If you want to find out more about Katarina and her practice, you can visit the following web-site:
www.creative-empowerment.eu
Almost always when defining coaching we also read or hear what coaching is not, especially regarding mentoring, consulting, training and therapy. All professional coaches are aware of what differentiates coaching to therapy. The same applies to Team Coaching.
Here we examine how approaching the Team as a coach compares to approaching the Team as a therapist. Given that we have group therapy, group analysis, systemic approach, behavior therapy, etc, I have drawn on my experiences as a dramatherapist, so 'therapy' should be understood to refer to dramatherapy. Clients should be also understood as functioning people with no pathology.
Differences
The Client
In therapy, the client is the patient / participant. In Team coaching, we have the sponsor – organization paying for the services – as the client on the one hand and the coachees – team members – on the other. Based on this, further distinctions between therapy and coaching may be drawn:
• In therapy, confidentiality is strictly between therapist and group members. In coaching, specific agreements govern confidentiality with both sponsor and coachees, and what information is shared and how.
• The voluntary character of therapy is absent in team coaching. Coachees are asked to participate by management and the coach must motivate and persuade them about the benefits of their participation.
• In therapy, the client sets his/her own agenda. In coaching, there is the organization's agenda for the team and the coachees' agenda. A first task is to align both and achieve commitment to the common goals and vision.
Preparation
Team therapy is always preceded by a session exploring the client's history and determining whether team therapy is the best strategy. In coaching, depending on team characteristics and goals, prior interviews with team members may be optional, as well as assessments.
Expectations
In team therapy, each member has his/her own expectations (awareness, self-growth, etc). Individual expectations of team members may be similar but do not constitute a common goal for the team.
In coaching, expectations are set at the outset. Coachees may have their own expectations, which are explored to find areas common with the team's expectations, but the purpose of both team and coaching is results. It is an action – focused process and the team has a shared goal.
The therapeutic team has the purpose of each member, not a collective one. The coaching team has a very specific purpose (e.g. a project), the intention being to improve the teams’ effectiveness at work. This distinction impacts how we deal with conflicts, for example. In therapy, we examine the root of the conflict between the members. Coaching may explore not (only) why this conflict arose but how it can serve the goal and how it can be used constructively.
Focus
Therapy deals with painful unresolved issues; the focus is on the past. The client gains awareness and decides how to use it. The therapist usually deals with strong emotions and must also be in therapy him/herself.
Team coaching, as all coaching, focuses on present and future and is solution-oriented. The past can be explored only if needed and up to a certain extend. The coach must also be able to work with strong emotions. In my opinion, the coach's participation as a member in team coaching, therapy, etc. is beneficial in gaining experience in team dynamics and evolution.
Common features
A common feature, whether working in team therapy or coaching, is the space created i.e. a safe, respectful non-judgmental environment and strong relationships of trust allowing for growth and self-development. The difference is that in team coaching the aim is developing the team together with the members, empowering the team and its components.
Both therapy and coaching bring awareness of how team members’ cognitive and emotional reactions can interfere with personal effectiveness, performance and wellbeing. In team coaching, this awareness is focused on the effectiveness and performance of the team as well.
Coach and therapist share common...
- Skills, such as deep listening and using powerful questions that raise awareness
- Qualities, such as insight and empathy
- The ability to dance alongside with the clients
And, they act as models providing feedback that is well received and helps the growth of both team and members. Both practices embrace a collaborative partnership encouraging creativity and members’ unique solutions.
However, the presence of a therapist can be different to a coach’s both physically, given that a team coach often moves in the corporate world, and with regard to expression: therapists adopt a neutral, stiller presence, only showing approval and encouragement; coaches have a more energized presence and expressions of positive feelings are welcome.
