Team Coaching step 1: Alignment

The Team Coaching process is divided into several phases: the first of which is Alignment. This first part of the course is the most important as it serves to create the profile of the individual people and the team as a whole.

It often happens that companies want to work on the final goals without knowing the point from which they start. With Team Alignment, therefore, we make sure that the people within it have the same Vision of things. Furthermore, both at individual and group level, there may be hidden contradictions or apparently harmless attitudes that, in the long run, damage the functioning of the team and block its growth. This first phase of the Team Coaching process is therefore indispensable for aligning all the team members, making sure they look in the same direction.

What do we do in the Alignment phase?

In this phase we deal with specific topics such as Vision, Mission, Values ​​and Competences. Obviously, they are all very broad topics which, for this reason, need to be contextualized and customized according to the needs of each team or company.

It is equally important, when it comes to aligning the team, to also think about Climate and Environment. We often talk about business and working methods, but we rarely work on what we live inside the office, also in relation to colleagues, if not when the situations become heavy.

After we have created the individual profile of each member of the team and the profile of the team taken as a whole, we can proceed with the subsequent phases, aimed at verifying and improving the potential of the team through dynamic, sporting and/or creative experiential activities.

How to align the team?

To allow each team member to move their gaze in the same direction as the others, it is important to keep in mind the development of these points:

• Formulate the Vision
• Define the Mission
• Share the values
• Understand what the team’s skills are
• Improve the company’s Climate and Environment
• Highlight the corporate leadership model
• Identify the starting point of the company
• Establish the objectives to be achieved

The vision and mission of a company must be formulated and clarified, but also and above all shared with the whole team.

This is the starting point for identifying the reference values ​​on the basis of which to set the work, skills and behaviors necessary, and the relationship with the environment in which the company operates.

Formulate the Vision

The concept of Vision is often mentioned but rarely studied in depth, thus remaining empty of meaning. It is a concept by definition abstract, in that it is a matter of seeing and imagining something that is not yet present, if not in our mind, but which, despite this, is still very important for the achievement of a corporate goal.

The Vision, in fact, is the beginning and the end of every successful company: that’s why it should never be underestimated.

It is important to understand what role we want to play in the world we imagine. For this we must define but above all share the Vision within the Team. Communicating continuously with others can become frustrating, especially when it happens that we do not feel understood or fail to make ourselves understood by others. It is not easy to have the same ideas and work with your eyes pointed in the same direction. Projecting one’s energies towards something that does not yet exist, if not in someone’s head, is a non-trivial effort. It requires trust.

What are the most common mistakes in defining the Vision?

Let’s start from the most common errors that often occur in the definition of the corporate Vision:

• It is not shared with the whole company
• It is taken for granted that everyone has understood and internalized it
• It’s not motivating enough for the team
• It is perceived as unworkable
• It is shared but does not impact on concrete actions

These errors are more common than you think, in fact, they are almost normal!
Starting with a wrong or not shared vision, the foundations of solid and lasting growth are damaged.

Defining the Mission

The sharing by all members of a work team of an understandable and motivating Mission represents for them a stimulus as well as a goal. To achieve its internalization, however, it is important first of all to make your team aware of the basic concepts of the company.

It is essential to never take anything for granted, especially when it comes to corporate values ​​and philosophies. Not confronting the value of a concept is one of the main reasons for a fallacious communication. Each Mission brings with it different doubts or fears that it is good to identify and resolve to allow a more positive and relaxed approach.

The cohesion between Team Mission and individual Mission is a point to which every working reality should give the right importance, and this is why the Team Coaching path is important for every type of company.

Sharing Values

Values ​​are the principles against which we set our choices. It is basing on our values ​​that we decide the path to take and the choices to make. In a business context, they help us achieve our goals and our identity.

During the Team Coaching process, it is precisely in the Alignment phase that it is necessary to establish the Values ​​with which the company will move and will want to be recognized in the future. For an organization, in fact, a Value is something in which all its components believe. In a nutshell, it is a philosophy that turns out to be really important for anyone who works within the company: a belief or an attitude that reflects what is or should not be pursued. To transmit precise values, each company or association must have a unique and coordinated image. The corporate identity is important in that it allows the public to recognize and remember them more easily and clearly.

In addition, it can independently convey the company’s values. Furthermore, the image that a company creates must try to differentiate itself as much as possible from its rivals.

It is always important to be aware of the fact that there are no right or wrong values, the important thing is that within the team there is alignment and consistency.

Identify the team’s skills

The concept of competence embraces different areas: in general, it can be said that a competence in the workplace is the ability to perform an activity correctly, simultaneously implementing skills, commitment and own knowledge. It is for this reason, therefore, that skills are closely related to the individuals who possess them.

To understand if the team has the right skills, however, there is still a need to understand first what specific skills are necessary for the company. The company verification and development tool used in the process that can guide the organization in terms of investments, strategies and organizational improvement, is called skills analysis.

At this point, it is also important to know that the skills are of two types: intrinsic to a company or acquired.

The intrinsic ones, also called distinctive (core) company skills, are resources capable of producing added value, which are difficult to replace or imitate because they arise from a combination of different resources.

Improving corporate Climate and Environment

Working on the climate is fundamental as living in a climate of tension or anguish leads people to feel and perform badly. To ensure that employees can work in better conditions, it is necessary to select and work in advance on what are the variables that affect most of all:

• Comunication
• Conversation
• Sharing moments, even playful ones.

The combination of these three elements ensures that the best conditions are created for a climate that brings better business results.

With regard to the environment, however, we do not only mean the physical place of work, but also the approach and culture.

Having a place where people want to work, share and give their best, allows them to generate that positive energy that brings charge and strength to the team.

Thanks to this first phase of the long process of Team Coaching, the Alignment will bring the company to a great internal cohesion. Furthermore, aligning the team members will bring improvements in several aspects, the most important of which are the efficiency and effectiveness of the work.