Coaching entire teams involves both team and individual work. Teams can be coached as a whole, in specified or observed areas such as fine tuning of communication, work flow processes, better decision making practices and higher quality work products.

Coaches sit in on team meetings or other organizational meetings and events to observe team behaviors. Individuals on the team can also be shadow coached. Coaching observations, internal feedback or organizational goals determine the development plan, and focus for follow-up coaching to help individuals develop skill sets for a greater contribution to the team.

CoachWorks® can also help identify both team and individual competency levels, skill gaps, and behaviors, then develop a plan to help both individuals and whole teams get clarity and focus around roles on the team, accountabilities and expectations. Team coaching can involve such issues as relationship challenges with other team members, different individual styles and how to give and receive feedback, and communication. The goal is to build individual competencies within spheres of influence on the team.

Depending on assignment and how contracts are set up, when we are process or shadow coaching a team some of those specific individual coaching pieces may actually be named and brought into team discussion. For example, a naturally introspective researcher may need to recognize that to be a higher performing team member he needs to speak up more. Or, there may be times when a team member realizes that his or her personality and way of processing is so vocal it often dominates the "air time" on a team. Coaching is done both in the team process, and on an individual one-on-one basis. Coaches work to enable members to identify and recognize behaviors that require change, and develop strategies to combat less desirable tendencies and effect needed changes. Coaching looks at finding ways of reinforcing desired behavior, and non-desired pattern interruption.

While team coaching seeks to grow the team's overall effectiveness, the process of getting there actually grows and stretches individual competencies. Coaches hold individuals accountable during the team coaching process. Action Learning Projects (ALPs) are often utilized to allow team members to exercise new skills and coaching challenges in actual project settings. Timelines are established with measurable benchmarks, and progress toward goals is monitored.