From Science to Practice:

Practical Translation for Leadership and Team Coaches

Below is a summary of learning points to focus on as you read, reflect, and watch the presentation material with Dr. Amy Edmondson:

1. Re-frame your understanding of the nature of teams—from static structure and roles (which retain the internal, if unconscious, dynamic of competition and individualism) towards “teaming”—fluid interactive live-action combinations of variable and diverse skills. Coaching in this context supports leaders to move beyond simplistic perspectives such as success/failure (towards learning from failure) beyond member/non-member (towards permeable boundaries) and beyond hierarchy=authority (towards encouraging and valuing every perspective from the bottom to the top).

2. Key to driving high performance: aspiration—leaders need to craft meaningful, emotionally rich “stretch” goals that foment participants’ “skin in the game.” Likewise coaches need to support teams/leaders in exploring WHY their work matters. The answer becomes the basis for the deep intrinsic motivation required to enable perseverance and risk-taking both of which are necessary for individual and group success.

3. Leaders need to “team up”—today’s team leaders need no longer be autocratic or hierarchical instead they must know when to let down their guard (be vulnerable and open), seek out diversity, listen and encourage diverse perspectives, make the environment safe for “speaking up”, and develop permeable group boundaries. Coaches can model this perspective and behavior with and for their clients helping them to break through outdated patterns by addressing conscious and unconscious fears of change exposure and mistakes.

4. Focus on psychological safety—coaches can support clients to “know what safety looks like” and why it matters. They can then support leaders to create a climate of inclusion where diverse, even controversial, opinions are not shunned but welcomed, even encouraged and embraced.

5. Practice Inclusive leadership—coaches can elevate team performance with leaders by increasing their awareness of how they define and create a sense of belonging with people both inside and outside of their team; learn to let go of rigid definitions of who is “in” and who is “out” – learn to have an open mind about the value and perspective of “the other” – ultimately not to defend against but embrace differences.

6. Create “learning zones” – key point: teams that fail, but learn fast and innovate don’t necessarily have to sacrifice accountability. Coaches can help leaders and teams become aware of the danger of holding a false mental model that “teaming” encourages individuals to avoid being held accountable. Performance management is still important but what is key is to create a “learning zone” rather than a “comfort zone” – one that enables mistakes/learning/risk-taking but also encourages fast turnaround and action when mistakes are made.

7. Cultivate an atmosphere of curiosity not competition—coaches are perfectly situated to support clients in team situations using “advocacy and inquiry” approaches to engage and elicit information from all levels.

8. Become aware of the “ladder of inference”—humans have a tendency to “jump to conclusions” and form strong unsupported biases based on limited data or data of limited value. Coaches can help clients become aware of this “confirmation bias” and develop strategies and vigilance for warding off the errors, poor judgments, and outcomes that result from our natural, yet faulty, tendency towards simplistic deductive reasoning.

9. Fail well—coaches are ideally situated to help leadership clients or entire teams re-evaluate how they define success. Optimization of team performance requires that we consider the possibility that failure is a gift—an opportunity to experiment learn and accelerate action towards new possibilities. Failure is a given—but HOW we react to it makes a huge difference in future outcomes.

10. Learn fast—diagnose, design, reflect, act, repeat—a model for continuous improvement that coaches can apply with individual clients or teach/model with groups in situations where mistakes have been made or outcomes have been less than optimal.

11. Leadership best practices in a “teaming” context:

• Frame the work;
• Acknowledge your limits;
• Embrace messengers;
• Encourage dissent

A practical model for coaches to apply in setting goals for team leader coaching: do they utilize this framework? Do they take on these challenges? What stops them? How can they step up and “team” (its a verb!).