The #1 Skill for Team Building Success Coaches

By Larry Lipman

Put your ego in your back pocket.

As facilitators, it's not our job to "fix" anyone or to have any solutions. Our job is to help our participants expand the horizons of their awareness, and to facilitate them into taking responsibility for their own actions, behavior, and attitude.

When Team Building Success Coaches are in front of the room facilitating a group, or leading a teleconference, it is sometimes difficult to remember that just because they are leading, it doesn't mean that they have to be an "authority" on the subject at hand. In fact, the amount of brilliance unleashed in the participants may depend on how well the facilitator lets go of his or her need to have all the answers,

The way most of us were raised and schooled, we were conditioned to shut up and listen to the wisdom of the "expert" on the podium. To me, a good Success Coach consistently approaches facilitation from the perspective that the wisdom in the "room" is far more potent than the "sage" in front of the room. This takes incredible awareness and courage.

It is not easy putting one’s ego in one’s back pocket.

I wish I had this new belief earlier in my career. Knowing this takes a huge burden off the facilitator because now the facilitator doesn’t have to know everything, or anything for that matter. That is a huge WOW for me!

Example

I was facilitating a group of people focused on their particular activity. They were not able to solve the challenge. Frustration abounded. In the debrief, one member threw a curve ball at me by asking me an extremely technical question on how to solve the problem. I was stumped. I began thinking, "Wow, I'm supposed to be the "expert" here and I'm totally clueless.”

I needed to come up with something brilliant, or change the subject pronto!

I decided instead to admit I did not know. I was stumped. I immediately asked, “What does this bring up for the rest of you in the group?"

With my honesty, I was able to seek the group’s wisdom and insight. By drawing on their life experience, solutions overflowed. We achieved success.