What do experienced team coaches do? Current practice in Australia and New Zealand

Abstract

Team coaching in organisations is becoming increasingly commonplace, but there remains a lack of clarity as to what team coaching is and what makes it effective. Thirty-six team coaches with experience of working in Australia and New Zealand were interviewed in an attempt to explore what practitioners actually do. Evidence was found of multiple approaches. All the coaches focussed on process, however different coaches attended to different aspects of process. For example, some focussed on task while others placed more emphasis on relationships. Nine dimensions of practice were identified, five relating to process and four to preferred methodology.

Keywords

• coaching
• team coaching
• high performing teams
• group dynamics
• group process