My Insights and Hindsights into what a Business Coach did for me – Part 7

Mark wasn’t one for theoretical models nor reading. He liked things that worked in his business, and that was part of why he was going for Business Coaching:

He wanted real solutions that had been used successfully in other businesses.

In his Business Coaching session, Mark reached the realisation that the only way that he would get his team to function as a team was for them to see the benefit of them working together. Not just the advantage that it would give the company, but the advantage that it would give each manager, and his or her team. Mark’s business experience had taught him the sceptical lesson that people want to know: What’s in it for me?

He did not believe in team building exercises as the feeling of teamwork would disintegrate the minute, they left their off-site venue. Therefore, he asked his Business Coach to facilitate a session that emphasised that the freedom the company gave each manager, translated into responsibility.

That responsibility was to their departments, their team, and the business.

The first thing that Mark’s Business Coach did was refer him to the SA Business Coaches’ blog from May 2021: Executive Coaching: Is the Executive Team a Myth?

This blog gave Mark insight to know what he needed to be aware of when building his team.

He then worked with his Business Coach to create a process to transform the group of people working on the same level in his business into a team.

This is what he did:

1. He asked them to define what they understood being part of a team meant
2. They looked at how each department had performed over the last 5 years
3. They looked at how the company had performed over the last five years
4. He asked his team to find the correlation between departmental and company performance
5. He then asked each team member to define their role in the business
6. Each team member was asked to define how he or she saw the other team member’s roles

Slowly a picture started to form. The team were realising that they were all part of a greater system. Mark continued his process:

1. He asked the team to write down their biggest challenges
   1. This was a shocking revelation for many in the room.
   2. People were facing and struggling with similar issues, yet no one was asking for help.
2. They looked at the business’s current opportunities
   1. Again, they started to see how each department needed to be involved to achieve this
   2. For Mark, the team needed to work as one unit, able to share their successes, challenges, vulnerabilities, and concerns. With a team to support you, the company’s vision becomes achievable, and your departmental objectives become meaningful.

The final step in Mark’s team creation strategy was for the team to find a quote that each person could identify with. Together, the team chose this:

“Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision, the ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.”

Andrew Carnegie

The idea of having a team working as a team all the time may not be realistic. However, the advantage of having a team see themselves and one another as being part of a team is irreplaceable.

If you are looking to build a solid and reliable team in your business, contact a professionally qualified Business Coach at SA Business Coaches.