Written by Diane Laschet, Business Coach at Performant by SCOA
Diane brings decades of international executive experience and a deep commitment to coaching high-performing teams. As part of Quanta U.S.’s new strategic alliance with Performant by SCOA—a premier Italian executive coaching firm—Diane’s insights reflect our shared mission to support Italian companies thriving in the U.S. market through integrated recruiting and leadership development solutions.
In today’s fast-paced and interconnected world, teamwork is more critical than ever. Yet, despite good intentions and skilled individuals, teams often struggle to perform at their best. Why? The answer lies in the hidden forces of interference. Tim Gallwey, author of The Inner Game of Work, offers a simple yet profound formula for understanding human performance:
Performance = Potential – Interference.
Originally applied to individual performance, this formula is equally powerful when applied to teams. While a team’s collective potential may be high, their actual performance can fall short due to various interferences—inefficiencies, miscommunication, or misaligned priorities. Let’s explore some common interferences in teams and how addressing them through team coaching can unlock transformative results.
1. How teams structure and manage meetings
Meetings are often a team’s primary touchpoint, yet they can become a major source of interference. Poorly planned or excessively long meetings drain energy and fail to drive decisions. Team coaching helps streamline meeting structures, ensuring they are purposeful, time-bound, and inclusive—transforming them into productive sessions that drive action.
2. How teams engage in dialogue
Effective dialogue is more than just conversation—it’s about listening, challenging assumptions, and fostering creativity. Teams often talk at each other rather than with each other, leading to misalignment. Coaching interventions train teams to embrace meaningful dialogue that builds understanding and collaboration.
3. How teams make decisions
Decision-making can be plagued by delays, dominance by a few voices, or unclear accountability. Team coaching equips teams with frameworks for balanced participation, role clarity, and consensus-building, minimizing decision paralysis and resentment from excluded members.
4. How teams engage with stakeholders
Teams rarely operate in isolation; their success often hinges on relationships with external stakeholders. However, unclear communication or misaligned expectations with these stakeholders can derail progress. Team coaching enhances a team’s ability to align their goals with stakeholder needs and to manage these relationships effectively.
5. How teams collaborate with other teams
In large organizations, cross-functional collaboration is vital yet often challenging. Silos, competition, or lack of trust between teams can hinder progress. Coaching breaks down these barriers, fostering an environment where teams collaborate rather than compete.
6. How teams handle ambiguity and change
Change and uncertainty are constants in today’s work environment, yet they can leave teams paralyzed. Without clear strategies, teams may react emotionally or become risk-averse. Team coaching builds resilience and adaptability, empowering teams to embrace ambiguity as an opportunity rather than a threat.
7. How teams challenge and support one another
High-performing teams strike a balance between challenge and support. Too much challenge can create conflict, while too much support can lead to complacency. Coaching encourages teams to cultivate a culture of constructive feedback, fostering growth and mutual respect.
8. How teams hold each other accountable
Accountability is a cornerstone of team success, yet it’s often avoided due to fear of conflict. Coaching introduces methods for transparent goal-setting and peer accountability, ensuring commitments are met without blame or finger-pointing.
9. How teams learn consciously and continuously
Teams that fail to learn are doomed to repeat mistakes. Yet, amid tight deadlines, learning often takes a backseat. Team coaching embeds a culture of reflection and learning, helping teams analyze their processes and continuously improve.
Why invest in Team Coaching?
The most effective teams don’t happen by chance; they are cultivated through deliberate effort and expert guidance. Team coaching serves as a catalyst for identifying and eliminating interferences, maximizing both potential and performance.
By addressing these critical aspects, organizations not only see immediate improvements in team outcomes but also build lasting capabilities for collaboration, resilience, and innovation.
Investing in team coaching is not just about fixing problems—it’s about unleashing possibilities. If you want your teams to thrive, now is the time to act.
At Quanta U.S., we believe that building high-performing teams requires more than just great talent—it takes intentional development and expert support. That’s why we’ve partnered with Performant by SCOA, Italy’s leading executive coaching firm, to bring world-class leadership and team coaching to our clients across North America. Together, we offer an integrated approach that combines strategic recruiting with proven coaching methodologies to help Italian companies thrive in the U.S. market. Whether you’re scaling a new team or strengthening an existing one, our partnership ensures you have the tools and guidance to unlock your team’s full potential.