Why Your Leadership Team Needs a Locker Room, Not a Lecture

We’ve seen it happen so many times: an organization promotes its smartest, most capable people into leadership roles, brings them together, and expects them to function as a cohesive unit. But being individually excellent doesn’t automatically mean you know how to operate as a team. Just like with sports teams, you can stack your roster with top-tier talent, but if they’ve never practiced together, don’t trust each other, and haven’t figured out how to move as one, they’re going to struggle on game day.

Your leadership team needs more than strategy offsites and Monday morning meetings. They need shared goals. Clear communication. Trust. A sense that they are in this together, not just sitting at the same table because of a shared org chart. That’s where team coaching comes in.

Great Leaders Still Need Practice

Think about a football team. Even the most experienced players practice every week. They study tape. They run drills. They talk through plays. Why? Because talent alone won’t win the game. It’s the team that works together that comes out ahead.

The same is true for your leadership team. You might have a CFO who’s brilliant with numbers, a COO who runs operations like a machine, and a Chief People Officer who can build culture in her sleep. But if those leaders are misaligned, talking past each other, or avoiding hard conversations, it’s only a matter of time before things start to break down.

And no, more PowerPoints won’t fix it.

Team coaching provides that regular, intentional space for your leadership team to build the kind of cohesion that doesn’t happen in the day-to-day grind. It’s where you practice listening. Giving feedback. Making decisions together. Trusting each other to say the hard thing. That’s what builds Thoughtfully Fit teams.

What Makes Team Coaching Different?

Where most leadership development focuses on the individual (through management training programs, executive coaching, or leadership skills workshops), team coaching is centered on how the group functions together. It’s the difference between strength training on your own and running plays with your team.

In team coaching, we’re not just asking, “Are you doing your job?” We’re asking, “Are we functioning as a leadership team?” and “Are we aligned on where we’re going and how we get there?”

It’s powerful. And it’s practical.

Because here’s the truth: the way your leadership team interacts sets the tone for the entire organization. If there’s mistrust, miscommunication, or unresolved tension in that group, it trickles down fast. But if there’s alignment, respect, and clarity? That’s the kind of leadership people want to follow.

How to Strengthen Your Leadership Team Through Coaching

So how do you actually build that kind of team? Here are five things we focus on when coaching leadership teams:

1. Define Your Shared Purpose

Most leadership teams assume they’re on the same page, but often they’ve never clearly articulated what they’re trying to achieve together. We help teams step back and ask: Why do we exist as a team, beyond our individual departments? What’s our collective purpose?

2. Establish Team Agreements

Team coaching helps groups set clear expectations for how they’ll operate. That might include how decisions are made, how feedback is given, or how conflict is handled. These agreements become the foundation for accountability and reduce confusion when things get messy.

3. Name and Navigate the “Elephants”

Every team has them, those unspoken issues nobody wants to bring up. Coaching creates a safe space to surface these dynamics, talk through them productively, and prevent them from derailing progress down the line.

4. Build Real-Time Communication Skills

You don’t need another workshop on active listening. You need to practice those skills in the room, with your actual team, on the issues that matter most. Coaching creates that practice space.

5. Measure What Matters

A strong coaching engagement includes tools to assess where the team is now and track how they grow. That might mean setting specific metrics or simply reflecting on team dynamics at regular intervals. The key is to notice progress and adjust as needed.

Leading Like a Team Starts at the Top

If your leadership team isn’t functioning well, it affects everything from employee morale to strategic execution to organizational culture. And no one person can fix that alone.

Team coaching offers the structure, space, and support to help your leaders move from siloed and reactive to connected and intentional. It’s not about perfect harmony. It’s about learning how to disagree productively, make decisions collaboratively, and build trust that holds, even when the pressure’s on.

Because just like in football, the best teams aren’t made in the locker room. But that’s where they learn how to win.

Frequently Asked Questions about Coaching Leadership Teams

What is team coaching for leadership teams?

Team coaching is a structured process that helps leadership teams improve how they collaborate, communicate, and make decisions. Unlike individual coaching, it focuses on the group dynamic and how the team performs as a unit.

How is team coaching different from executive coaching?

Executive coaching is one-on-one and targets an individual leader’s growth. Team coaching works with the full leadership team to strengthen alignment, trust, and team performance through shared goals and real-time practice.

Why do leadership teams struggle to work well together?

Even high-performing leaders can struggle as a team if they lack clarity, trust, or shared agreements. Misalignment, unclear communication, and avoiding conflict are common issues that coaching can help resolve.

How can I tell if my leadership team needs coaching?

If decisions take too long, meetings feel unproductive, or team members avoid tough conversations, coaching can help. A lack of alignment or trust often signals that it’s time to strengthen how your leadership team operates.

How long does leadership team coaching take?

Most leadership team coaching engagements last between 6 to 12 months. This gives the team time to build trust, practice new behaviors, and shift long-standing dynamics for lasting impact.

What are the benefits of coaching a leadership team?

Team coaching improves communication, decision-making, and alignment. It helps reduce conflict, increase trust, and strengthen the overall organizational culture by modeling effective collaboration at the top.

What kinds of issues can team coaching address?

Team coaching helps address unclear roles, low trust, poor communication, decision-making bottlenecks, siloed thinking, and unresolved tension. These are all common challenges in leadership teams.

Is team coaching only for dysfunctional teams?

Not at all. In fact, many high-performing leadership teams use coaching proactively to maintain alignment, navigate change, and continue improving as they grow. It’s about optimization, not just fixing problems.

What makes a leadership team high-performing?

A high-performing leadership team shares a clear purpose, communicates effectively, holds each other accountable, and operates with mutual trust and respect. Team coaching helps build those muscles over time.

Who should facilitate leadership team coaching?

An experienced team coach with expertise in group dynamics, leadership development, and organizational culture should facilitate. The coach creates a neutral space for honest dialogue and guides the team through structured growth.

Looking for more information about team development? Be sure to check out our Leader’s Guide to Building Stronger Teams.