If you want to develop high-performing teams, the Coaching Cafe is simple, elegant and oh-so powerful!
Revitalising Teams with the Coaching Café Method: A Game-Changer in Leadership and Management
In our rapidly evolving business world, nurturing high-performing teams is no longer just an option—it's a necessity. The quest for efficiency, innovation, and seamless collaboration has led to the emergence of various methodologies aimed at enhancing organisational knowledge and learning flows. Amidst this backdrop, the Coaching Café stands out as a uniquely practical approach, blending simplicity, elegance, and power into a transformative experience for teams and leaders alike.
Originating from a Need for Actionable Insights
Developed initially in response to DuPont's quest for discovering efficiencies within their organisational knowledge and learning flows, the Coaching Café transcends traditional discussion formats. World Cafés and Knowledge Cafés have laid the groundwork, yet often lacked a direct pathway to action. Drawing on my extensive background in coaching methodology and adult learning, I conceived the Coaching Café to bridge this gap—moving from mere conversation and storytelling to actionable commitment.
Unlike conventional group discussions that circle around the "what" and "why", the Coaching Café propels teams towards the "how".
The Coaching Café Difference: A Catalyst for Performance
Unlike conventional group discussions that circle around the "what" and "why", the Coaching Café propels teams towards the "how". It's a structured yet flexible process that delves into potential actions (options), uncovers genuine desires (motivation), and solidifies intentions (commitment). Having facilitated hundreds of these sessions over a decade, I've witnessed first-hand their profound impact beyond improving knowledge flows. They are a catalyst for accelerated growth through learning, enhanced collaboration, trust building, swift decision-making, and the uncovering of both environmental constraints and opportunities.
Experience the Transformation: Implementing the Coaching Café
The Coaching Café is designed for effectiveness and inclusivity, suitable for sub-groups of four to ensure a diverse yet focused discussion. The process spans 60-70 minutes, with each participant receiving dedicated attention to prevent ego depletion and maintain engagement. The essence of the approach lies in its questioning technique—prioritising open, constructive, and non-judgmental inquiry that encourages safe, honest exploration of challenges and solutions.
Why not try the concept for yourself; its beauty is in its simplicity!
Avoid this one big mistake: don't use a Coaching Cafe as a solution in search of a problem or opportunity; start by knowing why you are using a Coaching Cafe and how it will help.
The Coaching Cafe method for developing high-performing teams
Facilitator
Note: the group should have been primed before the cafe, where they understand what a Coaching Cafe is, how it works, why they are being asked to participate, and who is facilitating and participating.
Grab the group's attention and introduce a challenge (e.g., a challenge around a new change initiative). Ensure you create a hook to the individual and the benefits and opportunities they can gain from addressing the challenge.
Monitor time and coaching process.
Groups
Groups of 4 (you need variety in the coaching/questioning process - 4 is optimum) - this can be run anywhere; you don't need tables.
Timing: total run time 60-70 minutes.
The cafe can be intense; with this in mind, set a maximum 15-minute focus on a single person (this relates to ego depletion, where the mind can start to wander after 9-15 minutes to conserve energy):
10 minutes for problem identification and problem support.
5 minutes to identify what the individual could do, wants to do, and will do.
Movement
After 15 minutes, the person who has been coached moves to bring fresh eyes to another group.
Questioning (see my companion post "8 coaching tips to grow your team's performance" and watch the short video on powerful questioning techniques)
no closed questions
focus on asking "what" questions
avoid "why" questions
you cannot reject an idea; only build on it
don't answer a question that you wouldn't answer yourself
use "if... then..." question (if x occurs, then what impact does that have on you/your team/your family)
no judgements
work to make the person feel safe
Conclusion
The facilitator reminds people of the initial problem and their commitment to exploring and acting on what they could do (options), want to do (motivation), and will do (commitment and accountability).Â
High-performing team development continues when the Coaching Cafe stops
To stimulate accountability, I work with participants to establish "Learning Partnerships", where they work in pairs or groups of three and are delegated responsibility for meeting, monitoring, and reporting the outputs of their micro-experiments to the wider group. I typically use a Microsoft Teams channel for knowledge capture and pattern analysis.
Why not try a micro-experiment using the Coaching Cafe concept? And please let me know how it goes.
Give it a go!
I invite you to embark on a micro-experiment with the Coaching Café method. Experience its transformative power firsthand and witness its impact on your team's performance and cohesion. The Coaching Café is more than a concept; it's a proven strategy for unlocking the potential of high-performing teams.
Share your experiences, insights, and successes with us, and join a growing community of leaders and managers dedicated to excellence through intelligent coaching.
The Coaching Cafe is part of the Intelligent Coaching Team Fundamentals Workshop; I also facilitate Coaching Cafes if you need help resolving a particular problem or seizing a new opportunity.