🍸 I’m a mixologist of sorts... of models!

This week I committed what some might consider crimes against methodology.

I mixed Strengths Profile with De Bono's Thinking Hats. 

Participants wore Hedbanz headbands with strengths cards instead of coloured hats. Each member of the team chose which of their strengths to bring to the discussion. Their challenge was to tackle a business issue through the lens of that strength.

 What did an Explainer bring to the conversation?

 How did an Enabler move ideas forward?

 How did someone with strong Legacy approach the challenge?

 What happened when Adherence found themselves debating with Creativity?

 Well, I can't share the details, but I can say the conversation was rich, diverse, outcome-focused, and a lot of fun.

We all have our favourite ingredients - models, tools, frameworks, and exercises. Used on their own, they're useful. But combine them in unexpected ways and something entirely new emerges.

 Everything I do is completely bespoke to the team and their particular circumstances. No pre-mixed RTDs from me!

 🍸 Curious? Get in touch and we'll mix something up just for you...

The model will work – but the story won’t!

🌳 I often use an apple tree to explain my adaptation of David Clutterbuck's PERILL model, with the addition of team wellbeing and resilience. The metaphor of leadership as the roots, relationships as the trunk, and team processes as the canopy etc, helps teams quickly grasp how the different elements of a High Performing Team interact and support one another.

I've been preparing to work with a team in the construction sector this week. I pulled out the apple tree ... and put it away again. I don't think it will land.

🏚️ So, the story’s been switched – to a house.

The foundations represent leadership. Relationships and internal processes sit within the house itself. The roof represents purpose, providing direction and shelter. Scaffolding represents learning and development – critical support for growth. A delivery truck represents value delivered to customers and stakeholders. Wellbeing and resilience help the house withstand storms that come along.

💡 While models and tools can be powerful, they're rarely one-size-fits-all. Sometimes the difference between engagement and indifference is finding a metaphor that feels familiar and relevant to the people in the room.

⁉️ Creative adaptation is what brings coaching to life.

If you’d like to hear more about apple trees, or buildings and delivery trucks, or High Performing Teamwork, get in touch. We’ll find a metaphor that works for your team.

⁉️ What on earth is a team of teams

I had someone edit my writing a few years ago (back before AI was a thing) and the term “team of teams” was highlighted as a typo.

It wasn’t a typo! I was talking about organisations being interconnected teams. McChrystal published a book about it arguing that traditional organisations are too slow and siloed to deal effectively with our VUCA world. He suggested interconnected smaller teams are more agile, responsive, innovative and hence more effective.

That was back in 2004. I would say that since then our world has become even more VUCA!

Teams of teams aligns perfectly with team coaching. Professor Peter Hawkins describes it as “An integrated approach for developing organisations into adaptive, networked systems. It builds upon the foundations of Systemic Team Coaching but expands the focus from a single team to the entire organisational ecosystem.”

And I’ve worked in this space myself. I coached several teams within the same organisation in parallel. The result – observable changes in culture, ways or working and ultimately performance. The impacts rippled through the organisation far and wide.

If you’d like to learn more about team coaching approach as the catalyst for organisational change, please get in touch. I’d love to have a chat.

Or, if you’re a member of the New Zealand Team Coaches Connect Group - we have a session this Friday at 9am on the topic – see you there!