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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.

Fátima Ribeiro and Susana Azevedo, co-authors of articles on leadership and team coaching

Building Bridges: An Organisational Culture for Success

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This article was originally published in Portuguese in Líder Magazine, in the spring 2025 issue.

The online version was later published on the magazine’s website. The original article can be consulted here link.

A common purpose, a shared vision and dreams allow us to face change more agilely and effectively, and transform leaders, teams and organisations. They create a connection between minds and hearts that enhances communication, collaboration, commitment and teamwork.

Organisational identity provides a sense of community and inclusion and reinforces a set of norms and values that build bridges and contribute to a feeling of belonging.

In one of the organisations we worked with, values such as transparency, autonomy and trust, defined as essential by their leader, were incorporated into their leadership practices and behaviours. This transformed the culture and made the organisation more efficient and better prepared for the future.

Transparency was incorporated to promote clearer communication and proper management of expectations. The structuring of processes and the delegation of tasks reinforced the value of autonomy. Trust, as a way of looking at others, was expanded and integrated into leadership practices to create psychological safety and develop relationships and collaboration.

Authors such as Amy Edmondson and Timothy Clark, and studies in companies such as Google—project Aristotle—, show that psychological safety is the basis of the most effective teams. Based on the perception of inclusion and security, team commitment increases, collaborators develop their curiosity and enhance innovation, and productivity and performance become sustainable.

Amy Edmondson explains that psychological safety helps people take the interpersonal risks necessary to achieve excellence in a rapidly changing, interdependent world.

in the book The 4 Stages of Psychological Safety, Timothy Clark identifies the following dimensions of psychological safety: safety to feel included, safety to learn, safety to contribute, and safety to question.

Leaders, using emotional, conversational and collaborative intelligence tools, coordinate diverse and inclusive work environments. In this way, they enhance relationships and continuous learning and contribute to the whole being more than the sum of the parts.

Relationships are the context that allows us to successfully face change, and sharing helps to strengthen them. As Richard Boyatzis points out in the book The Science of Change, a shared vision drives hope; In shared compassion we experience solidarity, and through shared energy we vibrate at the same frequency as others.

Through systemic team coaching we work on relationships and connections between people, teams and external stakeholders, building bridges towards a successful organisational culture in contexts of uncertainty and complexity.

Authors: Fátima Ribeiro and Susana Azevedo

Fátima Ribeiro and Susana Azevedo, co-authors of articles on leadership and team coaching

Leadership in Challenging Times: Between Uncertainty and Inspiration

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This article was originally published in Portuguese in Líder Magazine, in the fall 2024 issue.

The online version was later published on the magazine’s website. The original article can be consulted here link.

In our work as executive and team coaches, and as leadership trainers, we recognise the difficulty leaders have in do more with less and keep their teams motivated in a context of continuous changes, in which commitment decreases and levels of satisfaction increase. burnout.

Leaders suffer tensions at different levels, coming from internal and external stakeholders. They feel pressured to react, to focus on short-term results and to choose the least bad option, instead of acting proactively and working towards the vision of the desired future, developing organisations more focused on human and ecosystem sustainability.

We hear the feeling of disconnection with current leadership, due to the perceived distance between the values communicated and the values present in the daily actions and practices of the organisation.

How to navigate ambiguity, as our caravels navigated previously unknown oceans, and build teams and organisations capable of facing challenges?

Through coaching we work with leaders and teams to identify what they need to change in themselves to promote the transformation of their teams and organisations.

We help them identify the internal and external resources they already have and those they need to develop, to increase their ability to influence and act proactively in creating their vision of the future.

We work on beliefs, emotions, mentalities and relationships, considering a purpose that creates value for both the business and all interested parties.

We create intentional spaces of learning and celebration throughout the development journey, to evaluate progress and recharge the energy that drives change.

We address horizontal development—knowledge and competencies—but also vertical development—being and mental models—considering evolution:

  • of the «yo» al “us”,
  • of opportunistic value creation a the creation of value with and for a broad base of stakeholders,
  • of the time as a “scarce” resource al time as an “opportunity” to do better every day,
  • of the thinking focused on current performance al strategic thinking in three horizons: the present, the future and what we can start doing tomorrow.

In this development journey, which includes doing, but also thinking and being, we work on skills such as communication, with special attention to active listening, which enhances the commitment and impact of leaders and teams.

We promote psychological safety, trust and the construction of inclusive teams, in which creativity and the implementation of more agile processes and structures are encouraged, and where the whole is more than the sum of the parts.

There is hope and each of us can make a difference in building a promising future for ourselves and for generations to come!

Authors: Fátima Ribeiro and Susana Azevedo

Hands completing a jigsaw puzzle shaped like a human head

Self-Awareness and Emotional Intelligence

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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.

Self-awareness is the basis of learning, development, and change. It is a foundation of emotional intelligence, and what allows us to build better relationships, achieve better results, with a higher level of well-being.

in his book Insight, Tasha Eurich tells us that 95% of people believe they are self-aware, but that in reality this number is much lower, on the order of 12% to 15%. The author understands self-awareness as “the willingness or ability to understand who we are, including aspects such as our values and patterns (internal self-awareness), and how others perceive us (external self-awareness).”

The process of developing self-awareness involves spaces for reflection, openness to introspection, but also a willingness to observe and listen to the perceptions of others, to request feedback.

In the coaching processes we verify that when we begin to explore with our clients their values, talents, passions, strengths, patterns, triggers, among others, they identify that it is not so simple and is even more challenging than what they would initially consider. That it is not as obvious as we might think to identify what moves us, makes us unique and differentiates us, nor to identify our behavioural patterns.

It is necessary to dedicate time and reflection to becoming aware of what distinguishes us, of our reaction patterns, of the beliefs and assumptions that live behind our actions. We all have blind spots, at the level of knowledge, emotions and reactions of which we are not aware, and which are difficult for us to access without feedback from others.

The coaching process provides the reflective and creative space, which we often do not have on a daily basis, of moments dedicated to connecting with who we are, what we want, why we want it and to explore action options that enhance better results and well-being.

When we connect with our purpose, with our values, with the essence of who we are and what we value, we access a source of energy and motivation that focuses our actions and supports us to develop the flexibility and resilience necessary to achieve our goals and well-being.

In the process of awareness we access and can leverage our internal resources, and from there also identify the external resources that we need.

The authors Travis Bradberry & Jean Greaves, in their book Emotional Intelligence 2.0, They explore some strategies to develop personal self-awareness, including learning to identify emotions cognitively and physically, not to classify them as good or bad, not to ignore them, even when they make them uncomfortable, and to recognise them and let them go.

Other strategies identified are the periodic practice of journaling and obtaining feedback as a way of observing ourselves from a distance, identifying behavioural patterns and triggers in stressful situations.

The practice of periodic reflection or meditation are strategies to connect with our essence, with our values, and to do a regular mental and physical check-up, to maintain our mental health and prevent burnout situations.

In our interactions with others we can also develop our social self-awareness, through the practice of mindfulness, presence, active listening, and empathy.

From curiosity we can observe the other, or others from their world, ask and try to understand others from their life experience, beliefs, assumptions or culture.

A professional coach recognizes that self-awareness is the basis for his client to achieve his goals, and works with him from that basis in defining specific strategies for each case.

Self-awareness is also important in working with teams and in organisational development, in identifying interaction dynamics and behavioural patterns.

Personal and social self-awareness is a learning process, a search for personal mastery.

My favourite strategies are emotional checking and journaling, putting my reflections on paper or recording them, so I can return to them and observe them from a distance.

Dear reader, how do you make sure you develop your self-awareness? What are your favourite strategies?

Author: Fátima Ribeiro

The author is PCC (ICF Professional Certified Coach), Coach in professional development, leadership and teams processes, and member of ICF Panama.

Fátima Ribeiro and Susana Azevedo, co-authors of articles on leadership and team coaching

Leadership Teams Ready for the Future

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This article was originally published in Portuguese in Líder Magazine, in the spring 2024 issue.

The online version was later published on the magazine’s website. The original article can be consulted here link.

According to Michael Porter, strategy is what will differentiate an organisation: it will provide it with a competitive advantage, create distinct value for the consumer, and allow the company to prosper and achieve superior profitability.

In the current context, strategy is increasingly a dynamic process that involves permanent interaction with a complex and ambiguous environment, evaluating threats, trends and opportunities. To drive this process, the organisation needs teams with the ability to anticipate the future and lead change.

The effectiveness of teams as a whole is, more than ever, essential for the success and sustainability of organisations. These cannot depend solely on the talent of a leader who has all the solutions and controls that others execute their decisions. It is necessary to invest in shared leadership teams because of their potential to achieve higher performance than teams with vertical leadership.

The development of teams with collective leadership skills is crucial for organisations to consistently and lastingly achieve a high level of performance and innovation. These skills allow the whole to create more value than the sum of the parts and for each member to assume responsibility for their contribution (individual leadership) and for the functioning of the entire team (collective leadership).

An effective team needs clarity and alignment around its purpose and vision for the future. Based on this clarity, work together to define the strategic axes that will allow you to achieve results and reflect on the culture, governance, processes and leadership necessary to support the execution of the strategy. The team reviews the best ways of working, the technical and behavioural competencies and the internal dynamics necessary to fulfill its purpose.

Leadership Teams Ready for the Future
  1. Clarity of purpose
  2. Future vision
  3. Shared leadership
  4. Learning culture
  5. Strategy Sustainability

Creation of value with and for all stakeholders.

The internal environment of the team includes: a) a shared purpose, b) support among its members and c) voice—psychological safety and willingness to express oneself—elements that precede shared leadership. Trust is another vital element: it is built on integrity and credibility, and is developed through direct communication, clarification of expectations, keeping commitments and an environment of continuous learning. Coaching support is especially important when the team’s internal environment is less favourable.

We work in alliance with leadership teams, in a process that stimulates reflection and creativity from a systemic perspective. We help them clarify the purpose, vision and strategy, and lead the change towards a sustainable transformation of organisations, creating value for all stakeholders.

Authors: Fátima Ribeiro and Susana Azevedo

Two people talking during a coaching session

Do we need to change for 2022?

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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.

 

We live in a context in which change is no longer an event but a constant; in which stopping, thinking and consciously dedicating time to learning is increasingly important (as well as difficult due to the pace of life) to face the challenges of the future.

 

We are approaching the end of the 2021 year and I invite you to pause, reflect and integrate the lessons learned and plan for 2022.

 

How are the changes affecting us as individuals, families, teams and organisations?

  • What do we see and credit? What thoughts inhabit us? What beliefs are we focusing on?
  • How do we work and relate? What alliances, relationships and connections are we building?
  • Who are we being at different times, with different people and in different contexts?

 

Bringing awareness to how we feel, think, and are impacting our people of interest is important in a process of learning and change.

 

Complementarily validate our perception, with the perception of others, in periodic feedback and feedforward actions (suggestions for improvement) from our people of interest.

 

Having identified our values, talents, aspirations, patterns, environments in which we flourish, reactions and the impact on others, brings us a higher level of self-knowledge and self-awareness and allows us to clarify our strengths and weaknesses, perceive what differentiates us, what internal barriers we perceive, what resources we need and what we want to learn to enhance our value proposition considering the opportunities and threats of the context.

 

Identifying our triggers and perceiving where the stimuli that impact us come from helps us choose the behaviours that best serve our objectives, and not use emotional volatility as a tool for self-management and in the management of others.

 

Where are we on the curve of change? In denial, in resistance, in acceptance, in developing capabilities, or committed, investing time and resources in the process?

 

And what happens in our teams and organisations? How are they reacting to daily challenges, uncertainty and change? What are we looking at and co-creating? What value are we creating?

 

Environments of trust, psychological safety, high standards and responsibility, in which error is part of the learning process, are conducive to learning, taking risks and consequently more prepared for change as a constant. Conversely, environments of high control, micromanagement and low psychological security are related to anxiety and stress in change situations.

 

Having identified what communications we are having the majority of our time is also crucial in the context of change. Are we in the inform, say and ask? In persuading and negotiating? In co-creating and transforming? What mix of the three do we currently have and which one would we like or need to have?

 

The purpose of an organisation is changing, from creating value for shareholders to creating value for all stakeholders. What value are we creating for our internal and external stakeholders? What would our collaborators, teams, clients, suppliers and other stakeholders tell us about the path we are traveling and that we have to travel? What can we not stop paying attention to today, tomorrow and the future, in this context of change as a constant?

 

Increasingly, the management of polarities is a constant. Some examples of polarities we may be navigating are: results and well-being; today, tomorrow and the future; management and innovation; be strategic and operational; individuality and diversity. The current challenge is to manage both polarities simultaneously. It is shared leadership. It is developing a systemic vision, reinforcing relationships, connections and alliances.

 

An individual, executive, group or team coaching process supports, among others, creating new possibilities from the purpose and vision of the future, identifying patterns, adopting a perspective of curiosity, promoting creativity, trust, experimentation and responsibility. A professional coach, according to their specialty, has tools to support you on this path.

 

Author: 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.

Two professionals shaking hands during a meeting

Mapping Change

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We begin each year with the purpose of implementing changes in our lives, but in most cases, for lack of a true plan, our intentions fade during the first weeks of the beginning of the year.

Establishing a change map, with its objectives and action plan, implementing the action plan, monitoring progress, evaluating progress, introducing modifications if necessary and celebrating the successes achieved is, in general, difficult to implement individually and autonomously.

The support of a professional Coach, properly trained and certified, whose objective is to facilitate the change intended by the Coachee, significantly supports the change process.

To define the objectives of the coaching process, it is important to identify the level of well-being and performance at which the Coachee is, the performance and well-being matrix developed by Anthony M. Grant being a very good tool.

Different combinations of well-being and performance levels require different coaching strategies and styles. A client with a low level of well-being and high performance requires different strategies compared for example to a client with a high level of well-being and high performance.

The solution-focused coaching process, with how questions, is more effective than the problem-focused one, with why questions.

A solution-focused mindset has a positive correlation with levels of well-being, self-regulation, and resilience.

A solution-focused process, in alliance with a positive and trust-based coaching relationship between Coach and Coachee, has a multiplying effect on the results of the coaching process.

The process is much more effective depending on the level of self-knowledge and self-awareness developed by the Coachee.

The most effective self-reflection process is one focused on the future, on finding solutions. Reflection focused on the past is reflection focused on problems not solutions.

Solution-focused self-reflection supports monitoring of the action plan and self-awareness supports the evaluation of performance and well-being and the recognition of achievements. If necessary, and for greater alignment at each moment between actions and objectives, the Coachee can implement changes in their action plan.

The objectives established in the coaching process are not limited to objectives defined in a SMART way (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and defined in time), they can also be learning and development objectives, maintaining a positive approach, in solutions that translate into actions.

In my coaching processes we end each session with the recognition and celebration of the learning from the session. The learning is integrated into an action plan, whose actions are consistent with the solutions identified in the session and with the objectives defined by the Coachee.

A coaching process focused on solutions and aligned with well-being translates into greater effectiveness.

Fátima Ribeiro, Associate Certified Coach (ACC) by ICF

 

The article was written based on my interpretation of the presentation in ICF Advance, “Success factors in the coach-coachee relationship and the role of self-reflection and self-insight in Coaching” de Anthony M. Grant, Ph.D., reconocido investigador y autor en Psicología del Coaching.