I was recently coaching a team and used an old favourite of mine – the ‘shared history’ – as a way of catching everyone up with the ‘story’ of the team. It involves sitting everyone in the order they joined the team and briefly telling the tale of how they came to join and what was going on at time. What usually emerges is a rich picture of the team’s back story which gives a sense of the struggles and successes to date as well as the personalities involved.

The exercise had the reaction I often get – the old hands are amazed at how much water has passed under the bridge  – “I’d forgotten about ….I hadn’t realised how much we’ve done!”. The new joins are mightily relieved to get a handle on the context they now find themselves operating in and why things are the ways they are – “It all makes a whole lot more sense now!”

The membership and purposes of a team are always shifting yet we often talk and act as if a ‘team’ is a static entity. How would it be if we considered the team to be new team every time a new member joined? What would it take to pay more attention to their integration and assimilation into the team story?

I spend a lot of time working with managers on their coaching skills and encouraging them to take a coaching approach to their leadership, and have become increasingly fascinated by resistances to coaching in managers. While pretty much every manager I meet want lee way and personal discretion in how they operate .. however… this doesn’t necessarily extend to their subordinates. “They just want to be told ..none of this dancing around the handbags asking questions” they report emphatically.

Where is reality in all of this? Do subordinates only want to be told or do managers enjoy telling too much? I know there are times when I need and welcome direction however someone being directive (ie overly controlling) will generally get my hackles up. Mostly I want space to think and act for my self and yes I want someone to consult with just in case my ideas are flawed or too limited. I also know that different people have different needs for elbow room – some folks seem to need acres of personal discretion while others are anxious with anything less than close marking

Part of the issue I think is that it much easier to think about leadership in binary terms – I tell or I coach, I give direction or I consult. What is far tougher … but vital…is to be choiceful in approach to people management. One style does not fit all situations and reading the situation to make an informed choice of what is required is skill that can be developed.
(Thanks to the work of Emery, Trist et al)

I was asked last week if you could coach upwards – this question was met with cackles of laughter and ribald humour from the rest of the group. “I’d like to see you try” said one, “Sounds like a career limiting move” said another. Much sucking of teeth and rolling of eyes ensued.