When teams develop into subgroups with different agendas or priorities, honest communication is one of the first casualties. An important part of both the team leader’s role and the team coach’s role is to prevent this kind of disunity – which we call “fracking” – from occurring.
Warning Signs in Team Coaching Sessions
- Defensive body language (posture, lack of eye contact etc.)
- A sudden drop in energy
- Greatly reduced or greatly increased challenge
Intervention Strategies
Prevention being better than cure, the team coach should recognise the signs and bring the issue into the open for discussion. Gain agreement that allowing fracking to happen isn’t desirable for anyone, then focus on reconfirming what the team has agreed on.
Ask the question: What would an ideal, unifying solution be to the issue that threatens to divide us? When you have something of a consensus, appoint one person from each of the two sides to co-facilitate a discussion around how to bring such a solution about. Even if there remain some areas of disagreement, end the dialogue with a commitment to continuing the exploration process in a spirit of goodwill and innovation.
© David Clutterbuck, 2015