Helping teams see clearly so they move quickly - SCP keys to high performance
The tricky thing about growth, you don't see it as it's happening; it's only after you've covered all that ground that you realize how far you've come. Much of the time, it's like being far from both shores with nothing but water in every direction. Who's to know which direction is going to best get you to your destination. A skilled coach can be your guide, bringing fresh perspective to inform your path. At SCP, we focus on three core strategies - clarity, practice, grit. Reflecting recently with some of our team coaches, a few keys to finding clarity among the next generation leaders we work with consistently emerged.
Navigating the muddle of articulating emotions, and even regulating those emotions that get in the way of seeing clearly are consistent themes when working with clients. For athletes, emotions can be great fuel, but they also lead to inconsistent play. In a team environment, emotions get in the way of communicating effectively. And oftentimes there is an expectation that high performance is all about the grind. Iman insightfully notes that often the challenge with high performers is the realization that hard work and joy can exist in the same space - you can achieve personal growth and publish a great research paper.
Miranda was recently working with a young athlete who after focusing on regulating their emotions, they were able to turn attention to the attributes of excellent performance. With this blueprint for high performance, they could shore up his strengths and build confidence through consistent play. Nicole recognized this from her work with corporate clients too, where functional experts are promoted to people leaders and need help leading themselves so that they can in turn help their team. At SCP, we bring similar attention to the team environment, synthesizing experience in business and sport to prioritize effective communication and productive team behaviour aligned with the team's charter for delivering great work.
“Hard work and joy can exist in the same space - you can achieve personal growth and publish a great research paper.”
With capstone projects or team programmes like Reach, accelerating this clarity, trust and effective communication is critical. Gloria's coaching interventions recently sparked important learning conversations among research peers when a team member was disappointed and felt unheard by her peers. Through a combination of one-to-one conversations as well as their team charter work, the team leaned into their established values and team identity to build trust and improve their communication. Accelerating the essentials of team formation are keys to enabling high performing teamwork.
Helping teams see clearly, so that they can move quickly is core to the expertise that SCP team coaches bring to the work of helping leaders of today and tomorrow be the best at getting better. When they look back at the work that they accomplish together, they can confidently see how far they've come.