from conflict to consensual decisions, provides ongoing feedback through appraisals, rewards and focus on the teams goals and vision.

There are six steps to this process;

STEP 1 – Management meeting(s).

The key elements to be agreed here is the Organisations commitment to supporting any decisions and changes proposed by the team, how the team’s work fits in with the Organisations overall Goals and Mission, suitability and assessment of each team member (i.e. strengths and weaknesses) and logistics of when, where and how team meetings will be held.

STEP 2 – Individual team member meetings.

Quiet often, team members can perceive the appointment of an external facilitator or coach negatively and as being singled out for performance deficiencies. By meeting each team member individually, they are given the opportunity to express their concerns and the facilitator has the opportunity to waylay any fears that they may have and build rapport.

STEP 3 - 1^st meeting with the team

Even if team members know each other already there will still be uncertainty, nervousness and reluctance starting out. This can be dealt with using any one of the many icebreaker exercises. It is important at this stage that the Coach defines his/her role and one definition I find works well is “The Coach’s role is to intervene in the discussion with the intention of improving how the group thinks and interacts. The coach is not there to tell or give the team answers (or technical advice), but to invoke your own answers through collaborative dialogue”. (Hargrove 1995). In addition, both the teams and individual objectives should be agreed and documented. Time can be used at this meeting to explore individual’s strengths and weaknesses with the use of questionnaires, profiling etc.

STEP 4 – 2^nd meeting with the team

The 3 aims of this meeting need to be; examination of any resistance to the proposed goals, a review of vision and goals with particular emphasis on commitment levels and feedback on any assessments carried out in meeting 1.

STEP 5 – Commence formal Coaching / Facilitation

The size of the team should be restricted to max 8 individuals per coach/facilitator. Larger teams can be facilitated with additional Coaching resources. With any more than 8 participants, the sessions can become inflexible, and resemble training rather than facilitation. In addition to tackling specific team goals and objectives, time and energy must also be given to cover topics such as how to give feedback, how to lead effectively, how to deal with difficult people and very importantly, how to build high-performing teams.

STEP 6 – Management feedback.

It is critical that tangible specific benefits can be demonstrated to management in relation to the investment made both financially and through the time and energy given by team members to the project. While everyone will have different requirements for reporting here are some of the basics that should be included. Background to the tam coaching project, action plan with specific, measurable results achieved to date and a summary of recommendations to move forward which may include additional team facilitation / coaching and individual coaching.

There you have it, a blueprint to create and maintain high performing, and effective and motivated teams in your workplace. If you are interested in exploring the area of Team facilitation and coaching in more detail, please feel free to contact me.

Fergal O’Connor is a Business and Personal Life Coach working in partnership with his Business and Private clients providing a supportive, confidential, challenging and non-judgemental environment to make their ambitions and dreams a reality. Fergal can be contacted at Synergy Coaching Services, Tel: (061) 467287, www.synergycoachingservices.net

REMEMBER: You become successful the moment you start moving towards a worthwhile goal.

Copyright © 2005 Synergy Coaching Services.