Note from Sue: Great Teams
The world of team development has come a long way from the days when we stood in a circle and had one blindfolded team member fall backward into fellow team members' arms as a means of developing trust.
The training that I've taken in Organization & Relationship Systems Coaching and my subsequent experiences in coaching leadership teams have given me a new lens to appreciate Teams as ever-evolving, living systems. When viewed as a "voice of the system" one individual's words - even if they are disparaging -- can be received from a profoundly different perspective.
In recent years, it's been particularly satisfying for me to work with senior leadership teams in corporations and ownership teams in small businesses, including those involving the added element of family dynamics and generational succession. From a systems coaching approach, the Team itself is the client and coaching questions are posed to the Team as an entity, rather than to each member as individuals.
- What does this Leadership Team stand for?
- What behaviors does this Team need to shift?
- When is this Team GREAT?
- What future does this Team see?
Recently I had a conversation with a colleague about a request he'd received for team training. In reality it turned out to be an unarticulated invitation for coaching. A prescriptive training solution would have been far too simplistic to support the team with sustainable change. Training can certainly impart new techniques and there's no question that in an interactive training session, participants can practice new skills. However, I find that a Coach-approach best deals with the underlying dynamics, the enablers or the barriers to the new behaviors. It's often not about learning what we SHOULD do but creating the environment for desired behaviors to be the new normal, instead of "shoulds".
For me, the assignments that have me at my most exhilarated are when I arrive with my background in team coaching and knowledge of organization systems, a sketchy agenda and a set of powerful questions. Then we get to work. This work requires a high level of trust in my clients and their trust in me. It requires willingness to work through considerable ambiguity to arrive at clarity. I love nothing more than working with courageous teams that are eager to look below the surface and enhance their power and fulfill their GREATness.
This is the nature of the work that launched a journey of cultural transformation with my courageous client, Capital Paving Inc. I am extremely proud to announce that this week my client and I were recognized by the GTA Chapter of the International Coach Federation as the winner of the 2009 PRISM Award in the Small Business category. This coveted award celebrates organizations that have created excellence and enhanced business performance through their commitment to coaching as a leadership strategy. Capital Paving began our work as an exceptionally strong organization in all the traditional measures of business success but was eager to enhance the involvement of employees in the business and their level of engagement with the company as a great place to work. Stay tuned for my next newsletter which will share the story of their accomplishments!
The challenges in our economy and the myriad shifts that are taking place globally are signaling a new era. I feel very strongly that tools that we have relied on previously and the content that has served us well in developing Teams in the past are no longer enough or even appropriate. This is a time when the answers of past no longer apply. Circumstances are unprecedented. The GREATness of your Leadership Teams is waiting to be discovered and brought forth, not trained in.
Here's to exploring what Great Teams can mean in new and different ways!
I'd love to hear any of your stories about what has shifted within your leadership teams in the past year.
Sue Edwards
President
Development-By-Design
www.development-by-design.com
www.clearingthe90dayhurdle.com
Sue's Blog
http://development-by-design.blogspot.com
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News & Upcoming Events
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Announcing 2009 PRISM Award Winner:
Capital Paving
 Small Business Category
Coached by Sue Edwards, Development by Design
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Onboarding Success: The Team's Accountability
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