by
David Herdlinger
Many
coaches are fixated on the one-to-one coaching model. They provide
coaching services exclusively to individual clients.
If you’re one of those coaches, that’s
fine. You’re making a positive contribution to people’s
lives. But you may be missing some opportunities to make an even
greater positive impact on people and organizations, and greater
income for yourself. I’d like to challenge you in this brief
article to expand your vision of coaching to include “coaching
corporate teams.”
Coaching corporate
teams in concept is similar to coaching individuals. Instead of
finding an individual who wants improvement, you
find an organization. Then you deliver your services
to teams of individuals within the organization.
In some one-to-one coaching situations, the organization’s
supervisors, managers, and leaders can thwart your client’s
progress. If your client and your client’s boss speak different
languages and are heading in different directions, the coaching
process can be inefficient at best, and possibly even ineffective.
But when all of the interrelated individuals are
gathered as a team in the same coaching sessions, the personal intentions
and purposes of the participants become unified. Their goals come
into alignment with the goals of the department and the organization.
Communications and performance improve, and corporate profits increase.
In order to
spot opportunities for corporate coaching, you may need to look
beyond the need that is originally presented. I strongly encourage
you to incorporate team coaching into your practice. You will be
impressed with the positive results it produces for your client
organizations, and the financial benefits it produces for you.
David
Herdlinger holds degrees in communications and law and is a
former judge. He now coaches corporate teams helping them discover
and develop their potential.
