ABSTRACT
Lack of shared purpose is one reason a single entrepreneur can regularly achieve more than the combined resources of huge multi-national organizations. Compare the team's performance to that of other teams, departments or industries. The most effective teams develop norms to a level of absolute co-operation, mutual support and total trust, even when there is disagreement. High-performing teams, like high-achieving individuals, have 'direction'. An organization can also be encouraged to introduce coaching by virtue of the 'critical mass' effect: where sufficient people in the organization, at whatever level, engage in coaching or mentoring, whether or not with official approval, the whole organization will eventually adopt the practice. In principle the coaching or mentoring of teams follows the same sequence of events as coaching an individual performer. Coaching a team, therefore, is most productively aimed at achieving a powerful sense of purpose, true team co-operation and mutual support, and coaching individuals to improve their team-oriented achievement behaviour.
