High performing teams are continually striving to improve team outputs. Most top teams become and remain high performers under the tutelage of a performance coach. The role of the coach is to consistently evaluate team results, and look for opportunities for team improvement. Performance coaches are single-minded in finding ways to improve workflow, task outcomes, worker skills, team time management, and team accountability. They constantly strive to discover ways to "do more with less," by making better use of team resources, and look for opportunities to refine task processes and locate reliable short-cut methods to expedite results.
While mentors are interested in fostering productive team relationships, coaches are more interested in task-centric productivity. A competent coach will understand the value of continuous appraisal of team outcomes, and will utilize performance standards to measure team progress and maintain accountable behaviour throughout the team. They are more concerned with job knowledge than worker satisfaction, and will assume the role of task teacher, knowing that those who are under-performing are either unable or unwilling to perform job tasks correctly.
The savvy team coach will look for opportunities to provide job aids, adaptive equipment, procedural guidance and clear expectations to team members. Generally, the team coach is the team leader, but a competent coach could also be a team member with exemplary skills or specialized knowledge needed to develop competence in others.
Getting teams to think systematically is a big part of the coach's role. Clarifying the team's role and responsibility in the context of the larger organization helps the team to make a full contribution to its employer, and looks beyond the daily challenges confronted by the team.
It is nearly impossible to cultivate a high-performing team without the direction of a dedicated performance coach who facilitates task mastery in every team member. Maximize your team's performance by utilizing the technical expertise of a performance coach to help tackle team tasks in the most expedient way.
