20 Questions to enhance Teams
‘Can you do something with my team?’
‘What seems to be the problem?’
‘Well morale is really terrible, nobody seems to care about working here and we have lots of conflict’
‘So can I ask, what have you done to them?’
A not untypical conversation whenever I get asked to facilitate a Team Day, sometimes called an ‘away day’ or ‘teambuilding’ event. Whilst I may be a bit harsh on the leader in this scenario, I do think that this kind of ‘state’ within the team is not a natural one. Something must have happened (or not happened), to create it.
I do believe that people inherently want to come to work, do a good job and have decent relationships with colleagues. We have simply not tended to their needs if this isn’t the natural state.
State is at the heart of a lot the coaching I do, so it begs the question; ‘Can I coach the team?’.
Well the good news is, yes you can. And if you do it now you might prevent some of the issues faced by our leader above. Team Coaching is actually becoming more recognised and there are models and processes to do this.
However, I feel that every leader or manager could wear their coaching hat at every team meeting or forum and, with a few incisive questions, help the team to reach their desired state or reach a specific outcome.
One of my fall-back exercises working with Teams is my 20 Questions for Teams. These aren’t meant to be exhaustive but just a tool to help teams through appreciative inquiry, playing to their strengths and eliciting a more resourceful state.
If you want a copy I can gladly email you a pdf but here are some of my favourites:
- When are we all at our best?
- What makes us most alive, vital and creative?
- What’s important about what we do?
- What will make us most productive?
- What is the potential of this team?
My experience is that usually there are one or two questions that most resonate with the team (I let them choose) and this helps them to have open and constructive conversations.
And then their state often changes.
These are the sort of questions that our Coaching ILM learners become adept at using but in reality most managers could easily pose these or formulate their own questions. It just requires a bit of courage to break free from the usual team norms and approach it with an open mind and heart.
Why not try these out at your next team meeting.
Let me know how you get on and happy coaching!
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About the author: John Drysdale is an executive coach, trainer and facilitator within the sector and coach to SME business owners to help them grow their business. He runs an ILM centre and trains people to become qualified coaches. He is also a certified trainer/coach with Asentiv© the world leaders in relationship development and referral marketing. Living in Scotland he enjoys running, walking in the beautiful surroundings of Fife and is a keen music lover and musician. He is currently writing a book which he hopes to publish in 2023.