In this VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous) environment that we are in, organizations and leaders have acknowledged the value that the process of coaching brings.

May 9-12, 2023 was International Coaching Week (ICW) 2023. This is an annual weeklong global celebration of the power and impact of professional coaching.  In the Philippines, this was capped with a half-day in-person learning event, “The Leader as a Coach in the Multimodal Workplace” with close to 200 leaders, people managers, learning & development professionals, professional coaches, and motivational speakers in attendance.

The number of participants in attendance is a reflection of how organizations now see the importance of coaching as a key development strategy.  In a recent International Coaching Federation (ICF) Global Coaching Client Study commissioned by the ICF, independently conducted by Price Waterhouse Coopers (Figure 1), the impact of coaching showed improvement in metrics around productivity and people positivity.

Figure  1 – ICF Global Coaching Client Study commissioned by the ICF, independently conducted by Price Waterhouse Coopers

In 1-1 coaching, as a coach we partner with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential (ICF definition of coaching). I have been a L&D and OD practitioner for many years such that transitioning to the role of a coach was a challenge. I was used to directing and telling. As a Coach, I had to learn to actively listen and ask questions for my client to discover what he/she already knew.

Figure 2 – Team Development Modalities , ICF

Team Coaching empowers teams to work toward continued high performance and ongoing development, requiring innovation, flexibility, adaptability and goal alignment – all traits that coaching helps support. The Team Coach’s role becomes even more challenging and complex versus 1-1 coaching. The team coach deals with several individuals as well as the relationships & dynamics within the team, which includes the team leader.

With the emergence of team coaching as one of the fastest growing disciplines in the coaching profession, ICF recently extended the core competencies framework to define what a team coach needs to develop.

• Demonstrates ethical practice
• Embodies a coaching mindset
• Establishes and maintains agreements
• Cultivates trust and safety
• Maintains presence
• Listens actively
• Evokes awareness
• Facilitates client growth

As L&D practitioners, we have trained, practiced, and supported teams with team building, training, consulting, mentoring, and facilitation. We continuously strive to be the best at our craft through personal development in the form of attending training, getting certified at key learning processes, methodologies, tools and skills, and putting all that we learn to practice as we serve our clients.

Team coaching as a key modality in team development has definitely landed. Let us upskill ourselves so we continue to be relevant and truly support teams to mine their collective wisdom to maximize their abilities and potential in order to reach their common purpose and shared goals.