Harvard Business Review Guides Ultimate Boxed Set (16 Books)

Chapter 15

Coaching Teams

by J. Richard Hackman

Team coaching is about group processes. It involves direct interaction with a team that is intended to help members use their collective resources well in accomplishing work. Examples of coaching include leading a launch meeting before work begins (which can help members become oriented to and engaged with their task), providing the team feedback about its problem analysis (which can increase the quality of its analytic work), or asking a team reflective questions about why members made a particular decision (which can help them make better use of their knowledge and experience). By contrast, a leader who personally coordinates the work of a team or who negotiates outside resources for its use is ...