People often ask us, “How do you coach a team that doesn’t want coaching?” The obvious–and not very satisfying answer–is “You don’t.” But there are actions you can take that may lead to an invitation to coach. There are also things you can do that aren’t “coaching” that can affect a team’s ability to work more effectively.
In this episode, we’ll share our experiences of “inflicted help” and offer ideas on shift the dynamic to a better outcome.
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In any coaching role, what is more important than anything is to have complete support from upper management in your role and a clear statement of what they think the problems are. If you have that you can’t fail.
When I join teams, I simply introduce myself as an “engineering consultant”, not as a coach, because every now and then it will be obvious that the team actively don’t want someone to come in an “tell them what to do”
For me that’s fine, all I do is to simply say to them “Management says this is the problem, what do you think about that?”
This is normally enough to get you underway. Simply write down everything they have to say and tell them you will help them to get “management’s” act together. You are now in the club, and you can easily start to coach the team through the Socratic method.