TEAM COACHING CASE STUDY: TOPHAT

INTRODUCTION

Top Hat is a technology company that provides an interactive and engaging platform for educators to bring their lessons to life. Top Hat’s Revenue Operations Team is responsible for driving revenue and ensuring the smooth functioning of sales processes, and faced a number of challenges. 

As a new team and function in the organization, the Revenue Operations team had spent their first year being highly effective problem solvers, and responding to emerging and outstanding challenges. At the time we were engaged, the team was looking to transition from being reactive and providing services, to becoming thought partners and a trusted resource for their stakeholders. 

In addition, the team was remote, with members located in different parts of the country and as a result, they felt disconnected and lacked cohesion. This impacted their ability to work effectively together and achieve their goals.

To address these challenges, Top Hat engaged team coaches Mel Boyd Brown and Andria Gilis to create a relevant and sustained solution in partnership with the team. We used a systemic team coaching approach combined with Clifton Strengths work and our deep expertise in leadership development and adult learning to focus on building the team's capacity for self-organization, effective collaboration with their partners and helping them to become more impactful in their work together.

APPROACH

We used a systemic team coaching approach which is based on the following core principles 

1. Discovery: Engaged team members and stakeholders in a robust team health check to identify strengths and opportunities for the team. 

2. Coaching the Whole System: The team and its context were viewed as a single entity, and the coaching engagement focused on the entire system, not just individual members

3. Focusing on Purpose: The team's purpose and goals were central to the coaching process, and helped the team align their efforts towards these goals.

4. Developing Collaborative Relationships: We coached the team to develop more collaborative relationships, with members working together effectively to increase their impact.

5. Supporting Developmental Processes: By focusing on supporting the team's developmental processes, we coached the team to identify how to transform their approach to the work.

6. Working with Emergent Processes: We helped the team identify opportunities and be resilient in the face of complexity, and to respond effectively and quickly to new challenges and opportunities as they arise.

THE RESULTS

“Over a number of sessions where we really started to explore how we were perceived by our stakeholders, who we were, who we wanted to be, what we wanted our brand to be and how we wanted to be perceived in the business - the team got more engaged every session and the team building and synergy that began to develop was remarkable.“   - JVR, VP Revenue Operations & Enablement 

During the 9-month engagement, the team experienced significant improvements in their performance and results. Some of the key outcomes include:

• Increased Unity: The team became more united and aligned in their efforts. They started to work together more effectively and began to see themselves as a single entity, rather than as a collection of individuals and sub teams.

• Improved Collaboration: The team's collaboration improved dramatically, and they began to work together more effectively to achieve their goals. Members started to support each other and share responsibilities more effectively, and they began to develop a sense of trust and mutual respect.

• Connected to Purpose: The team became more connected to their purpose, and they started to align their efforts towards their goals. Members became more motivated and engaged, and they began to see the value in working together towards a common goal.

• Effective Partnership: The team started to collaborate more effectively with their partners and clients, and they began to intentionally prioritize being a resource and partner to their stakeholders. 

Summary:

The 9-month team coaching engagement was a success, and the team experienced significant improvements in their performance and results. Our systemic team coaching approach provided the team with a solid framework to continue to improve their performance and results in the future. The team became more united, collaborative, connected to purpose, and effective in their partnerships with their clients, and they developed a sense of trust and mutual respect. The benefits of this approach are clear, and the success of this engagement highlights the value of systemic team coaching in helping teams to improve their performance and achieve their goals.