Transforming Groups into Teams | Global Coaching Lab

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One could think about teamwork as an iceberg. On the visible end is the appreciation for the need to work as a team and organizations exhort the need to collaborate and achieve more. What lies hidden are the personal beliefs, biases, assumptions, expectation etc. that need to be addressed before teamwork can take place.

In fact, the psychology and politics of teamwork needs to come before the rigor and rhythm of teamwork.

How do we engage?

Typical customer engagements evolve from their deep desire to achieve more from their multiple sales teams. Moreover, they articulate their frustration on how they could make this orchestration happen

We begin our engagements with teams defining their collective mission and goals and
discovering that they are not aligned at all.
This simple discovery then spurs them to seek a higher order of aspiration as a foundation for alignment.
We then get the teams to confront their dysfunctions and to evolve an environment of vulnerability-based trust.
We spend considerable time with teams to move away from artificial harmony and to build a mindset of productive conflict. Being hard on the issue and soft on the person is much easier understood than consciously applied.
We leverage behavioral styles for every person to build a vocabulary to describe how others are different, thereby building a culture of inclusion amid diversity.
Teamwork does not become real without understanding the psychology behind people and engagement. We leverage principles of Transactional Analysis, Drama Triangles and Unconscious Ego Defense Mechanisms in addition to hidden beliefs and biases for every person to gain a deeper understanding of how psychology drives behavior.

With greater awareness comes better choices on how teams choose to work with each other.

We get multiple teams to define a set of give-gets that increases the level of clarity on expectations from both sides.

Outcomes driven for customers

With skilled facilitation customers were very surprised on how much they could achieve in a short period of time. Some of the exercises helped them to open out better with their peers that actually increased the level of understanding and trust.

Situational exercises helped them translate their newly acquired knowledge into specific behaviors that increased their level of connection and commitment.

The design of a give-gets matrix cleared the air for orchestration by building a specific set of expectations and deliverables that were signed off between teams.

Overall customers have seen a greater level of integration and trust that is helping them to drive a higher order of business performance.

Client Engagement Scenarios
Helps you better understand the depth of our engagements

Teams to power a higher joint vision

Customer situation

One of the Big 4 Consulting Firms decided to merge two technology advisory teams to synergize their efforts to ensure economies of scale, while addressing the untapped opportunities across their common customer base. While the economics of integration was very clear, the people and cultural integration was a challenge and they decided to bring in Global Coaching Lab to synergize the two teams.

Our Engagement

When teams come together, there is often a sense of fear, uncertainty, doubt, scepticism or inertia associated with the move - without its identification and resolution, teamwork becomes impossible. We worked with both the teams to identify the dysfunctions that could hold them back. Once a certain modicum of trust was established, we then helped them define a vocabulary to describe how every person was different and then sequence those differences to achieve more together. Given the intellectual capital within the firm, they embraced these different experiences with gusto and were able to reflect on their significance and impact. Finally, allowing them to confront the risks that could potentially hold them back, gave them the opportunity to balance pragmatism with optimism to define a way forward towards their collective goals and higher aspirations.

Customer Result

Greater awareness drives better choices – they discovered that their perceptions of each other was gloomier than the reality. As a team, when they discovered that there is a vocabulary to describe differences and a higher vision that could synergize them, they were motivated to confront the risks of their integration. Risks that related to people perceptions and competencies, client engagements and commitments and future potential risks were all discussed to discover a higher normal for the combined team. This combined team has now significantly expanded to become a critical value add to the overall firm portfolio.

Customer Acknowledgement

When you talk about Team and Culture, you expect a lecture or a presentation on what your managers and company want you to absorb. Seldom does anybody ask your opinion. This session with Venkat couldn’t be more different!

It was an interactive session where every team member felt relieved to have a safe environment to voice their fears and uncertainties with this organizational change. It gave the leader clarity on how people were truly perceiving the change and chance to develop a more inclusive plan. This session helped eliminate ambiguity and the assumptions we had and went back richer with an understanding of our combined goals and the way forward.

Overall one of the most important lessons we learnt was to understand differences between us and to leverage these differences to work coherently as a team. Executive Director, Advisory Services EY on People and Culture Integration Workshop

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