Team Coaching: What Can Go Wrong?
- Félix Brochu
- Apr 9
- 2 min read
Sometimes, some team approaches fail to produce the desired outcomes, or the process itself generates tensions within the team. What can derail a team coaching process? Conversely, what are the winning conditions to establish?
Team coaching is a powerful practice for helping a management team grow and perform better in meeting human and business challenges. It can transform the team's ways of doing things and even become a significant lever in transforming corporate culture. However, it's not a silver bullet.
Here are 4 factors to consider to increase the success rate of a team coaching:
1. Commitment of team members
As this is a team process, it is essential that every member be involved in the process. We cannot move forward together with only some of the team members.
Lack of engagement can be created by several factors, including:
Misunderstanding or lack of clarity regarding the objectives of the approach;
A team leader who does not implement necessary changes;
Unresolved conflicts within the team.
Team coaching is a process of introspection, self-examination, and change. Naturally, during such processes, tensions, doubts, and questions arise. If these are not addressed openly and clearly, the motivation and commitment of team members may be affected. What is left unsaid in a coaching process diminishes feelings of cohesion and trust within the team.
There are also times when some people are unwilling to engage in a process that requires them to question themselves and change some of their ways of doing things. If these people remain within the team during a team initiative, they will hinder progress and what is possible to achieve. Their lack of commitment can discourage other team members and cause the initiative to fail.
2. Psychological safety
Coaching processes require a space of psychological safety. Introspection, self-questioning, and change can lead us into vulnerable spaces. It's important to be able to carry out this process safely—that is, in a space where we will be met without judgment and with empathy. The coach and team leader have a major role to play in creating this space.
3. Choosing the right coach
Choosing the right coach is crucial. It's important to choose an experienced, qualified coach with a good understanding of the company's context and the challenges facing the management team. An unsuitable coach can harm team dynamics and jeopardize the success of the coaching process.
4. Follow-ups and integration
It's relatively easy to gain awareness in the presence of the coach. What's more difficult is to change and integrate the learning into the company's daily life. If we use a metaphor with sport, you don't become a high-level athlete after a hard day at the gym. It takes training and consistency. The most successful coaching approaches target strategies to implement in advance to promote the integration of learning.
Meet the prerequisites
In summary, for a team coaching approach to achieve the desired results, certain winning conditions must be met. It requires a competent coach who clearly targets the management team's challenges, committed individuals who are willing to challenge themselves, a climate of psychological safety, and a strategy that promotes the integration of learning.
In your experience, what is the most important prerequisite for a successful coaching process?
Selon votre expérience, quelle condition préalable au succès d'une démarche de coaching est la plus importante?
1. L’engagement des membres de l’équipe
2. La sécurité psychologique
3. Le choix du coach
4. Les suivis et l'intégration
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