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ICF Panama invitation to a presentation of global research on team coaching and stakeholders

Navigating Complexity: How Team Coaching Transforms Organisations

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Event held on Saturday, August 30 in Panama City,

Today’s organisations face an increasingly complex and interconnected business environment, which requires new structuring and team leadership strategies. To thrive, it’s crucial that your teams are more than the sum of their parts. The ability to collaborate quickly and agilely with all interested parties can be a decisive differentiating factor compared to other organisations.

In this event, we explore the key challenges facing leaders and teams today and in the future. We analyse the growing relevance of teamwork, the various internal dynamics and how teams and leaders can be more effective and better prepared to respond to future challenges, operating with greater flexibility.

We address how a Systemic Team Approach is critical to navigating complexity, breaking down silos, and fostering dynamic, cross-functional collaboration. We explore some of the key findings from the Team of Teams Research Report and will introduce Systemic Team of Teams Coaching (STOTC), a framework developed by Professor Peter Hawkins and Dr Catherine Carr.

ICF Panama group gathered at a meeting on team and stakeholder coaching

Colleagues celebrating a result with a high five

Team Coaching: A Systemic Perspective

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This article was originally published in the newspaper “La Estrella” and is part of a biweekly column from the ICF Panama Chapter to disseminate what professional coaching is. It seeks to inform, generate greater awareness and differentiate professional coaching, in which the coach is governed by ethical principles and is continually improving his or her skills.

See the original article in this Link.

From my career as a leader in organisational contexts, team development is an important focus in my work as a teacher, in executive coaching, and in systemic team coaching.

As team coaches, we understand that the team as a whole is our client and that our role is to work with each team considering its system and context, encouraging “the team to be more than the sum of its parts”, so that each member is empowered, committed and collaborates with others, considering their unique purpose and vision of the future.

The team exists to serve a purpose, “which precedes the team and is the reason why it was created” (Hawkins, 2017).  Discovering the purpose thus involves the team understanding who it serves and the value it creates for its different interest groups or stakeholders, considering both the internal stakeholders, including the organisation as a whole, and the various external stakeholders, such as: customers, suppliers, strategic allies and the community.

This seemingly simple exercise involves an “outside-in” approach, a key principle of the systemic team coaching methodology developed by Professor Peter Hawkins. Doing it in depth, so that it is understood and internalized by all team members, promotes greater team alignment.

With a defined purpose, the team more effectively develops its team map, which includes, among others, its working agreements, what is acceptable and what is not, and how the team wants to relate to each other, its future vision, its objectives, its KPIs, roles and responsibilities. This work brings clarity and transparency and boosts performance.

From my experience, although many leaders believe that team alignment exists, we have verified that in most teams the purpose, vision or objectives of the team as a whole (different from the individual ones) lack clarity or a shared understanding among its members. This makes communication and collaboration difficult among them and with their main stakeholders.

The current context is complex and changing and implies a constant hiring and re-contracting of expectations. The team map, with its rules and agreements, is a dynamic instrument that must be reviewed at different team meetings to confirm that understanding is maintained or if changes are applied to ensure alignment. These team moments enhance relationships, connections and more efficient processes.

Executives and teams feel that they need to do more with less and that time does not allow them to stop. But we know that it is precisely this conscious pause that allows them to gain perspective, clarify expectations, rehire when necessary and be more agile at all times.

A story that I always remember is that of “Alice in Wonderland”, specifically the moment when Alice asks the Cat the way and he answers that “he will always get somewhere.” The important thing is to define and be clear about where you want to go.

Working on the personal dynamics of the team, trust and psychological safety, and the interdependencies between different areas is another factor that has a great impact on the performance and well-being of the teams.

In his recent book “Team of Teams Coaching“, Professor Peter Hawkins and Dr. Catherine Carr explore an integrated approach to systemic team coaching with organisational transformation. This approach can be implemented from two routes. One route is the incremental journey, which begins with Team Coaching of the Leadership Team or Management Team and expands to various teams in the organisation, and the other route is a planned organisational transformation that involves a “big-bang” approach and a culture change with the integration of the systemic approach to team coaching throughout the organisation system.

Team Coaching requires experimentation and development of mental models. As coaches we learn with teams what works and what doesn’t work, and we challenge ourselves on the journey of growth. Together, we create and implement changes to address what emerges at every moment. And it is in this development process that good teams become great, and great teams manage to defy the odds.

Author: Fátima Ribeiro

The author is PCC (ICF Professional Certified Coach), Executive Coach and Systemic Team Coach, and member of ICF Panama.

Fuentes:

  • Hawkins, P. (2017). Leadership team coaching: Developing collective transformational leadership. Kogan Page Publishers.
  • Hawkins, P., & Carr, C. (2025). Team of Teams Coaching: Using a Teaming Approach to Increase Business Impact. Kogan Page Publishers.

Poster for a team coaching case study presentation with Fátima Ribeiro

Team Coaching Case Studies

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On July 15, I presented a real case of a team coaching process for the Spanish-speaking Team Coaching Network.

Illustration of a person drawing a light bulb to represent new ideas

Developing Teams and Organisations to Respond to Change

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This article was originally published in the newspaper “La Estrella” and is part of a biweekly column from the ICF Panama Chapter to disseminate what professional coaching is. It seeks to inform, create more awareness and differentiate professional coaching, in which the coach is governed by ethical principles and is continually improving his or her skills.

See the original article in this Link.

One of the challenges to achieving successful transformations in organisations and enhancing their development and sustainability is having leaders and teams prepared to respond to change.

Bushe & Lewis (2023) identified in their article published in the Leadership & Organisation Development Journal, three change strategies for organisational development. The three strategies defined by the authors are: (1) a data-driven strategy (data-based), (2) a high commitment strategy (high engagement) and (3) a generative strategy.   

Each of these strategies corresponds to a vision of the organisation and its system, its processes, structures and relationships.

The authors consider that adopting one of the three strategies, mentioned above, in change situations is dependent on the type of challenges that the organisation faces and the level of commitment required from the different interested parties or stakeholders.

  1. A data-driven strategy is appropriate when there is a lack of understanding of the problem or challenge and the collection and Previous data analysis is important to clarify it, and the data is also important to convince others (teams and/or stakeholders) of the need for change. This is also an appropriate strategy when the company’s challenges, in addition to being complicated, are more linear, allowing data collection and analysis to establish causal or functional relationships.
  2. A high commitment strategy is appropriate when leaders have a clear vision of the desired future, but the commitment of collaborators and/or others stakeholders It is essential to ensure the success of the change process. With this option, central coordination in the selection of change strategies is important, for example, due to capital requirements, but participants in the process have the opportunity to influence the structuring of the exchange rate or its implementation.
  3. A generative strategy is appropriate when change is a complex and adaptive challenge, requiring greater interaction and communication, and when there is the possibility of trying different simultaneous approaches to achieve the objectives. In this strategy, the concept of purpose (defined as what the organisation tries to achieve each day), and which is different from the vision (understood as the desired future or the solution to a problem) is shared by all those involved in the change process, making everyone unite around the purpose. This strategy is appropriate when the change process will require a transformation in people’s behaviours and beliefs and, for this reason, also requires their active involvement in promoting change. This strategy, which involves greater commitment from all employees and other stakeholders, is appropriate when the leadership team requires faster transformations than in idealized and implemented top-down change processes.

The role of the leadership teams is different in each of the strategies, from a more directive role to a role that is more of a facilitator and promoter of learning through trial and error.

The leader in the generative strategy is a facilitator of resources, relationships and conversations and of learning processes. For this strategy to be effective, it is important to cultivate psychological safety, trust and empowerment in teams.

A team coaching process, with a team coach with experience and knowledge of organisational dynamics, can support leadership teams to discover a purpose that inspires and engages others in the change process, and that creates value for different stakeholders, to clarify processes, to create relationships and alliances that enhance commitment and change, and to create a learning culture in teams and organisations. External team coaches can positively impact team performance and contribute to the organisational transformation process.

Author: Fátima Ribeiro

The author has the PCC credential (ICF Professional Certified Coach) and is a Coach in professional development, leadership and team processes, and a member of the ICF Panama Board of Directors.

Poster for the MindFit webinar on coaching tools for team management

Coaching tools in team management

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Coaching tools in team management 

This was the topic of this webinar held on February 28 for participants from Spain and Latin America.

Coaching is a creative process and the focus is on the future, on developing solutions.

Key coaching competencies such as establishing trust, being present, developing effective communication and facilitating learning and results are very important in the current context.

In this conference we explore tools that contribute to boosting results and caring for the well-being of teams, supporting leaders and entrepreneurs to face the challenges of today and the future.

 

A professional presenting ideas to a team beside a whiteboard

Advancing Women’s Leadership through Coaching

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This article was originally published in the newspaper “La Estrella” and is part of a biweekly column from the ICF Panama Chapter to disseminate what Professional Coaching is. It seeks to inform, create more awareness and differentiate professional coaching, in which the Coach is governed by ethical principles and is continually improving his or her skills.

See the original article in this Link.

Advancing Women’s Leadership through Coaching

The 12 habits that hinder female leadership

Leadership culture, organisational practices and individual behaviours are three dimensions identified as important in international studies to achieve change in the development of female leadership internationally.

In this article we focus on the individual behaviours, mentality and behaviours that distinguish executives who have progressed to leadership positions in organisations.

Some of the most distinctive behaviours and beliefs of these professionals are the ability to advocate for themselves, the development of support and influence networks at different levels of the organisation, taking risks and developing new competencies, and a high degree of self-confidence.

In the book “How Women Rise”, Sally Helgesen and Marshall Goldsmith identify the following 12 habits or behaviours that hinder the development of women in organisations:

  1. Reluctance to claim achievements.
  2. Expect others to spontaneously notice and reward your contributions.
  3. Overvaluation of experience.
  4. Just build, rather than build and leverage relationships.
  5. Do not recruit allies (peers, mentors and sponsors) from day one.
  6. Put work before your career.
  7. The trap of perfection.
  8. The desire to please.
  9. Minimization (in words and body language).
  10. Too much (too much emotion, words, information).
  11. Rumination.
  12. Let your radar distract you.

These habits frequently appear together. For example, the habit 1. reluctance to claim achievements often appears accompanied by 2. expecting others to spontaneously notice or praise and reward their contributions, leading to women not developing and assuming the importance of advocating for themselves.

Other behaviours that can be found together are habits 3. overvaluing experience, 6. putting work before your career and 7. the perfection trap, which together can limit the professional’s ability to take risks, open up to strategic projects and develop the competencies and skills necessary to progress in leadership roles.

To still refer to the behaviours 4. only build instead of building and leveraging relationships and 5. not enrolling allies from day one, which when given inhibit the development of support and influence networks at different levels of the organisation.

The behaviours 9. minimization, 10. too much and 12. letting your radar distract you, with absorption of too much information and/or decreased focus, hinder the development of influence in the organisation and for professionals to be perceived as having an executive presence.

In the coaching process, the coach supports the executive to:

  • Clarify your purpose and vision of the desired future.
  • Recognise your personal power and authenticity, your competencies, experiences and knowledge, that is, what you bring to the table.
  • Evaluate how you present and act in different situations, how you empathize and create rapport and relationships of trust, how you communicate with others, how you respond in crisis situations, what are the triggers that can arise and that must be taken care of.
  • Map your people of interest and identify potential allies, mentors and sponsors.
  • Define what value and impact you want to create, what new perspectives or emotional changes you can provide to enhance solutions in critical situations.

The coach accompanies the professional in her actions to:

  • Develop a learning and growth strategy with clear purpose and objectives.
  • Structure an active network of relationships and support.
  • Simultaneously manage work, career, and personal and family life.
  • Create greater impact and value in your communications and interactions.
  • Develop self-confidence and assume your personal power.

A professional coach supports the client in their development process, stimulating reflection and creativity, acting as a mirror for the client, encouraging the discovery and implementation of new lines of action. Sometimes, he supports the client with experimentation or role-playing techniques that allow him to visualize different perspectives, actions, and experiment in a safe environment, in a continuous process of reflection, action and learning.

Author: Fatima Ribeiro

The author is a PCC Coach, Coach in professional development, leadership and teams processes, and member of the Board of Directors of ICF Panama.

Poster of the Systemic Team Coaching workshop: Expanding Borders, with Susana Azevedo, Bianca Aichinger and Fátima Ribeiro

Systemic Team Coaching – Expanding Frontiers

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On August 9, from ICF Brasil Charter Chapter, in a workshop with more than 50 coaches from Brazil we shared our experience on Systemic Team Coaching.

Thank you to the ICF Brazil Charter Chapter for the opportunity to share and to all the participants who joined us!

Poster of the Systemic Team Coaching workshop: Expanding Borders, with Susana Azevedo, Bianca Aichinger and Fátima Ribeiro

Facilitators and participants in an online session on systemic team coaching

Group of participants in a video conference on team coaching

ICF Panama invitation to the conversation Why Team Coaching?

Why Team Coaching?

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On May 18, from ICF Panama Chapter, in an event integrated into the international coaching week, we shared with coaches and executives from Latin America about Systemic Team Coaching.

Develop knowledge about team coaching, its importance today and how it differs from other interventions. Learn what to expect from a team coaching process and its benefits, through a real example.

 

A professional receiving recognition from their team during a presentation

Executive Presence: How to Influence and Make an Impact

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This article was originally published in the newspaper “La Estrella” and is part of a biweekly column from the ICF Panama Chapter to disseminate what Professional Coaching is. It seeks to inform, create more awareness and differentiate professional coaching, in which the Coach is governed by ethical principles and is continually improving his or her skills.

See the original article in this Link.

 

Developing executive presence is one of the objectives that professionals and executives most seek in coaching processes since it helps to have greater impact and influence.

In an increasingly complex, interconnected, and rapidly evolving world, with more virtual than in-person interactions, where many collaborators work in matrix structures and belong to multiple teams, where power structures change, developing a system mindset, understanding connections, reading context, and developing relationships is increasingly relevant.

Some of the strategies of current professionals to be able to successfully surf the waves of change are:

  • deploy active listening and be present in every interaction,
  • create greater value with and for your people of interest,
  • have greater impact in your communications and interventions,
  • develop a growth strategy with a clear purpose,
  • simultaneously manage work, career, and personal and family life,
  • structure an active network of allies, mentors and sponsors.

In a coaching process, it is important to clarify with the client their understanding of what it means for them to develop executive presence, supporting them to analyse and prioritise their objectives, define their measures of success, and focus their action plan on the 20% that allow 80% of the results.

In the process of self-knowledge and self-management, it is key to clarify the purpose, the client’s north, and establish with them the predisposition to change, to let go of what no longer serves them, in a relationship of benefit versus cost. In many cases the cost is letting go:

  • an attachment to past behaviours and success factors,
  • the idea of control,
  • making excuses – not remaining a victim of circumstances,
  • the excessive need to be “I”,
  • thoughts and emotions from the past, opening to create a new and more emotionally agile version of the “I”.

It is opening oneself to uncertainty, not knowing, having to develop new resources and different solutions, seeking the opportunity and gift of each unforeseen situation.

In the process of self-knowledge, the coach supports the client to:

  • recognise your personal power and authenticity, your competencies, experiences and knowledge, what you bring to the table;
  • to evaluate how he presents himself in different situations, how he empathizes and creates rapport and relationships of trust, how he responds to others and in crisis situations, what are the triggers that can arise and that must be taken care of;
  • and what is the value and impact you want to create, what new perspectives or emotional changes can you bring to enhance solutions in critical situations.

Achieving the intended results with well-being also requires the client to work on continuous feedback with their stakeholders. It is important to map your people of interest, who your key internal and external stakeholders are, expanding your sphere of influence and impact, defining what formal and informal power structures to take into account, and what value to create with and for each stakeholder.

A process of continuous feedback and alignment of expectations allows the client a more real knowledge of the evolution of the perceptions of their people of interest, preparing them for faster strategic action in situations of changes in the organisational or business context.

A professional coach supports his client in his development process, stimulating reflection and creativity: “what if…?”, “what would happen if…?”, “what else…?”; acting as a mirror for the client: “this is what I am hearing”, “this is what I am observing”; stimulating the discovery of new lines of action: that “haven’t you tried yet?” “How would you say it?”, “How would you do it?”, and in some cases also supporting the client with experimentation or role play techniques that allow them to visualize different perspectives and actions and try them in a safe environment, in a continuous process of reflection, action and learning.

Author: Fátima Ribeiro

The author is ACC (ICF Associated Certified Coach), Coach in professional development, leadership and teams processes, and member of the Board of Directors of ICF Panama.

A sequence of portraits with symbols representing thoughts and emotions

Saboteurs and wisdom

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This article was originally published in the newspaper “La Estrella” and is part of a biweekly column from the ICF Panama Chapter to disseminate what Professional Coaching is. It seeks to inform, create more awareness and differentiate professional coaching, in which the Coach is governed by ethical principles and is continually improving his or her skills.

See the original article in this Link.

 

The concept of intelligence has evolved over time. At the beginning of the 20th century, IQ was considered the main predictor of success. In the 80s we began to hear about the emotional quotient connected with emotional intelligence, that is, self-awareness and self-management, and knowledge of others and relationship management, as a differentiating element for a successful life, having an impact of about 80% on success.

Currently, with the growing complexity and uncertainty of the context, concepts such as collaborative intelligence are gaining importance, that is, the ability to co-create together a result that is greater than the sum of the parts.

We also talk about intelligence for change, closely connected with emotional agility, that is, the ability to navigate different emotions and take actions based on values and long-term objectives, with resilience, that is, the ability to face change and adversity, and with the concept of antifragility, which integrates the ability to not only face, but also thrive in uncertain and adverse situations.

 Other concepts are communication intelligence, a conscious and intentional way of adapting messages to the objectives and context, for greater influence, impact and creation of value, and the intelligence of connecting, which reflects the ability to ask questions, design ideas and approach conversations to influence and mobilise others in the pursuit of an objective.

The very concept of work has evolved from essentially manual work, associated with the beginning of industrialization, to more cognitive work, associated with the acquisition of knowledge and active learning strategies with the revolution associated with the Internet and knowledge economy, to more emotional work, connected with the development of empathy and compassion, with the connection to a purpose and values, which enhances the development of relationships, connections and alliances at a more systemic level.

In its entirety, we are talking about intelligence concepts closely connected to the development of soft skills, about work on our being and thinking, in the management of emotions, beliefs and thoughts, in actions connected with a purpose and values, that drive the development of our potential, with simultaneous impact on results and well-being.

In a coaching process, thinking and creativity are stimulated to develop the client’s potential, connecting being, thinking and doing. The objectives of the process and actions are defined from the future desired by the client, its purpose and visions.

When considering a systemic perspective in working with the client, the different levels of context, from interpersonal relationships to the global context, the different concepts of intelligence referred to above are often found in the client’s challenges and in coaching conversations.

Another concept of intelligence that can be in conversations is the concept of positive intelligence developed by Shirzad Chamine, author and professor at Stanford University Business School. Positive intelligence is defined by Shirzard as a measure of mental agility, indicating how quickly we can navigate from “negative” responses to “positive” responses to different challenges.

In her work Shriszad identifies our main saboteurs, who impact our thoughts, our “internal judge”, through the way we react to challenges.

Through self-awareness, self-compassion and reflection exercises, connected with the various senses, that help us recognise the emotions present, and navigate a mental space of curiosity and creativity, we can develop mental agility that allows us to identify the gift and opportunity of each situation, even in situations that appear painful and/or challenging.

Fátima Ribeiro

The author is a Coach in Professional Development, Leadership and Teams processes, ACC (ICF Associated Certified Coach), and member of the Board of Directors of ICF Panama.