Team Coaching: Transforming team relationships in infrastructure to deliver greater success and collaboration

Concentric Consulting was trusted to coach two key business delivery teams to influence positive behavioural change and greater collaboration.

Brief

Unravelling an adversarial, non-collaborative culture

After six months as the Managing Director of a Top 100 Infrastructure company, Concentric’s client grew concerned that poor relationships between two key business areas could significantly affect the viability of the business.

Major issues included poor leadership, non-collaborative language, and defensive behaviours, with both teams adopting a blame culture rather than jointly resolving problems.

Concentric was tasked with carrying out team coaching sessions with a cross-section of senior leaders across both business areas, finding the root cause of issues and determining how individuals could be empowered to positively support change – both in themselves and in the business.

Delivery

Building trusted relationships to inspire personal and professional growth – Understanding culture, values, and behaviours

To gain an insight into the root-cause, Concentric used a diagnostic tool that would gather insight on team member’s current positions and behaviours. To ensure there was buy-in, it was critical to achieve board-level support where the team felt important to them and to the business, as well as sending the positive message that this was an investment which the senior team took seriously. Success also depended on establishing a communication process that set out the why, the who, the when and the how of the team coaching approach.

Concentric also gathered feedback from the senior team and their clients which would prove critical in managing their expectations.

A space for individual growth

Concentric’s coaching style created a safe space which allowed the senior team to reflect on their behaviours as individuals, as a team, and as leaders. It provided an opportunity to look at what could be different and how to maximise their combined strengths and skills.

To create positive dialogue, Concentric coached senior leaders by providing:

• A confidential ‘space and time’ for self-awareness and self-reflection
• A way to evaluate behavioural patterns than affected decision-making, whether within themselves or their colleagues
• An opportunity to challenge current thinking, finding new ways to solve problems and achieve more positive outcomes
• Help to develop individual communication styles and methodology
• Tools and techniques that could be practically adopted and implemented

Outcomes

Measurable change and greater alignment

To measure the scale and impact of our coaching, Concentric carried out a six month review with the teams where they identified a significant increase in working collaboratively – a direct result of tools individuals had adopted, much of which was attributed to the team coaching support that Concentric had provided.

As a result, relationships have been strengthened, issues have been easily concluded, and greater alignment has been achieved on meeting margin and growth targets. This success has resulted in repeat and new work from their clients.