Just as focusing on individual performance doesn’t necessarily lead to improved collective (team) performance, high performing teams don’t necessarily work together to deliver a high performing organization. In his book Team of Teams, retired US general Stanley McChrystal offers a number of examples of how functional silos within organisations or even within departments can undermine (more…)
There is a severe lack of both empirical research and theoretical models relating to the concept of teams of teams. Google Scholar lists just one publication – an autobiographical account of the concept at work in the theatre of war (McChrystal et al, 2015). So, it is hardly surprising that coaches struggle to know where (more…)
Teams are a special form of group, where shared purpose and interdependencies replace common purpose and individual activity. The distinction between a group and a team is often blurred. A group may exhibit some of the behaviours associated with teaming, but not all. Groups in the workplace often describe themselves as teams, because they feel (more…)
I’m hearing the word “coachability” a lot more recently in my supervision groups. For example, “I should have gone with my instinct and turned the client down – he’s not coachable.” There are two schools of thought around this. One is that no-one is uncoachable. The issue is whether this coach is the right coach (more…)
Human beings initiate change when they feel discomfort or dissatisfaction. So, in principle, a coaching or mentoring conversation that doesn’t involve some level of discomfort is likely to lead to less significant change than one that does. However, we also tend to avoid discomfort, especially if it is elevated to become pain. We also tend (more…)
Everyone has some beliefs that they hold onto, even when logic suggests that this is irrational. For the most part, these are harmless and are simply part of our identity. For example, the theories of reflexology and homeopathy have both been thoroughly debunked as nonsense. However, unless the practitioner puts the client in danger by (more…)
One of the signs of a coaching culture in a team is when everyone is comfortable with being coached by everyone else. A tipping point in achieving a coaching culture is when the team leader is happy to be coached by direct reports. A five-stage approach can be helpful here: The team leader is coached (more…)
Time to trade in HR Bling? In recent decades, HR has accumulated a fearsome array of processes and procedures, all meant to make it more effective in supporting organisations and more respected for doing so. New methodologies are embraced enthusiastically, imported into the HR catalogue and imposed on increasingly wary line managers. Like bling, many...
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Creating the environment for career alignment In my researches into succession planning, one of the aspects I am exploring is how HR can build an environment, where honest, well-informed and continuous conversations about career opportunities can take place. Here are some of the ideas that are emerging: HR can’t realistically expect to conduct regular, frequent,...
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Talking to oneself is both more common and more useful than we expect. Studies at the University of Nevada suggest that up to 80% of our mental experiences relate to conscious or unconscious, unspoken verbal conversations. Other research shows that the words we use have a substantial impact on what we observe. So much so...
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