Discover the power of your team
Blog by
Dennis Hardeman
In addition to personal coaching, I regularly train teams dealing with specific issues and their further development. I work from the principle of ‘the wisdom of the group.’ This means that everyone feels heard and everything is welcome. I would love to take you along in this approach and thereby introduce you to the MEPD team program.
Why not have someone from the team join in?
I am often invited by a manager: there is a problem and something needs to change within the team. Or rather: the manager believes that the team has a problem. My question then is: why isn’t anyone from the team here? When you involve a team member right from the start, we can be sure that they experience the problem the same way. It’s meaningful to involve the team as soon as possible in order to get support for new ideas.
Why not speak up from a wish or a need?
There are different motivations for starting a team program. In my experience, it often starts from a problem. Due to conflict, absenteeism, or a silo mentality, an alarm is raised. Then, I already start with a team at a disadvantage and it simply takes more time to clear the air. How nice would it be to start with the (further) development of the team: from a wish or a need.
Why downplay 'oh, it's not that bad' and postpone?
Within teams, we often see people laughing off problems, becoming sarcastic, talking a lot but saying little. When things get tense, people naturally tend to shy away from it. It gets too close, and looking away is easier than looking at yourself. For me as a trainer, this is the most challenging part of training. But secretly also the most fun. It feels very exposed and vulnerable to bring up the underlying issue, the real pain. Yet, this needs space first in order to build constructively. By now, I know you can only say things when people are ready to hear them. So, connecting is very important here. The beauty is that you then see and notice that there is more breathing room in the team and it shifts from sarcasm to humor.
Giving space for the undercurrent
In most teams, we deal with an undercurrent. Seemingly, it’s about something minor, but there is always something bigger underneath, and sometimes that’s a true quest. We need to dare to look at it and have the courage to speak up. Recently, in a team of 13 mechanics, 12 were ‘happy and content,’ but the last one was angry and frustrated. Others then recognized what he was saying. Whatever you think in a team, there are always others who feel the same way. Naming the elephant in the room requires courage and guts and is sometimes essential to be able to move forward again.
The deeper, the bigger the growth spurt
The strength of the team lies in the wisdom of the group. All roles are welcome, and everyone feels heard and respected. Giving each other space and learning to listen, really listen, to each other. That requires some work. The more depth we reach with the team—think of anger, sadness, frustrations—the greater the development and growth spurt. That doesn’t mean the team program is nothing but misery; it can certainly be fun and enjoyable. But we often see that the biggest gains are made when we’ve really dug deep. In the end, it’s all about transformation. For the benefit of the team, the individual, and the organization.
Want to know more about the team program? Take a look << here >>.
Are you connected to A+O? Then you may be eligible for subsidies. Feel free to contact Dennis without obligation: dennis.hardeman@mepd.nl
Also read the blog by colleague Marieke: How (psychologically) free do you feel?
Dennis Hardeman
Trainer / Coach
I love helping people and teams get closer to themselves. This allows them to make choices that fit them. So that they, as a team and as individuals, function better and their potential comes to the surface even more.
