Systemic Team Coaching (STC) is an advanced approach developed by Peter Hawkins that focuses on coaching teams within their wider organizational and external environment. Unlike traditional team coaching, which primarily focuses on team dynamics and collaboration, systemic team coaching considers the team as part of a larger, interconnected system—including stakeholders, leadership, and the broader organization.

Key Principles of Systemic Team Coaching

1. Teams Exist in a System, Not in Isolation
   • A team does not operate in a vacuum; it is influenced by internal factors (team dynamics, leadership, decision-making processes) and external factors (stakeholders, market conditions, organizational culture).
   • Systemic Team Coaching helps teams understand these influences and how they impact performance, decision-making, and collaboration.
2. Multi-Stakeholder Engagement
   • Systemic team coaching goes beyond just coaching the team itself—it also involves working with stakeholders such as senior leaders, customers, and internal sponsors.
   • A key focus is aligning the team’s purpose and goals with the expectations of these stakeholders, ensuring that the team delivers value beyond its own internal success.
3. Developing a Shared Purpose
   • Many teams struggle with misalignment—different members and stakeholders may have conflicting priorities, unclear expectations, or siloed perspectives.
   • Systemic coaching helps teams co-create a shared vision, ensuring that all members are working toward a common goal that benefits the organization as a whole.
4. Continuous Learning and Adaptation
   • Systemic team coaching is not about one-time interventions; it focuses on creating teams that can continuously reflect, learn, and adapt to changing environments.
   • Teams are encouraged to develop their own reflective practices, feedback loops, and self-coaching mechanisms, making them more self-sufficient.
5. Embedding a Coaching Culture
   • The goal is not just to improve one team’s effectiveness but to help the organization build a culture of collaboration, learning, and shared accountability.
   • This means shifting from command-and-control leadership to a coaching mindset within the team and organization.

The Systemic Team Coaching Model: The Five Disciplines (Peter Hawkins)

Hawkins’ Five Disciplines Model provides a structured way to coach teams at a systemic level:

1. Commissioning – Why does the team exist? Who are its key stakeholders, and what do they expect?
   • Example: A newly formed leadership team must align its vision with executive expectations before developing strategies.
2. Clarifying – What is the team’s purpose? What does success look like?
   • Example: A sales team defines how to measure performance in a way that aligns with both internal targets and customer needs.
3. Co-Creating – How does the team work together? What are the team’s internal dynamics?
   • Example: A product development team struggling with conflicts between engineers and designers undergoes a coaching process to improve collaboration and decision-making.
4. Connecting – How does the team engage with external stakeholders?
   • Example: A customer support team refines its communication strategy to improve relationships with customers and internal departments.
5. Core Learning – How does the team reflect, learn, and improve continuously?
   • Example: A leadership team adopts regular feedback sessions and retrospectives to adjust its strategy and team behaviors.

Why Systemic Team Coaching is Powerful

• Aligns teams with broader business goals – Ensures the team is not just performing well internally but is delivering value to the organization.
• Prevents isolated team dysfunctions – Many team problems are symptoms of larger systemic issues. STC helps identify and address the root causes.
• Encourages shared leadership – Develops collective accountability instead of relying on a single leader to drive change.
• Drives sustainable change – Rather than one-time interventions, it builds a team’s ability to coach itself and evolve over time.

How I Apply Systemic Team Coaching in My Practice

• Engaging Stakeholders – Before starting a team coaching engagement, I conduct stakeholder interviews to understand the expectations, challenges, and desired outcomes from different perspectives.
• Aligning Team Purpose – I facilitate team purpose and vision sessions to help teams define their “why”, ensuring they have clear goals aligned with the organization’s mission.
• Navigating Team Dynamics – Using tools like Lencioni’s Five Dysfunctions of a Team, I work with teams to improve trust, accountability, and collaboration.
• Developing Continuous Learning Practices – I guide teams in establishing feedback loops, retrospectives, and self-coaching habits, so they continue evolving beyond the coaching engagement.

Conclusion

Systemic Team Coaching (STC) is a powerful approach that shifts teams from isolated problem-solving to connected, purpose-driven collaboration. By understanding their system, engaging with stakeholders, and fostering continuous learning, teams become more resilient, agile, and effective contributors to the organization.