There is great value in having a coach. Anyone who is committed to performing beyond their current level knows that they need someone to help them get there. They seek out a coach or, in some cases, a replacement coach if their existing coach has taken them as far as they can go.
However, exponential and extraordinary value for an individual and the business gets created when leadership teams are coached together.
If, as a result of coaching, an individual identifies unproductive behaviours and actions but goes back into a team where those behaviours and actions are endemic, then the value of the personal coaching will be lost rapidly.
Organisations expect great things from their executive and management teams. The stakes are high. Performance is regularly and rigorously scrutinised, and the best executives and managers thrive in that environment.
For many, however, the environment can lead to behaviours such as self concern, attachment to personal agenda, ‘silo’ mentality, isolation, staying within their comfort zones, being protective of their ‘turf’ etc.
When these kinds of dynamics are at play, teamwork, creativity, collaboration and even financial performance can be severely weakened.
It is easy to look at the problem like it’s the fault of one or two individuals.
In fact, it is a team problem.
In a team, there will always be times when difficult emotional or interpersonal discussions are required.
A team that does not know how to deal with these conversations is going to find themselves wanting to avoid or suppress them – which will result in no, or slow, forward movement and the persistence of an unproductive team dynamic.
A team that has the ability to tackle the ‘tough’ conversations and have them turn out will outperform other teams every time.