Team dynamics,
a challenge and a necessity
Good teams don't just happen. You need good leaders, effective and committed team members, and an inspiring vision and goals that everyone can get behind.
When changes occur, such as the departure of an executive, a reorganisation or a merger between two organisations, the cards are reshuffled, and the teams are reshuffled too. Executive and management teams often find themselves struggling to think through strategic and organisational changes, and the decisions that need to be taken.
Our collective coaching approach helps managers and their teams to unite around renewed objectives that are in line with the company's evolving strategy and vision.
The challenges of collective dynamics
In this context of continuous change, our aim is to ignite the collective dynamic and nurture collaborative relationships within the team, to improve overall performance within the company.
Why use group coaching in the workplace?
How do we get there? Take into account the fact that the nature of change has changed within companies.
- It is no longer a defined moment in time, with a beginning and an end. It's a permanent, ongoing process.
This is why companies today are distinguished less and less by their winning or losing strategic positions, and more and more by their ability to change faster than their competitors.
- In the face of continuous change, the purpose of the changes has changed more than the tools.
Our approach to motivating a team
The aim of collective coaching is to achieve win-win development for both the company and its teams, by working on :
- Assess where the teams are in terms of change (just on the verge or in progress), which will help determine what works and what doesn't in this new context, and how to make the teams more efficient.
- Transcending individual interests to achieve collective success, by learning to cooperate, not just collaborate.
- Building the conditions necessary for professional exchange and mutual support, by (re)defining a common vision with shared objectives.
- De-escalating conflicts, both old and new, in this context of change, to cultivate the pleasure of teamwork.
What types of teams do we work with?
Let's work together!
Support schemes linked to this theme
What is our group coaching method?
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Find out more about supporting teams undergoing change
What are the benefits of coaching teams through change?
Whether undergone or provoked, change generates uncertainty and anxiety within teams. Collective coaching helps to (re)create a collective dynamic to act on the new common future that is taking shape, by enabling teams to :
- (Re)mobilising around a new vision, values and a shared project
- Develop their cohesion and co-responsibility for the success of change
- Improving collective efficiency
- (Re)developing their relationships with their environment (other entities, etc.)
What is successful team coaching?
Successful team coaching enables a team to work together more effectively to achieve its objectives. This obviously requires new practices, but here are a few key characteristics of successful team coaching:
- Successful team coaching starts with a clear definition of the team's objectives. Objectives should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound (SMART). The coach helps the team to identify and clarify these objectives to ensure that all team members adhere to the objectives, and to the resulting changes.
- Successful team coaching must include an honest and constructive assessment of the team's current situation. The team coach must help the team to identify its strengths and weaknesses, to stimulate what we call good team dynamics.
- The team coach must help the team to draw up a concrete action plan to plan and implement actions, detailing tasks, responsibilities and deadlines.
- Skills development can include training sessions, team-building exercises and communication enhancement activities.
- Team coaching can include regular monitoring and evaluation of the team's performance. The team coach can help the team to measure progress against defined objectives and identify opportunities for continuous improvement.
What are the risks to be avoided if you want to encourage a collective dynamic?
Use a single approach for all team members: each individual is unique and can be supported and motivated in different ways.
Failure to recognise the team's achievements can lead to a drop in commitment and motivation among team members. Recognising the team's achievements and thanking them for their efforts is beneficial and de facto imperative to creating a team spirit.
Ignoring the opinions and ideas of team members. It may seem obvious to some: it's important to listen to and take into account the opinions of employees. This encourages a more creative dynamic, with new ideas and a bolder approach to innovation and continuous improvement.
Not setting clear, achievable SMART objectives: Team members need to know what is expected of them so that they can work effectively and invest more effort in achieving the objectives set.
Not communicating regularly with the team: Lack of communication can lead to a loss of commitment and motivation among employees, and a feeling of disconnection within the team. This can reduce the sense of belonging to the team and to the company, which is a reflection of the corporate culture.
Not offering development opportunities: Team members need to feel valued and that they are progressing in their work with new skills. Without this, staff turnover will be higher in the long term and retention lower.
What ideas do you have to encourage team dynamics?
Successful transformation within an organisation occurs when employees take part in the change, when they understand it, embrace it and willingly set themselves in motion to achieve the objective of the change, and thus contribute to the organisation's performance. This is why, in this context, team coaching is a more effective approach than training.
Supporting change, with its motivational levers, needs to be worked on in parallel at both organisational and team level.
1 - We can start by providing individual support to managers so that they can embody their vision of change and initiate a dynamic with their teams.
2 - We can then work on how to implement the change so that employees become players. Because the more the change is driven by the teams, the more likely it is to succeed. Make way for creativity and adaptation!
3 - Throughout the support process, it is necessary to communicate, inform and train everyone to (re)give meaning to the change and to develop skills and behaviours. Co-development approaches are often well-suited to mobilising teams over the long term, because they use a collaborative and collective approach.
4 - Finally, offering teams flexibility and autonomy facilitates change over time. Innovation and motivation remain key levers for dealing with the complexity of new challenges.
What is resistance to change?
Resistance to change is an inevitable process, whether individual or collective. And it has nothing to do with the relevance of the project or the strength of the change. Resistance to change is natural, because it involves moving away from a known and mastered situation towards an unknown and not yet mastered situation. It is encouraged by a lack of team cohesion.
What are the main reasons why transformations fail?
There are two main reasons for this:
The first is that support for change is often limited to simple training, for example in new tools, new processes or new internal procedures. This is a first step, but it does not take sufficient account of the way in which people approach change, or of their natural reluctance to change. First and foremost, we are all looking for a balance - and any change calls this balance into question. This is what Michel Crozier and Erhard Friedberg develop in their book L'acteur et le système, Le Seuil, 1977. "Resistance to change is the reasonable and legitimate expression of the risks that change entails for those involved.
The second is managers' resistance to change. Some managers I meet think that only their teams need to change. Or they don't realise that they themselves are resisting change. They don't realise that, as leaders, they too need to evolve if they are to manage change. Because the absence of intention condemns change to failure. This is what differentiates change of the "applying a new organisation" type from the desire for genuine transformation. Organisational change cannot succeed without leadership support.
What are the negative effects of changes that are poorly supported?
The most common are :
- Loss of sense of mission
- Loss of confidence in the company
- Reduced motivation and commitment to work.
What are the main phases of a transition?
In his book, Managing Transitions, William Bridges explains that transition is a psychological process in 3 phases:
- The end - it's time to abandon the old perspectives
- The neutral phase - a sort of 'no man's land' between the old reality and what the future holds for us
- A fresh start - Starting afresh with a new energy, a new vision, a new identity.
