Full Description
The missing how-to manual for being an effective team leader The Art of Coaching Teams is the manual you never received when you signed on to lead a team. Being a great teacher is one thing, but leading a team, or team development, is an entirely different dynamic. Your successes are public, but so are your failures—and there's no specific rubric or curriculum to give you direction. Team development is an art form, and this book is your how-to guide to doing it effectively. You'll learn the administrative tasks that keep your team on track, and you'll gain access to a wealth of downloadable tools that simplify the "getting organized" process. Just as importantly, you'll explore what it means to be the kind of leader that can bring people together to accomplish difficult tasks. You'll find practical suggestions, tools, and clear instructions for the logistics of team development as well as for building trust, developing healthy communication, and managing conflict.
Inside these pages you'll find concrete guidance on:
Designing agendas, making decisions, establishing effective protocols, and more
Boosting your resilience, understanding and managing your emotions, and meeting your goals
Cultivating your team's emotional intelligence and dealing with cynicism
Utilizing practical tools to create a customized framework for developing highly effective teams
There is no universal formula for building a great team, because every team is different. Different skills, abilities, personalities, and goals make a one-size-fits-all approach ineffective at best. Instead, The Art of Coaching Teams provides a practical framework to help you develop your group as a whole, and keep the team moving toward their common goals.
Contents
Introduction xv
A Tale of Two Teams • What's in This Book? • Who Is This Book For? • Toward a Beloved Community
Chapter 1: Refining a Vision 1
A Note on Terms • What Is a Great Team? • What Makes an Effective Team? • Why Do We Need Teams? • When Do We Really Need a Team? • How Do We Build Teams?
Chapter 2: Knowing Ourselves as Leaders 13
The Amygdala in a Strange Land • Exploring the Terrain of Leadership • The Potential of Transformational Leadership • Spotting the Tentacles of Power • Emotions Are Contagious
Chapter 3: Creating a Culture of Trust 39
Why Human Bingo Doesn't Build Trust • Trust Isn't Built in a Day, But We Can Lay Bricks Every Hour • Use Hindsight to Strengthen Foresight
Chapter 4: Defining Purpose, Process, and Product 63
The Necessity of a Reason for Being • It's All about How We Work Together • What Are We Going to Do Together? • Mapping Out the Journey
Chapter 5: Laying a Foundation for Trust 95
Community Agreements Build Culture • A Good Norm Is Not Hard to Find • Getting from Here to Norms • Make Your Norms Serve You • Setting Intentions: A Counterpart to Norms • A Beloved Community
Chapter 6: Developing the Emotional Intelligence of a Team 121
What Is the Emotional Intelligence of a Team? • How Do I Create an Emotionally Intelligent Team? • Managing Unexpected Change • Taming the Stress Demons
Chapter 7: Cultivating Healthy Communication 137
A Blueprint for Transformational Conversations • Constructing Good Conversations • Twenty Ways to Improve Your Team's Communication • Giving Feedback • Equity of Participation
Chapter 8: Making Good Decisions 159
Indicators of Effective Decision Making • Identifying Decision-Making Moments • Who Is Involved and How Much Say Do They Get • Decision-Making Processes • Facilitating Discussions • When Conversations Get Stuck • Reflection and Feedback
Chapter 9: Supporting Adult Learners 183
The Big Picture: The Learning Organization • From Theory to Practice • Common Challenges • Dealing with Resistance
Chapter 10: Orchestrating Meaningful Meetings 205
To Meet or Not to Meet? • Why Meet? • Which Activities Should We Do? • How Do I Choose What to Do?
Chapter 11: Setting the Stage for Artful Meetings 231
Start with Feedback • Don't Forget the Facilitator's Agenda • Prepare Your Internal Self • Put on the Finishing Touches • Find the Joy in Planning
Chapter 12: Navigating Conflict 245
What Is Conflict and Why Is It So Scary? • What Is Healthy Conflict in a Team? • How Can I Facilitate Healthy Conflict? • A Note on Talking about Race and Other Really Hard Things • How Can I Respond to Unhealthy Conflict? • What If None of These Suggestions Work?
Chapter 13: Assessing Organizational Conditions 269
The Primacy of Purpose • Focus, Focus, Focus • Alignment Up and Out • Stability • Leadership • Membership • A Culture of Learning • Trust • Decision Making • Time
Conclusion: Coming to An End 291
Ten Truths about Building Teams • Amid the Redwoods
Appendices 297
Appendix A: Facilitator Core Competencies 299
Appendix B: Team Effectiveness Self-Assessment 305
Appendix C: Community-Building Activities and Random Grouping Strategies 307
Appendix D: Facilitation Planning Tool and Facilitation Observation Tool 313
Appendix E: Activities For Meetings 319
Appendix F: Recommended Resources 327
On Emotions and Self-Knowledge • On Leadership • On Brain Science • On Managing Change • On Systems Thinking • On Community Building • On Meetings and Facilitation • On Communication • Race, Racism, and Systemic Oppression • For Inspiration
Appendix G: Plan For Team Building 331
For Leading a New Team • When Continuing to Lead a Team and Identifying Next Steps
Acknowledgments 335
About the Author 339
References 341
Index 345
