Working in groups sounds like a great idea in theory.  After all, pople get so much more done together than alone and aren't more heads better than just one?  Leaders tout "the value of teamwork" and "the whole is greater than the sum of the parts." But in reality, group dynamics put lots of complex emotions, behaviors, roles and relationships into play and can create an experience that is actually counterproductive, an energy drain, and registers as negative for those involved. How can an organization get the best out of teams and teamwork? Enter: the team coach. 

A team coach works with a team during their actual meetings and other work activities. This allows the coach to observe the team dynamics in a natural setting, rather than the manufactured situations of an external team-building retreat. While observing the meeting, the team coach will periodically "stop the action" to make observations so the team can become aware of their own behaviors and start to make improvements. 

A pioneer in the practice of team coaching, Alexander Caillet started out as a team-building consultant who would lead teams from many varied organizations through team-building activities over one or two days. He noticed that organizations were calling him back over and over again to teach them the same things- the translation of skills from a retreat setting to everyday work environment was not happening. So Alexander conceived of a different way of working with team dynamics: team coaching. Today, Alexander works with executive teams at organizations such as Coca Cola, McKinsey & Co., MITRE, NASA and Oxfam America to help them build their capabilities for working together and achieving organizational results.

Why hire a team coach? This type of coaching can identify complex group behaviors and drive change. For example, Alexander worked with an NGO that often had trouble making decisions. They couldn't move things forward or take action at the appropriate times because of this problem. With team coaching, the group gained awareness of their "stuck" behaviors around decision-making, and with Alexander's help, they came up with practices and methods to make sure they didn't perpetuate the behavior. When an opportunity opened up for the NGO to make a big impact, their newfound decision-making ability proved invaluable and allowed them to execute on their mission in a big way. Consider calling a team coach if your organization is managing an important transition or strategic change and is relying on a team of leaders to bring it about.  

Leadership and team coach Chris Wahl interviewed Alexander on the June 24 episode of Visionary Leader, Extraordinary Life. The pair will be featured in Part 2 of this series on teams in late July. Listen to the first episode here or via iTunes.