Can a manager coach their team??
Kirsten Dierolf, ICF MCC, ICF ACTC, EMCC MP, ESIA, ITCA MP
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Can a manager coach their team? My first reaction would be: no, of course not, this won’t work. There is too much role confusion and potential conflicts of interest. But, is this really true? Join me in thinking about the issues involved.
Conflict of interest
Is there always a conflict of interest? In the best case the manager would like the team to perform well and get along, which is also what most teams would want. In fact, I find it hard to construct a conflict of interest between a team and their manager. One case that I can come up with could be if the manager wants to take on more projects than the team can handle or if the manager would like to stretch the team too far. But otherwise? I am coming to the conclusion that in most cases it is not safe to assume that there is a conflict of interest.
Role confusion
Yes, I can see how that can be an issue. The team’s manager has different rights and duties than a team coach. One of the main differences is that the manager evaluates his direct reports. Most companies still have performance evaluation processes to decide who is a good fit for a position and to figure out who might be promoted and who might have to leave the company. A coach is not responsible for “the bottom line” and also has no business evaluating the team’s performance.
When coached by their manager, the team may not be open and feel like they have to “perform”. However, there may be exceptions. If the company or the team has a coaching culture in which openness, freedom of fear, and a good culture of mistakes are the norm, the team may not feel like they are being evaluated by the manager. Engaging in a team coaching process may also be a way to nourish this culture.
So, what do you have to take care of to make it work (if it can be made to work)?
Clarifying roles
When you want to engage in a team coaching process with your own team, it might make sense to clarify at the beginning that you want to be acting as the team’s coach and what the role of a team coach is. Make sure the team understands that you will not use any of the information from the team coaching for evaluation purposes. Maybe you could also mark the change between manager and coach by wearing a different hat or sticker or something.
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A team of team coaches
Maybe you want to kick off the team coaching process by having one-on-ones with all of your team members, asking them what they like about working in this team and what could be better. Collect the answers and present them back to the team (without saying who said what). They will hopefully feel heard by you. This process can also help to generate trust.
As a second step, you could define specific development goals with the team, for example: more efficient meetings, clarity of roles and responsibilities, dealing with setbacks or conflicts. You could then ask one or two people in the team to act as team coaches for this topic: they prepare a short workshop, facilitate it and are generally responsible for this topic. If you as their manager know how to coach a team and your team does not yet have this experience, you might act as their sparring partner in the preparation. This way, the ownership for the whole process rests with the entire team.
Swap
To avoid the confusion of roles, you could also swap with another manager in your organization: they coach you and your team, you coach them and their team. This way, you can relax during the coaching process. When you are coaching the other team, you can gain valuable team coaching experience without the added difficulty of the role confusion.
Hire an external coach
I just had to mention it: I still think it is much easier to work with an external coach or with someone in your organization who has no hierarchical ties to your team. However, as we know, this is not always possible. What do you think? Can a manager coach their own team? I am certainly finding out that it is not the clear “no, never” that I previously thought.
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Coaching for Leaders and Leadership Teams; Supervision for Executive Coaches
1 周I think coaching skills are very important for leaders - to be used in an appropriate context and with appropriate agreements. (For example, coaching a team to generate ways forward with challenging situations, coaching a direct report within a 1-1 as a way of helping them find their own ways forward). I'd say it's quite different to a full coaching relationship with a coach, but a great way for a leader to support their people and help them to perform at their best. (I'm a little biased here, but on the basis of experience: I've been training leaders to use coaching skills since 2005, and supervising them in putting those skills into practice, and I've had some exceptionally good reports about how well it's gone.)
? ICF Coaching Impact Award Winner-CoachME Training ? Founding Partner BMC ? ICF MCC ACTC ? EMCC Recognition - Team Coaching, EIA MP, ESIA ? Systemic Executive & Board Coach ? Psychometrist ? Author ? Researcher ?
2 周Interesting piece. Does it add impact for the team, their purpose, their stakeholder’s needs? We have trained leaders to team coach and then coach other teams in their organisation so that team leaders can be a full part of the team during team coaching. Thank you Kirsten Dierolf, ICF MCC, ICF ACTC, EMCC MP, ESIA, ITCA MP for all your wonderful sharing.
Very interesting perspectives, Kirsten! Personally, I feel that a manager should always play coach so that every member can feel heard and be engaged all the time. It is just a different type of leadership approach. The emphasis on performance evaluation is lifted and exchanged with performance aspiration. That said, there is a time and space when an external team coach will be necessary - for example, if the team is going into unchartered waters, entering into a new phase, or perhaps gone a tad astray in terms of directions and strategy. An external Team Coach would be very helpful.
coach | mentor | trainer | consultant— intercultural and leadership specialist (ICF, EMCC) English/Portuguese
3 周my initial answer is YES a manager can (and probably should) coach their team — HOWEVER “Can a manager BE the team coach” — different answer! doing coaching (using skills) vs being a coach (being in a role)
International Leader and Mentor-Coach
3 周A direct line manager might not be detached but engaged as an experienced coach would be not, nor might they drive the same degree of transformation through a deep sense of curiosity, without attachment. However, over the years I have personally benefitted from international leaders who coached me and aided my growth, believing that this reflected the DNA of a good leader.