Building Effective Teams

At My Pocket Coach we provide a holistic, scientific and integrated approach to building effective teams.

“You develop a team to achieve what one person cannot accomplish alone. All of us alone are
weaker, by far, than if all of us are together.”- Mike Krzyzewski, Duke University Basketball Coach
(2001) Research shows that companies who upskill their people outperform companies that don’t by at least 40% – proof that continuous improvement of employees plays a huge role in successful
organisations today. The bottom line is that team functioning affects your bottom line. Enhancing and refining team effectiveness creates a high-performance environment. In addition to this, there is an “incontrovertible link between an executive’s emotional maturity, exemplified by such capabilities as self-awareness and empathy, and his or her financial performance.” (Daniel Goleman, Richard E. Boyatzis and Annie McKee) Exploring and establishing shared team and individual purpose, vision, values and objectives kickstarts the coaching engagement. As an individual’s Emotional intelligence (EQ), Social Intelligence (SI) and communicative capabilities are strong indicators for overall team performance, these are focused on for each team member.

Coaching engagements thus begin with gathering data (scientific) in order to establish current reality
both on team and individual levels.

Individual assessments include the Reuven Bar-On™ EQ-i and the NBI® General Adult Profile
to determine brain thinking preferences

Team assessments include the NBI® Organisational Wellness Instrument (OWI) and the 360˚
Feedback Profile to determine overall team functioning and perceptions of each other’s
thinking and communicating styles

The Organisational Wellness Instrument is the result of several years’ study by Dr Kobus
Neethling’s of the most successful Fortune 500 companies in the world to identify methods
and approaches to create a positive work ethic. Ten critical factors, essential for achieving
success was identified. The research results regarding the effect of these factors were
unambiguous; if any of the factors start moving below the critical point; they begin to affect
parts of the organisation, or in severe cases, the entire organisation.

Based on the results of one or several of these assessments used in conjunction, our team of
specialised coaches then design customised coaching programmes for holistic and integrated team
development. These may include team workshops, team coaching and/or individual coaching.

Development areas may include the following:
Excavating both team and individual purpose, vision, values and objectives
Developing a team Success Profile
Interactional Skills
The Tools of Communication
Leadership Coaching
Leadership Communication
Life and Stress Management Coaching
Personal Impact Power and Strategic Image Management

Based on the concept of neuroplasticity: “The brain’s ability to reorganise itself by forming new
neural connections throughout life” (www.medicine.net), our coaching approach focuses on creating awareness of current behaviours, supporting team members to action new behaviours, reflect on these and adjust or refine them in order to develop more positive and effective behavioural habits. Practical simulation is utilised to facilitate processing of new knowledge and development of more positive behaviours – teams and team members have the opportunity to practise their new skill in a safe environment through role play and reflection.