"As we move away from the heroic leader towards distributed leadership, operating in complex, dynamic systems, leaders need to be able to curate and craft team performance, like a conductor or a premiership coach. Building Top Performing Teams is written by two highly experienced practitioners, who bring their insights from practice, and blend this with the emerging science on team performance to create a book for our time. This is an ideal read from team coaches, consultants and leaders concerned with creating work relationships which deliver more than the sum of their parts." * Professor Jonathan Passmore, Director Henley Centre for Coaching, Henley Business School *
"Grounded is a word that springs to mind when I think of the potency of this book. As a new and burgeoning practice, Team Coaching - what it is and how it works - still eludes many. This book clearly situates the discipline and rightly positions it amongst the many modalities that support team efficacy. The authors ground us in the literature over the first three chapters which in and of itself is no mean task but the effect on the reader is comfort. I know where I am. They then share their own proprietary model that underpins their work with teams in an incredibly accessible manner, littering the pages with ideas/examples/exercises all generously shared. This book is a re-read, over and over again. You will feel extraordinarily guided as you move through your own practice or work with teams with this book as your companion." * Tara Nolan, MCC, founder and host of the Game of Teams podcast *
"Never before have teams been so important to our future as the problems of the world today will only be solved by greater collaboration and teamwork. This new work is a welcome contribution to the literature on teams./ Whether you are a leader, team coach or facilitator, this is packed full of useful tools and techniques that will expand and enrich your team development toolkit." * Georgina Woudstra, MCC & Allard de Jong, PPC, Team Coaching Studio Directors and Faculty *
"If you're looking for a comprehensive overview of team coaching that balances theory and practice, then look no further. Widdowson and Barbour have created a thorough overview of the doing and being of team coaching structured around important team topics. Whether you are an aspirant or experienced team coach, this book has something to offer you." * Dr Declan Woods, CEO, teamGenie and Global Head, Team Coaching Standards and Accreditation, Association for Coaching (AC) *
"Widdowson and Barbour have delivered a powerful and practical guide for team coaches to help them connect more deeply with their 'way of being' as a coach and with the teams they are coaching. This is an important book for team coaches supporting teams on their journey to transformational performance." * Mike Sharrock, Chief Executive Officer, British Paralympic Association *
"If you want a comprehensive companion of current thinking and practical applications to unlock the collective power of teams this book is it." * Carissa Bub PPC, Executive Leadership coach, host of the Team Coaching Zone podcast *
"Lucy and Paul's guide to team coaching is my blueprint for creating top team performance. It builds upon the critical team foundations of purpose, identity, values and beliefs. I have applied the knowledge and experience shared in this book across my organization, and it has delivered continuous improvement and outstanding resutls for our business, our customers, our many other stakeholders, and in the lives of the inspired and motivated members of my wonderful team." * John MacArthur FREng FEI, Vice President Group Carbon, Shell *
"This is a compelling and important contribution to the team coaching literature that is extremely clear and easy to follow. There is a genuine appreciation for value and important of supervision as an integral element to support the team coach." * Dr Alison Hodge, EMCC Master Practitioner, Executive Coach and Coaching Supervisor *
"Any executive looking to transform their team in these ever-challenging times will get tremendous insight and practical guidance from this book. Its clear and accessible content, based on both academic principles and practical team coaching experience of the authors, will become required reading for all those looking to lead or coach teams in how to go to the next level of performance and effectiveness. Not only will a team benefit itself from engaging in the authors' coaching model to create the 'team edge,' but the effectiveness of other teams in the organization that interact with that team will also improve as a result." * Jeremy Barton, General Counsel, KPMG LLP (UK) *
