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ABOUT TEAM COACHING
WHAT IS A TEAM?
A small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, a set of performance goals, and an approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable.
- “The Wisdom of Teams” by Katzenbach and Smith (1993)
IS YOUR TEAM A FIT?
Team coaching tends to work best for teams that…
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drive mission-focused, cross-functional work with organization-level impact
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operate amid shifting requirements and change
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value collective performance and relationships
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rely on mutual accountability, high interdependence, and diverse skills among its members
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are 2-15 members in size
A TEAM IS...
a distinct dynamic system of 2-15 people who
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share a common purpose and collective goals, outcomes, or deliverables
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work interdependently
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are collectively accountable for achieving outcomes
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develop relationships, patterns, and dynamics that give rise to collective behaviors and capacities exceeding the sum of individual contributions
As a result, the team can be coached as a single client system in a way that a group of individuals that are not a team cannot. A team may be permanent or formed for a specific initiative, project, or objective. There is no minimum or maximum duration for how long this group operates as a team.
A GROUP IS...
generally NOT considered a team when
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it lacks a shared purpose, goals, outcomes, or deliverables
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its members work primarily in parallel rather than interdependently
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accountability resides primarily with individuals rather than the collective
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the group's effectiveness depends little on its collective relationships, interactions, or dynamics
WHAT TO EXPECT IN TEAM COACHING?
Team coaching empowers teams to work toward continued high performance and ongoing development — requiring innovation, flexibility, adaptability, and goal alignment.
July, 2026. International Coaching Federation
A COACH...
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Acts with transparency and clear role boundaries to co-create trust-based relationships and agreements with leaders and stakeholders so that individual and team goals align
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Treats the team as one client, provides structure and process to advance on team’s agenda
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Cultivates psychological safety, encourages participation, listens to individuals and the collective energy, and listens for patterns beyond words, helping to surface and resolve conflict
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Stays objective and culturally aware, manages bias, monitors and raises awareness about team dynamics and behavior patterns
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Challenges assumptions, invites awareness and ownership, helps convert insights into clear goals and action for sustainable change
A COACH MAY ALSO...
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Offer a team assessment and tailored diagnostics
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Help define a team’s vision and purpose
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Provide training, facilitation, or co-coach with another coach to best support you