Team Coaching: A Case Study

The problem:

A senior executive team found themselves at a strategic crossroads - to continue with their highly successful product range or to invest in a new technology. The disagreements were not being well handled, with some poor behaviours emerging and the MD was concerned that the cracks that were beginning to appear would become unrepairable rifts.

The Solution:

The initial context was expanded on through 1-2-1 diagnostic interviews and the team agreed to work with a coach over a 12 month series of bi-monthly away days. The team first focused on the purpose and vision of the business, checked out their thoughts with key stakeholders in their customer base, own employees and the parent company. They then committed to a strategic route map on how they planned to bring this to reality, along with what this meant for how the organisation need to pull together to make this happen. Inevitably, the latter started with them and they created of a Team Charter to give themselves a framework and language to give each other feedback as they progressed as a team.

The Outcome:

The team evolved quite quickly and generally built stronger working relationships behind the leadership of the MD. However, one of the Directors felt that they weren’t excited by the new direction and took this opportunity to retire from the business, being replaced by a very capable member of their team. The business developed a range of new products over the next 2 years that successfully transitioned the business within a market shifting towards the new technology, thus protecting their market share and the viability of the business.