Leadership Team Coaching; a trust-based coaching relationship

S Wotruba International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring 2016

The coaching relationship is seen as integral to individual coaching, but less is known about the nature of the relationship within a team coaching context. This study explores the importance that leadership team coaching practitioners attach to the coaching relationship and as a consequence what that means for how they work with teams. A qualitative single case study method was utilised and data gathered using semi-structured interviews, including critical incident technique. The overall finding from the research was that coaches considered it important to develop a trust-based relational connection with teams at both an individual and a collective level but that establishing and maintaining that connection was, at times, both complex and challenging.