I’m working with a great bunch of people, but…

You walk into your office every single day and know that you work with a great group of people on the team. You know lots about them. You know their strengths and weaknesses, their moods and how they are viewed within the organization.  Some of them you might call friends.

But, do you really know them?  

Are you honest with them?

When you break at meetings, you might say stuff in the bathroom or the water cooler that you wouldn't say in the meeting (especially to the boss).

Are you in sync with how the team thinks? 

How does your energy affect others on the team? 

Who are you as a team? 

When there are conflicts, do you (if you are the boss) bring everyone into your office and spend 30 minutes “working it out,” feeling like it’s over, only to realize later that it’s a lot bigger than someone not completing a project on time or someone calling off at the last minute. 

It’s a much bigger problem and you aren’t sure how to handle it or even where to start.

It’s common for leaders to try a lot of external, individual or “fix-it” game plans first: more meetings, team building events, taking that one person aside for an honest dialogue, requesting two team members to collaborate better, training, etc. And those can be beneficial, but only if the “whole team approach”  is also part of the plan. 

This means looking at team purpose, values, beliefs, identity, and commitments separate from the individual members. 

There is much beneath the surface in team dynamics that is not always visible. 

What does the team really value and how is this being honored or not?

What unspoken beliefs does the team hold about itself?

How does the team manage safety when risk is required?

What is the team really committed to?

How might the team have a foot on the gas and the brake at the same time?

A positive and committed team that is “tuned in” to itself is more productive, communicates better, resolves conflicts quicker, is more creative and is excited to work toward long-term results. This is a team that can ask the hard questions, address what is not being said and discover what was previously unknown about itself. This is a team that can make real change happen.

If team coaching sounds really great right now and you want the energy and dialogue on your team to improve so success happens a lot more naturally, schedule a complimentary team diagnostic right here, where we look at your team on 14 different team performance indicators.