Brazilian coaches Helena Schmidt and Caroline Souto delve into the transformative learning process of team coaching
In team coaching, much like in individual coaching, having an array of models and tools at one’s disposal can be helpful. However, excessive reliance on these can lead to a mechanical and superficial coaching process.
The Team Coaching Studio proposes rather that coaches focus more on becoming aware of their own philosophy and stance – beliefs, experiences and behaviours (Woudstra, 2021). This internal compass will guide how and when to use external models and frameworks. The meta-skills of presence, use-of-self and active experimentation are arguably the most powerful framework there is.
Consider a team coaching process as a series of visits to a house where we as team coaches are guests invited to support the team to raise awareness, take ownership and experiment with different approaches to navigate their challenges.
We might arrive at the doorway with a bag full of assumptions from our conversations with the team’s sponsor, previous experiences we’ve had as a team coach, and all of our life experiences. Standing at the threshold, a coach enters a liminal space where we’re no longer completely outside, but not inside either (Drew, 2019). It can be an uncomfortable place where we stand between the known and the unknown, past experiences and future possibilities.
Here, we must tune into our feelings of discomfort, curiosity, excitement, which serve as valuable insights once we start interacting with the team. The moment the door opens, these assumptions meet with the reality of the team’s situation. The more in tune we are with our internal state, the more present we can be to engage with the emerging dynamics without rushing to judgement.
As we begin to walk inside the house, what do we start to become aware of? The formal hallway, family pictures, laughter, bickering? Before acting on any impulse to engage or intervene, what do we notice within ourselves? As we begin to notice internal and external elements, we might offer the team our perceptions of their ‘house’. By using ourselves as mirrors we’re putting this information at the service of the coaching process, inviting the team to look at their reflection from a different perspective. Here, the way we offer our observations can make a significant difference to their impact. Our ‘presence’, or way of being, is an intervention in itself – we can choose to be light, gentle, humorous, or provocative with the aim of increasing the team’s awareness without judgement or shame.
Once the team is presented with this mirror, they might experiment with different approaches to consciously shift their dynamics. The coach, still a guest, can suggest activities and exercises, holding a safe space for active experimentation. Here again, models and tools can be helpful when used in alignment with the overarching meta-skills of presence and self-awareness.
As mentioned earlier, while models and tools have their place, a coach’s personal philosophy and approach are paramount. As we stand at the threshold of transformation, we’re also in “the process of becoming critically aware of how and why the structure of our psychocultural assumptions has come to constrain the way in which we perceive our world, of reconstituting that structure in a way that allows us to be more inclusive and discriminating in our integrating of experience and to act on these new understandings” (Mezirow, 1985).
Embracing and owning one’s inner world as a coach is possibly the most powerful tool in coaching. Continuously reflecting the evolving dynamics of the team, a coach remains ever curious, ever uncertain, perpetually navigating the liminal space of knowing and not knowing.
What is your philosophy and stance as a guest in someone’s house?
References
- Woudstra, G. (2021). Mastering The Art of Team Coaching: A comprehensive guide to unleashing the power, purpose and potential in any team. Team Coaching Studio Press.
- Drew, C. (2019). What is liminal space- 4 key features of liminality. HelpfulProfessor.com: https://helpfulprofessor.com/liminal-space/
- Mezirow, J. (1985) A critical theory of self-directed learning. In S. Brookfield (Ed.) Selfdirected learning: From theory to practice. New directions for continuing education. Jossey-Bass, 17-30.
- Helena Schmidt and Caroline Souto are Learning & Development Specialists, Executive & Team Coaches and Team Coaching Studio (TCS) faculty in Brazil. TCS is an organisation founded to provide a pathway to mastery for team coaches. For world class, accredited training in team coaching, please visit our website: www.teamcoachingstudio.com