When teams are under pressure, it’s easy for them to lose sight of what’s working. Energy dips, relationships strain, and conversations become transactional. In these moments, strengths-based coaching can serve as a powerful reset, helping teams reconnect with their purpose, their people, and their potential.
Why Strengths Matter in Team Coaching
A strengths-based approach in team coaching creates the conditions for more open, constructive dialogue. It:
- Can help build a psychologically safe space for teams to have different conversations, ones that are grounded in possibility rather than deficit.
- Helps teams reconnect with their innate brilliance, shifting the focus from “what’s wrong” to “what have we got going for us?”
- Encourages deeper critical reflection, especially around where individuals get their energy and how that energy can be used more intentionally.
- Equips teams to move forward, not by ignoring challenges, but by approaching them from a place of strength and self-awareness.
This shift, from deficit to resourcefulness, can be the difference between a team stuck in survival mode and one that is ready to engage with its challenges productively.
Strengths Are a Starting Point, Not the Whole Solution
While strengths can be a powerful catalyst, they are not a standalone solution. Over-reliance on any single lens, be it strengths, relationships, or process, can limit a team’s ability to make sustainable progress.
The most effective teams understand that strengths are one part of a broader system. They balance their functional responsibilities with a commitment to team effectiveness. This means:
- Seeing their role not just as a leader of a function, but as a contributor to the team’s collective success.
- Taking accountability beyond their own remit.
- Paying attention to how they show up in relationships, not just what they deliver.
The Importance of Stakeholder Connection
A common development point in team coaching is an overemphasis on internal dynamics. While building trust and cohesion within the team is essential, it’s equally important to consider how the team connects with its external stakeholders.
Teams often face resistance from stakeholders, especially during periods of change. Drawing on Maurer’s Change Model, resistance typically shows up in three forms:
- “I don’t get it” – a lack of clarity or understanding.
- “I don’t like it” – emotional resistance or discomfort with the change.
- “I don’t trust you” – a breakdown in relationships or credibility.
Teams that fail to engage with these dynamics risk becoming insular, frustrated, and ineffective. A strengths-based approach can help shift the team’s mindset from defensiveness to curiosity, creating space to explore how they might better connect, communicate, and collaborate with those around them.
The Role of the Team Coach
Team coaching in this context requires careful boundaries. One of the key risks is collusion, where the coach becomes too aligned with the team and loses the ability to challenge or offer perspective.
Effective team coaches maintain supportive distance. They:
- Hold up the mirror without becoming part of the reflection.
- Create space for insight and accountability.
- Avoid becoming entangled in the team’s narrative.
This stance allows the coach to remain a trusted partner while still offering the challenge and perspective that drives growth.
Final Thoughts
Team coaching is not necessarily about fixing teams; it’s about helping them remember who they are at their best. It creates space for reflection, connection, and forward movement. While strengths aren’t the whole answer, they often provide the spark that helps teams shift from stuck to resourceful, from fractured to focused.
In a world where teams are expected to lead through complexity, resistance, and change, reconnecting with strengths can be the first step toward building a team culture that is not only effective but also energising!
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