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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

August 30, 2025/in Events/by Fátima Ribeiro

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

July 13, 2025/in Blog/by Fátima Ribeiro

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

March 27, 2025/in Blog/by Fátima Ribeiro

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

Leadership in Challenging Times: Between Uncertainty and Inspiration

October 30, 2024/in Blog/by Fátima Ribeiro

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

Leadership Teams Ready for the Future

March 8, 2024/in Blog/by Fátima Ribeiro

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

Clarity of purpose
Future vision
Shared leadership
Learning culture
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

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

Developing Teams and Organisations to Respond to Change

December 17, 2023/in Blog/by Fátima Ribeiro

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.

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.
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.
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.

Essential Skills for Thriving Organisations

November 22, 2023/in Blog/by Fátima Ribeiro

This article was originally published in Portuguese in Líder Magazine, in the fall 2023 issue.

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

Did you know that companies that moved from a purely individual view of “I” to a collective view of “we” show a higher return on investment than the average of companies that are part of the S&P 500?

Various authors, such as Jim Collins and Richard Barrett, point out that the sustainable performance of an organisation is only possible when its leaders put the interests of the organisation as a whole before their own interests and ego. This approach allows us to build a sustainable future for everyone and also constitutes the best business strategy for the success of the organisation.

In this article we address crucial competencies for organisations and how they can be developed through coaching. This contributes to increasing awareness and evolving mental models, and enhances leadership development, the transformation of organisations and the creation of a better future.

Barrett points out the need for an organisational purpose and a systemic vision of the business that includes the different stakeholders of the company and aligns the interests of the organisation with the long-term interests of society. The most resilient organisations have strong alignment of values, a high shared commitment to the organisation’s vision and mission, and a deep sense of personal responsibility, which enhances collaboration, commitment, and performance.

The work we develop with leaders and teams invites them to clearly understand their current reality, to discover their purpose and vision, as well as the value they contribute with and for all stakeholders. Through coaching we enhance the evolution towards new levels of consciousness, the basis for the transformation of leaders, teams and organisations.

Barrett identifies five essential characteristics that have driven the evolution of human beings since their origins and that continue to be fundamental in the current VUCA context: adaptability, continuous learning, the ability to connect, the ability to cooperate and the ability to cope with complexity.

Five essential competencies

Adaptability
Speed and resilience.
Continuous learning
Memory and logic.
Ability to connect
Compatibility and trust.
Ability to cooperate
Alignment and empathy.
Ability to manage complexity
Internal and external.

Fuente: Barrett, R. (2011), The New Leadership Paradigm, Lulu.com.

With our clients we work on these competencies to develop more adaptable leaders and organisations, capable of managing complexity and uncertainty and establishing internal and external alliances. This is how we promote long-term sustainable organisations, with a positive impact on society and the world.

Our coaching process, systemic in nature and intrinsically creative and thought-provoking, unlocks hitherto unexplored sources of imagination, productivity and leadership. It is a simultaneous exercise of clarification and motivation for the sustainable and integrated transformation of leaders with their teams and organisations.

We invite you to explore and integrate coaching into your organisations.

Authors: Fátima Ribeiro and Susana Azevedo

Professionals taking part in a training session with a facilitator

How Do Professional Coaches Develop?

July 31, 2022/in Blog/by Fátima Ribeiro

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.

To protect clients seeking coaching, mentoring and supervision services, supporting them in their process of finding and choosing qualified professionals, the European Union (EU) accepted the “professional charter for coaching, mentoring and supervision of coaches, mentors and supervisors” developed by professional associations, and this document is now listed in the EU co-regulation and self-regulation databases.

This letter is the result of the collaboration of the ICF – International Coaching Federation with other coaching associations, such as the EMCC – European Mentoring and Coaching Council. Although it does not have the force of law, the charter seeks to reflect a common understanding and a concerted effort to self-regulate the profession by major professional associations.

The objective, according to a publication on the EU website, is to “guarantee high standards in the services offered, that is, the results of the coaching, mentoring, supervision processes, the practice and spirit of coaches, mentors and supervisors who:

have the required training and competencies
participate in continuing professional development
are, where possible, accredited or certified by professional associations for coaching, mentoring and supervision.”

Mentoring and supervision are important in the professional development of the professional coach, supporting them to generate greater self-awareness of their skills as a coach, their blind spots, and their opportunities for improvement. The coach simultaneously works on his “self” as a person and as a professional, supporting him to create greater value with and for his clients.

In mentoring, the mentor and the coach essentially work on the development of the coach’s skills within the framework of the coaching competencies defined by the ICF.

In supervision, the coach shares his work experiences with the supervisor, to receive support and establish a reflective dialogue and collaborative learning, which creates value for the coach, the client, the stakeholders and/or the client’s organisation.

As Damian Goldvarg tells us in his book Supervision of Coaches, “supervision has a specific objective: to reflect on the task carried out by the coach and increase his effectiveness by exploring not only what he did, and will do in future sessions, but also who, of the coach, his emotions, his beliefs, his blocks and his blind spots.”

Mentoring and supervision can be individual or group, both contribute to the coach’s development and add value.

There are several supervision models, one of the best known being the one developed by Professor Peter Hawkins, which applies to supervision of coaches with individual clients, client teams or organisational clients, and has a systemic foundation.

The model known as “the seven eyes model”, developed by the author in books such as Leadership Team Coaching, considers the following modes or areas of potential focus in supervision:

the Client’s situation,
the Coach’s interventions,
the coaching relationship,
the coach,
the supervisory relationship and parallel processes,
the Supervisor,
and the broader context.

The model considers the coaching system and the supervision system.

The model applied to coaching work with teams evolved by integrating three “eyes”, or modes, more in relation to the team ecosystem:

team stakeholders
the interventions and interaction processes that the team uses with its stakeholders
the relational dynamics between the team and its multiple stakeholders, considering “ten eyes” of supervision.

As professional coaches we seek to develop personally and professionally and co-create greater value in alliance with our clients.

Some of us evolve to also be mentors, coaches or supervisors, helping to develop the profession.

A professional coach has at his disposal continuing education programmes, mentoring and supervision as development tools. Supervision grows in importance as the coaching activity expands.

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.

Why Team Coaching?

May 31, 2022/in Events/by Fátima Ribeiro

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

May 16, 2022/in Blog/by Fátima Ribeiro

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.