photo credit: ginnerobot

One of the trends I’ve noticed with my clients and in other organizations is a need for a greater integration of coaching skills and conversations within teams. The reasons include:

1. the recalibration of the spend on external coaches and how they are used
2. the growing need for more agile and conscious decision making
3. the increasing capabilities of internal staff to facilitate and coach issues in real-time
4. the recognition that the sources of many challenging behaviors are environmental

For example, I am working with one client, a large professional services firm, to develop a team-centered coaching model to enable hundreds of teams to use a common, team-centered approach to address the real business issues they face. The work is part of a broader effort to (1) reframe some of the internal narratives about what it means to be a ‘good’ team through research on exemplar teams, unpacking how they work, and sharing their stories with others; and to (2) instill greater accountability at the personal and team level for learning, development, and performance. In a conversation the other day, a team leader asked me how to help his team become more ready for these types of conversations. I immediately thought of a simple metaphor to use in answering his question and coupled it with familiar model to describe the evolution of a team:

Growing a team is like making a cupcake

Storming: The first phase is getting the group together to decide what they are going to make, assemble the ingredients they will need, and stir the batter.

Norming: The second phase is about confirming they still want to make cupcakes, deciding what size and shape they want, and what is important to them about the final products.

Forming: The third phase is finding the right pan in which to cook them and lining the pan for a smooth outcome, turning on the oven to the right temperature, pouring in right amount of batter, and placing the pain in the oven.

Performing: The fourth phase involves taking them out of the oven at the right time (often a true test for the bakers), letting them cool (again, a call for good judgment), taking them out of the pan, and then decorating them (often an occasion for friction as preferences emerge about beauty versus efficacy, for example).

Transforming: The final phase is an important one in that the true purpose of this process is not just good performance but to use the result to achieve a higher purpose — in this case serving them to others for their enjoyment. While teams often provide valuable experience for people at many levels, they are perhaps more of a means rather than the end themselves. It comes down to, “what do you want to accomplish with this team?”

Part of the value of working metaphorically and narratively with clients is being able to use their everyday experiences rather than lots of complex models and long lists to help them achieve their goals. As far as I know, no team in history has every been transformed by bullet points on a PowerPoint slide. It comes down to getting in the ‘kitchen’, rolling up your sleeves and having meaningful, authentic conversations about things that matter.