What techniques can you use to help coachees build team collaboration skills?

To build team collaboration skills as an executive coach, focus on clear goals & roles, foster open communication, & promote trust with activities that require cooperation. Use team-building exercises emphasizing diverse skills & implement conflict resolution training. Enhance emotional intelligence to improve interactions & encourage collaborative problem-solving through brainstorming & reviews. Introduce technology for efficient collaboration & create a feedback culture. Provide personalized coaching for leaders to foster an inclusive environment. Tailor approaches to each team’s unique dynamics for effective collaboration enhancement.

Setting a clear and common vision and goal is a necessary step to foster team collaboration. Once a team has a clear and shared vision, supported by specific goals they have a direct influence on, they have a direction of travel they can pursue. To make the collaboration effective, teams will also need to be empowered to deliver and have a high degree of psychological safety.

A great framework which can facilitate sharing of constructive feedback is the Radical Candor framework developed by Kim Scott. I found on countless occasions the tool to be extremely effective in highlighting a) how precise/direct and actionable the feedback was and b) the level of care for the person/team receiving feedback. The framework can be a life changer in increasing the effectiveness of the feedback process

To enhance team collaboration skills, focus on cultivating a culture of mindfulness and empathy within the team. Encourage coachees to practice active listening, where they truly hear and understand their team members' perspectives. Teach the importance of presence in interactions, ensuring everyone feels valued and heard. Facilitate exercises that foster emotional intelligence, enabling team members to respond to feedback with openness rather than defensiveness. Implement regular reflection sessions where the team can share successes and areas for improvement in a supportive environment. These practices, rooted in mindfulness and empathy, lay the foundation for effective collaboration, driving innovation and collective growth.

Introduce the Enneagram into team development to also account for the vertical aspect to understanding personality, which aids leaders in guiding their teams through the egoic barriers hindering growth, enhancing self-awareness and mutual understanding. The Enneagram illuminates individual core motivations, fears, and aspirations, thereby improving empathy and communication. This is transformative for the environment, enabling team members to move past restrictive behaviors for genuine collaboration. The vertical perspective of the Enneagram underscores each personality type's developmental journey, inspiring members to surpass their egoic limitations and achieve their fuller potential.

Collaboration may work in an organisation at various levels : a.Organisation b.Department/Function c.Team d.Individual It’s important to set a clear goal about what the team /leader/Individual wants to accomplish. Having SMART goals , KRAs and KPIs can then be explored depending on the scope of the engagement Challenges and difficulties May then be explored and the gaps assessed Action points from learning and insights may then be explored with the Coachee Regular monitoring of action needs to be done through accountability parameters set

Collaboration is the feeling of belongingness and it always comes with the connection. So, for me, 1-1 connection with individuals to understand their mindset and needs based on individual's personal and professional appetite has always worked.

If I were coaching someone to improve collaboration skills, I would do so by asking them questions about how they are using the talent around them as we go about our work. Over time, it will become clear they can do more and be more fulfilled by being more collaborative with their peers and direct reports alike. One of the best practices I've ever seen was a company who often had a goal of senior officers to "out-collaborate" each other.