ABSTRACT

Coaching has grown exponentially since its popular inception in the 1970s. On the surface, the trend toward team coaching seems to be both a natural progression in the coaching industry as well as a more cost-effective and impactful way for organizations to embed collaborative leadership. This chapter aims to develop to dispel the myth that the progression from one-to-one coaching to team coaching is a linear progression. It examines the history of working with teams to illustrate the complexity and nuances involved. The chapter describes foster rich dialogue between the buyer and the supplier of team coaching to build the relationship necessary to deliver team and group coaching in a complex global economy. Methodologies that underpin team coaching can be traced back nearly 100 years and are borrowed from management consulting, adult learning, psychology, social science and one-to-one coaching. In 1992, Sir John Whitmore published his seminal book, Coaching for Performance, and, many would argue, launched the coaching industry.