Business coaching includes focusing on what works well!

Many team meetings begin by focusing on problems, obstacles and unresolved issues. While addressing challenges is important, starting every conversation from a place of pressure and negativity can reduce creativity, collaboration and engagement. By first recognising what is working well, teams create a more constructive mindset, making it easier to solve problems, communicate respectfully and achieve better outcomes together.

How often do you start your team meetings with what’s gone well? In my experience, I’d say not very often. This is usually because we want to get on with the task of solving the next presenting problem.  Acknowledging what has gone well since last time seems ‘fluffy’ and not really hard work, therefore seen as not worthwhile. So what is worthwhile? Tough negotiation, convincing others to see things our way or knocking heads together and driving challenges forward? Well, yes, but how often do you think - ‘there must be a better way?’

Well, there can be, if you take a little time to get the team into the right frame of mind first. 

Start with what's working well

Imagine starting a meeting in a positive and relaxed frame of mind, rather than in a negative and stressed one. Try asking ‘what’s working well since we last met?' This creates an appreciation of achievement and success, focusing on positives and acknowledging what works well, and sets the scene for a more positive outcome.

A team facilitation case study

I was ‘briefed’ recently for a meeting I was due to facilitate as a business coach and warned of the ’troublemakers’ who would try to convince everyone else that their ideas were better; by taking over the meeting, getting louder, opinionated and more demanding until others gave in and resentfully agreed, to bring the meeting to a conclusion quickly. Decisions weren’t unanimous, and not much happened in between meetings; the process would repeat at the next meeting. I could see why they brought in a facilitator!

I spent the first 20 minutes on a feedback exercise – this was a board-level meeting, and they wanted to ‘get down to business’ to feel like the time spent at the meeting was worthwhile. With a few sighs initially, they participated to humour me and get the ‘fluffy bit’ out of the way, then they could get on with the arguing and shouting others down. We came up with a list of what good feedback is: constructive, honest, backed up with evidence and respectful. We also had a list of poor feedback, for example, vague, rude, attacking the person in order to get your own point across. This completely disarmed them by reflecting on what works well and how they wanted to be treated. Reinforcing the view that people respond better to respectful, constructive feedback sets the scene for a positive meeting. Only then, when they had created an appreciative environment, did we move on to the ‘real business’ – and within an hour had agreed a way forward with harmony and without acrimony. 

Focus on strengths before solving problems

I don’t know what may have happened if they’d just gone straight into the problems; I suspect they’d have felt the meeting was worthwhile as they were doing really hard work - and that they’d have still been arguing about the way forward hours later. I believe the 20 minutes of creating a positive mindset were more than worthwhile.

Do more of what works

Whether this is coaching or facilitation is open to debate, but I think all conversations, whether they are one-to-one coaching sessions or working with a group, have better outcomes when they focus on what’s working well - let's do more of that.