Being able to get people to work
together more effectively can be the
difference between winning and losing

UpAGear delivers a long-term shift in team and organisational performance

Why invest in team coaching?

The terrible truth, according to Harvard Business Review, is that executive teams only deliver an average of 63% of what they agreed in their business plans. That leaves a staggering 37% that never gets achieved! The stakes have never been so high for teams to deliver more, be creative and manage with less resources. This is a considerable challenge for even the most motivated and talented teams.

A proven approach to transform team performance that will help you:

• Hold individuals accountable like never before
• Set and align on goals
• Work to a common team agenda
• Create a unified way of thinking and behaving
• Have a safe atmosphere for healthy conflict
• Build deep trust and understanding among the team

A year long programme

Meeting with a team on a monthly basis

Structured in following a process, flexible to adapt to the needs of the client

Working in a business focussed way and getting into the deeper team issues

Embedded in an online process to help the team keep itself on track

1. Framework for Action (F4A)

Framework for Action is at the heart of Live learning’s Team Coaching Program: a two-day team coaching workshop to create the framework on which the team can work better, faster and in a more aligned way. F4A follows a process to help the team review and learn from its past, align on the forthcoming annual goals, work to develop strong and clear accountabilities and set up an approach to enable the most effective team dynamics.

The results will be a detailed team plan which documents objectives and accountabilities as well as the more transformational aspects of a successful team. This is really business team coaching in action.

2. On Track

On Track is a monthly meeting that takes place during the one-year period. It covers two aspects: Firstly, we review progress in all areas of team performance. We’ll review the team’s success against goals and accountabilities as well as the softer aspects of the team’s development – such as behaviour, attitude, collaboration etc. This is a critical part of the team’s ability to move forward and enables the team to have regular open conversations about progress and the deeper aspects of how the team is working. Secondly, we develop and educate the team members so that they can improve how they understand and communicate with each other, with the ultimate outcome of developing trust, connection and the results of a high performing team.

The On Track sessions may also work on topics such as leadership, building and sustaining trust, behaviours, feedback, emotional intellignece, communication skills and masterclasses on going from good to great performance.

3. uOnline

uOnline is our online methodology which forms the foundation of the entire Team Coaching Program and really delivers and supports excellent team results. Easy to use for both teams and their coaches, uOnline captures the team plan online, and enables the scoring on a monthly progress. This is a critical part of the process which enables your team to have the necessary open conversations to help it assess, understand, challenge, develop and evolve.

Feedback

"At the end of our first full year using this facilitated process our turnover had grown by 20% and our profits by 300% as a result of our new way of working together."

Gravatom

A valuable kick-start for new teams

A TAKEOFF programme is for teams that are in the forming stage (typically 0-12 weeks old) and designed to help them build team spirit, set direction and put in place the necessary foundations for future team performance. This valuable investment of time at the start of a team’s journey enables the team to successfully ‘take off’ together, in the ideal conditions and ensures that everyone moves forward in the right direction.

How does it work?

The process begins with a two-hour interview between the manager and the coach to discuss the landscape of the team, the challenges ahead and any emerging hot topics to be dealt with in the workshop. This is followed by short ‘temperature check’ interview with team members in order to surface any concerns, questions and ideas for improved ways of working. We will make a synthesis of these valuable comments and share it with the manager in a second follow-up meeting before presenting it to the team during the workshop. The interviews will influence the design, feel and content of sequences that we will expertly facilitate during the off-site workshop.

Team TAKEOFF programs allow teams to:

• Create clarity
• Analyze the stakeholder landscape
• Establish a first roadmap and action plan
• Clarify direction and build momentum
• Align around values, vision and mission
• Build trust and relationships
• Exchange on roles and responsibilities

Each TAKEOFF event will vary based on the team’s challenges and manager’s needs. We recommend the workshop to be 1.5 - 2 days and is best if the team spend the evening together to build further on relationships and avoid any time constraints. These workshops work best when held in a neutral location for improved focus and team building.

Can I personalise the programme?

Absolutely! Clients often find integrating a team assessment or diagnostic adds a lot of depth and learning to such an event. We can you advise on how best to integrate a relevant session such as Strengthsfinder, MBTI^®, EQ profiler or FiroB^®.

A short fun activity during the event can be an ideal catalyst for teamwork and getting to know each other in a different way. Visit our Live Learning Events page to learn more about experiential learning or contact us to discuss your team TAKEOFF workshop.

Think of this as a ‘check up’ in the life of established teams

Team ADVANCE programmes are designed for teams that have been together for some time and are in need of a valuable ‘pause’ button in their busy working world in order to address new challenges, re-connect and set objectives. They are designed to support empowerment, team effectiveness, build trust and create dialogue around any issues that might be out of reach back in the work place.

Similarly to the TAKEOFF programme, we include interviews to ensure it is a “bottom up” designed event rather than a traditional “top down” workshop where the manager plays the role of the facilitator and more often than not, the decision maker. The resulting diagnostic from the interview phase creates an opportunity for a ‘reality check’ on core elements such as team culture, ways of working, relationships and improvement ideas. As a result the team become collectively responsible for making the necessary adjustments in order to perform. We have a catalogue of tried and tested sequences and activities that can be used to support the specific needs of any team as well as often designing bespoke alternatives.

A Team ADVANCE program will enable teams to:

• Challenge their way of working
• Resolve conflict
• Give feedback in the right conditions
• Become more resourceful
• Build team spirit
• Review and enhance management systems and processes
• Gather and implement collective intelligence
• Revisit past decisions and performance topics for key lessons learned

What happens next?

We begin with an in depth interview and assessment of team dynamics, challenges and desired outcomes. We then proceed with substantial interviews with the team members before creating a powerful team diagnostic with mind mapping software. The next step is to share this with the manager and propose appropriate content and agree on content, the agenda, logistics and team development objectives.

Why does the coach need to speak with the whole team?

The aim of the interviews are:

• To gather the necessary information in order for us to select and create the best fit of activities
• To surface any negative issues in order to deal with them in a positive way during the workshop
• To build team involvement, anticipation for change and consensus of key themes

You should allow 4-6 weeks before the workshop in order for us to organize the manager and team interviews, creation of diagnostics/mapping of comments and design of the workshop. The duration of the workshop is typically between 1.5- 2.5 days.

What happens after the workshop?

We recommend that the manager and the consultant speak for an additional two hours of support and coaching. This is typically six to nine months after the workshop and will allow the manager to reflect on progress made, changes in team dynamics and review current challenges. We can then discuss next steps and offer solutions to the current team requirements.

A tailored workshop that is designed to support your business hot topics.

If you need a stand alone workshop that will allow your team to focus on a particular challenge then a customised workshop is for you. We will accompany you through the process of shaping the objectives, designing the content of activities before skillfully facilitating the event.

What kind of things can be dealt with in a Customised Workshop?

During the past 8 years we have supported teams and organisations facing a wide variety of challenges and helped them find answers to the following questions :

• How can we do more with less ?
• How can we think and organise ourselves like a start-up ?
• How can we improve our team engagement ?
• What needs to change for us to survive beyond the end of the year?
• How can we improve our Stakeholder management ?
• How can we share and embed our Leadership model?

Why not blend a customised workshop with a benchmark visit, ‘GO LOOK SEE’ session or a Learning through doing exercise for some Live Learning on the job ? Workshops are typically between one to two days and can be adapted for both small and large groups.

Talk to us to discuss how our creative approaches can answer your most challenging questions.