Uncovering teams’ blind spots

This week I was joining “that informal morning coffee conversation” of a team I’m coaching – and we made some team coaching magic happen. The team made progress, “just” with basic professional skills like listening and visualization. It felt like a true remote-work achivement that made the Agile Coach in me very joyful.

Some context first

The team and I are working together since a couple of weeks; they’re all in a fully virtual setting since spring 2020. I was already part of some of those “coffee conversations” that soon turn in work convos.

Listening first…

So this week, I tapped into a profound ‘blind spot’. Folks of the team and me, we uncovered it together. The best part is: people on the team also want to address & work on it! 🙂

That made me learn three Agile Coaching work basics again:

  • listening is a true skill
  • the power of invitation-based work
    (over pressuring folks to do or change something)
  • facilitation is mighty – even if it is done by “just text” – it doesn’t always have to be “a picture” or even a sketchnote
Partyknaller
☕

Visualization brings progress

Augen

You might now ask… “How did you do that?”
Well, I “just” offered some visualization to that team. 😉

Following a discussion, I was jotting down the keypoints on-the-fly… while listening to the convo. This time it even was “just” text. After the discussion, I offered the text to the team.

That offer (and the text) sparked conversations afterwards which in turn revealed the spots to work on.

Lächelndes Gesicht mit geöffnetem Mund

What about you?

I am curious:

  • What is your (recent) remote-work achievement?
  • What is your “magic moment” in a virtual team-work setting?