If you’re a business owner, you’ve probably thought about the services of a business coach before. Perhaps you have heard about the benefits from a business owner friend, or maybe you found some information about it on the internet. However, many business owners feel a little bit overwhelmed at the prospect, as there seems to be so many different types of coaching available out there! From group coaching to life coaching and everything in between, how do you know which option will be the best one for you and your business? After all, taking on coaching services can be an investment. You want to make sure that it will be one that pays off for you, your business, and your teams. And, it’s important that the coaching you choose helps you to meet your business goals, no matter what these are. Whether it’s growing your business in general, increasing your sales, expanding your teams, or freeing up time for you as a business owner, there is a coaching service out there that will be able to help you.

In this post, we’ll be talking about the concept of team coaching. Many business owners have never heard of this before, leading them to ask the question, ‘what is team coaching, exactly?’ So, today we will help to answer that question, as well as guide you on some ideas of when it may be necessary for your business. Of course, like any form of coaching, it isn’t going to be for everyone, but it can certainly have plenty of benefits for the right kinds of businesses and the teams within them! And, if you choose your team coach carefully, they will work with your teams to come up with strategies and solutions that are unique to you.

So, what is team coaching?

Most types of coaching, in business and elsewhere, tend to focus on an individual. What do they want to achieve? How can they go about meeting those goals? What issues are affecting their performance and what can be done about them? This sort of coaching can be extremely valuable to the individual; it helps them look in on themselves and their business and discover a new way forward. But, what if this concept was applied beyond the individual, and instead for the group as a whole? This is essentially what the concept of team coaching is all about.

Instead of approaching coaching on an individual basis, instead, a whole team will undergo the process together. The aim of this is to address the systems of the business to bring about effective change. After all, how can an individual change for the better if the systems around them (such as their team) aren’t undergoing the same process and therefore holding them back? Usually, team coaching takes on the format of one coach working with a whole group of people. This team could be comprised of all of the employees in a business (usually when a business is small or just starting out), or simply be one of the key teams within a wider organisation.

The aim is to get the team working together as seamlessly as possible and to stretch their abilities and comfort zones to the benefit of the business as a whole. And, there are plenty of benefits to undergoing this sort of coaching, which we will explore now we have hopefully answered the question of what is team coaching, to help you decide if it’s the right kind of coaching for you.

The benefits of team coaching

A business owner may choose team coaching for a number of reasons, including the many benefits that it can bring! But what are these benefits?

The team will gain a better understanding of its role and purpose

The team itself will better understand what’s expected of them, so that they can do their jobs in a more effective manner. From here, they should become more efficient as a unit, as they are spending less time trying to understand their roles and more time simply getting on with the work at hand! Many teams struggle with this issue. They are not entirely sure of their wider purpose within the organisation. This can lead to feelings of demotivation and resentment towards the business and their fellow teammates. But, team coaching can help them overcome this by showing them their purpose and equipping them with the skills they need to carry it out to the best of their ability.

They will be more open and honest with each other

For any group to work at its peak level of success, the team members need to learn to trust each other and have an open and honest method of communication. Team coaching will help them to overcome any fears they may have surrounding this, so that they can have more open dialogue and better understand the challenges that each other are facing.

Communication is key

Following on from this, many team coaches will put a lot of emphasis on improving communication, as it really is key for a successful team and wider organisation! Once communication strategies improve, the team will work together in a more coherent manner. And, it will have a knock-on effect for others in the organisation, as communication across teams becomes more efficient too.

Become more resilient

Another common problem within teams is a lack of resilience. They take any setbacks hard. This can stem from not being sure of their purpose, so they work incredibly hard for something that’s not quite right. But, team coaching can help teach them skills to become more resilient as a group, as well as hopefully reducing the number of setbacks they face in the first place!

Help them prioritise

If a team is consistently missing deadlines and just generally not working in a very efficient manner, it’s quite likely that their priorities are a bit skewed, and they’re not focusing their energy on everything that they should be. Working with a team coach will give them the clarity they need to reassess their priorities and see where they could make changes to ensure that more deadlines are met and the work they do is of a higher quality.

So, what is team coaching going to bring to your business? This list of the benefits of this specific type of coaching is not exhaustive! In fact, there are too many to list in this article. In fact, the benefits that it brings tend to be different for each business. But, any business with a team that isn’t operating to its full capacity or efficiency could probably benefit from it in some way. Your dedicated team coach will work with the team and the business as a whole to devise a strategy that will have the most success.

When is team coaching necessary in business?

So far, this article has aimed to answer the question of what is team coaching, and show you some of the benefits that come with it. But, when is it considered necessary in business? Of course, choosing to take on coaching of any kind is a decision that is personal to each business owner, but as a rough idea, here are the sorts of situations where it may be advisable:

A brand new team

There are several reasons why you may need to bring a brand new group of people into an area of your business. perhaps you have a specific project that needs completing. Or, maybe you are rapidly expanding and need to bring extra help on board. Whatever the reason, it’s important for any new team to be able to enter an organisation and start doing great work straight away. And, team coaching can help make this happen, by supporting the new team in getting to know each other, their strengths and weaknesses, their position in the wider business, and how they are going to make a difference.

A key team needs to do better

In slightly larger businesses that are comprised of more than one team, it’s natural for there to be peaks and troughs in a key team’s performance. However, you don’t want the troughs to last too long, or it could start impacting the wider business in a negative way. So, if your business is struggling with a key team that could be more efficient or effective, they certainly might benefit from team coaching to help them back on the path they need to follow!

A team that’s been together for too long

Just as brand new teams often need a little support to work at their best together, teams that have worked together for some time can benefit too. After working with the same bunch of people for an extended period of time, it’s normal for things to go a bit stagnant. Team members start getting bored and demotivated, and on the whole, the team just seems a bit dull. In these cases, team coaching could be beneficial to help them regain some motivation and face new challenges.

Any team that wants to become a shining example

In businesses with more than one team, there’s usually one that looks to become the shining example, or a role model to the other teams. They want to do the best and be the best, leading others by example. If a business has a team like this, they could benefit from some tam coaching to help them on their way and show the other teams what can be achieved!

What is team coaching: final thoughts

Hopefully, this post has helped to answer your questions surrounding team coaching and when it might be useful for you and your business. It’s just one of the several forms of coaching out there that your business could benefit from. So, if you’re considering taking on the services of a coach, it’s important to think about what you need from them first to ensure that you are getting the right sort of coaching that will actually help your business to achieve its goals.

Here at Chrysalis Partners South, we’re passionate about helping YOU grow your business and make more money! Does this sound like the sort of thin you’re after? Contact me today at graham@grahamgarman.com or complete the contact form here and I’ll get back to your shortly to discuss your individual requirements.