Realising the full capability

Teamwork begins by building trust. And the only way to do that is to overcome our need for invulnerability. Patrick Lencioni

Teamwork begins by building trust. And the only way to do that is to overcome our need for invulnerability.

Patrick Lencioni

About high performing teams

A lot of work in organisations, big and small, is carried out in and through teams. Our own experiences tell us that these teams can be a thrilling and rewarding experience at one end of the scale , and a nightmare at the other. Strong teamwork in leadership teams is correlated with financial performance, and reputation [1], but many teams seem to be formed on the basis of job titles, and individual excellence – which are not the ingredients for success.

The underpinning of all high performing team is trust [2]. Trust is the pre-requisite that allows the building of deeper connections in:

Emotional Investment – team members feel a deep emotion in being part of the team, they are invested in it, care about it, and care personally about the wellbeing and success of others in the team.

Behaviours – Trust underpins team behaviours – Communication is open, conflict around ideas is embraced, not avoided, and once decisions are made, they are joint commitments.

Thinking – High performing teams are willing to be vulnerable to sharing knowledge about their abilities and styles, they have a clear and shared purpose, a clarity around roles, and a willingness, individually and together, to reflect, to learn and to grow.

What we do

Because the fundamentals of great team work are well known [3], we start interventions with a diagnosis. Through questionnaires and interviews we determine what the team leader and team members want from the team, what is working and what isn’t, and how does the team feel it measures up against the key determinants of team performance?

Once we have discovered the gaps, and the latent potential in the team, we work with the organisation to design interventions, such as training, team development workshops and individual coaching to measurably lift the determinants of teamwork to and deliver elevated team performance.

What people say

I have worked with Kris now for over 6 years at both OFWAT and now at IOSH and cannot recommend Kris highly enough. She is a highly skilled and sensitive coach; an excellent facilitator of teams and a very experience OD/leadership consultant. Kris very skilfully and subtly gets to the heart of an issue for an individual/team and helps, through sensitive, emotionally intelligent facilitation to unlock thinking, she firmly, but gently and constructively challenges and will not shy away from any difficulties which emerge. She has facilitated my senior leadership team development sessions and my team think she is amazing. We really valued the insights and perspectives she brings and the safe environment she creates. I can testify to the improvement in team performance and relationships as a result of the work we have done together. She is a generous consultant, who keeps in touch with the team regularly, between sessions, providing an objective sounding board and a safe space which I know people find really valuable. In short, I thoroughly endorse Kris for senior team development and individual coaching and look forward to continuing to work with her.

Bev Messinger
Chief Executive / Institution of Occupational Safety and Health

I have worked with Kris a number of times in my career, both as a personal executive coach and as a facilitator. In both capacities Kris has been brilliant. Helping me bring teams through re-organisations and getting a sense of identity. She provides excellent insight and challenge. She brings her psychology insights to help you and teams identify the problems and challenges, and tailor solutions to what’s needed. As a personal coach she is great at getting you to think laterally and through all the options, while knowing exactly when to be challenging and making sure you identify options and solutions. Overall, I’d completely recommend Kris.

Giles Stevens
Interim Director of Policy / National Infrastructure Commission
Bibliography
[1]Scott Keller and Mary Meaney, “Leading Organization: Ten Timeless Truths“, New York, NY: Bloomsbury, 2017.
[2]D. Reina, M. Reina, D Hudnut, “Why Trust Is Critical to Team Success“, CCL research report, 2017
[3] P. Lencioni, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable, Jossey-Bass; 1st edition (April 11, 2002)