Coaching: What Kind of Team Do You Have?

Today's guest Wally Bock is probably familiar to most readers here. An avid blogger and sought-after authority on real-life application of management theory, Wally can be found at Three Star Leadership when he's not out helping clients build their management expertise. ___________________________________________

Coaching is not just about helping individuals reach their potential. It's also about helping the team win. But different kinds of teams require different kinds of coaching. What kind of team do you have?

Is your team a baseball team? Sometimes a baseball team is just a collection of individuals that share the same space. When teamwork is needed, it only involves a few players at a time while others move to backup positions and watch for any sudden changes. Players use their own initiative, fairly independently of what other players do.

Is your team a football team? Football coaches determine where players will play and what they will do and when. Plays are short, intense, periods of hopefully scripted activity. Football players do what they are told and only exercise individual initiative within a limited range.

Or is your team a basketball or soccer team? In those sports players coordinate themselves on the fly. The game moves too fast for specific direction.

In every sport, players need coaching in individual skills. In every sport, chemistry is important. But when the game is being played baseball, football, and basketball teams need to be coached differently.

What kind of team do you coach? What are your challenges?