In sports, we know that the coach has a decisive influence on success.
Do you remember Spain's national football coach Vicente del Bosque, to whom the Spanish "All-Star Team" owed their participation in the European and World Championships? Or Otto Rehhagel (also known as Rehakles after Heracles), who led the Greek "No-Star Team" to victory at the European Championship? When all players are on the field passing the ball in football or basketball, the coach can unite them and lead them to unique successes.
The question is, what is the benefit of hiring a coach for a virtual team?
To answer this, we should first clarify what a virtual team is and what defines a coach for such teams. A virtual team consists of a group of individuals located in different places – cities, countries, or continents – who still share a common goal. This could be a business team, such as a large international project team or a department spread across multiple countries. It could also be a group of scientists collaborating on a specific field of research and advancing together. Similarly, it could be a workgroup in education, as more and more universities offer various forms of distance learning, bringing together thousands of students in online courses to form virtual teams. Often, participants in these teams come from different continents, time zones, and cultures.
- Does your organization have a virtual team?
- How do you cope with this virtual community?
- And how connected do you feel to your virtual team colleagues and the common goal?
Let's now clarify what a coach for virtual teams is and how they differ from a trainer or consultant. A coach for virtual teams assists the team leader in becoming a successful leader and an effective "conductor" of their "virtual orchestra". While a consultant or trainer typically provides standardized advice and methods, the coach ensures that leaders find their own solutions that best fit their respective teams. Using coaching tools and targeted questioning, the coach helps leaders determine the best way to lead their teams. How does a coach proceed? As we all know, the devil is often in the details.
- Therefore, the coach sensitizes the leader to the sensitivities, problematic aspects, and key factors relevant to the team.
- The coach guides a team through the waters resulting from the constellation of all participants and the purpose of the team by identifying goals and creating communication structures.
- Similarly, the coach supports a team in resolving conflicts and working together sensibly again. However, specific actions cannot be predetermined; they always result from the coordinated approach of the leader and coach.
- An experienced coach working with virtual teams also understands the mechanisms that can be effective in such teams. Therefore, they will ensure that a team does not stumble over potential pitfalls and, at the same time, raise the bar to bring it into top form.
In summary, a team coach
- empowers a leader to effectively lead and conduct their entrusted "virtual orchestra,"
- and encourages each member in the team to give their best personally, thus becoming a unique "virtuoso."
All these activities take place in the background so that the leader has the full trust and respect of their team. A coach for virtual teams is essentially an architect of virtual culture, ensuring satisfaction, top form, and outstanding business results for a team and its leader.
