You're struggling with power dynamics in your team. How can executive coaching help you foster collaboration?

Having led global teams and now working as an executive coach, I know how much power dynamics can shape a team's motivation and openness to change. It’s important to understand who really holds influence within the team, both officially and behind the scenes. By doing a power analysis, you can see how these dynamics might be driving resistance. The key is to work with those influencers and bring quieter voices into the conversation. When power is shared more evenly, it can turn resistance into a willingness to collaborate, helping the team come together and stay motivated.

O coaching executivo pode ser um poderoso aliado no processo de resolução de conflitos em equipes, quando o poder se torna evidente. Seja por meio de sessões individuais e personalizadas, ou em grupo, um coach experiente irá observar, escutar e interagir com a equipe ou indivíduo, para identificar os padrões de comportamento que estão influenciando na dinâmica de poder. O Coach proporciona um espaço seguro para reflexão, feedback e aprendizagem, onde possam explorar diferentes perspectivas e encontrar soluções criativas para os possíveis desafios. Dessa forma, juntos, desenvolverão novas habilidades para promover a colaboração e harmonia entre as pessoas.

Power dynamics often stem from unmet egoic needs, reflecting gaps in a person's life, with work being a typical stage for these displays. Executive coaching helps you explore the root of such behaviours, encouraging you to step into their shoes to gain perspective and decide how to mitigate the impact. The meta-mirroring technique is a powerful tool for this understanding. When power struggles arise, leaders can feel lost. Executive coaching offers a space for honesty and learning about behavioural management strategies to foster team cooperation. It helps identify what individuals in your team need to feel acknowledged, reducing the drive to seek validation through conflict and allowing them to achieve their goals without draining others.

Executive coaching begins with helping you analyze and understand the existing power structures within your team. In one of my coaching experiences with a senior VP, the team was divided due to perceived hierarchies and unequal influence among members. By mapping out the power dynamics through power analytics, we identified the informal leaders and the areas where power was concentrated. This insight allowed the VP to consciously redistribute responsibilities and create a more balanced environment, where each team member’s contributions were valued, fostering greater collaboration.

In my experience, "power" is in the eye of the beholder and results from ego. As I coach executives who bring up a topic around "power play dynamics," I start by helping the leader examine how they define "power" and what "power" they view they have, how it relates to their authority and seek how they might by giving away their power to others and get to the root cause. Defining authority in decision-making and recognizing that some people believe they have more power than they do and, out of fear, wield it over others. If you buy into that, you give them more power and feed their ego. I encourage leaders to define it and be clear on how they want others to view their authority.

Effective communication is key to managing power dynamics and promoting collaboration. Coaching can help you develop and refine your communication skills, ensuring that you are approachable and transparent. For instance, I once coached a CTO who struggled with a team where power struggles led to communication breakdowns. Through targeted coaching, he learned to facilitate more inclusive discussions and actively listen to all voices, regardless of rank. This shift in communication style helped bridge gaps, making the team more cohesive and collaborative.

When leaders communicate well with their teams, they change the world for the better. As an executive coach, it’s our job to not only help our clients learn to communicate with honesty and respect, but get them to believe in its importance.

When collaborating with peers of similar authority, effective communication is crucial. As an Executive Coach, I assist leaders in refining their core messages, soliciting feedback on their listening skills, and honing their responses to others, especially in high-stakes situations with diverse dynamics and expertise in the room. Your communication style is paramount—expressing empathy and vulnerability does not denote weakness and does not empower others to undermine your authority. Demonstrating emotional control will convey that you are managing yourself and the situation, establishing confidence in your leadership capabilities.

Enhancing communication through executive coaching allows leaders to bridge gaps and foster a more collaborative environment. Clear communication helps in aligning team members with the organizational vision, reducing misunderstandings, and ensuring that everyone is on the same page. This ultimately leads to a more cohesive and productive team.

Power dynamics often lead to conflict, and effective conflict resolution is essential for fostering collaboration. Executive coaching equips you with strategies to address conflicts constructively. In a recent coaching engagement, a CFO was dealing with frequent clashes between key team members. By adopting conflict resolution techniques learned through coaching—such as mediation and creating safe spaces for dialogue—the CFO transformed these tensions into opportunities for growth. The team members began to see conflicts as chances to innovate and collaborate more effectively.

Conflict often arises from a need for more clarity and expectations. I have helped executives navigate conflict through different techniques and use the LAERC system, which helps increase productive conversations through active listening, de-escalating situations, opening up dialogue to restore relationships, rebuilding trust, and allowing leaders to continue collaborating and solving problems more effectively.

The ability to resolve conflicts constructively is a mark of strong leadership. Executive coaching equips leaders with strategies like mediation and consensus-building, which not only resolve disputes but also prevent future ones. This proactive approach fosters a positive team environment and encourages continuous collaboration.

One approach that can help with an understanding of power dynamic differentials is individual coaching of each member of the team, so that they can understand where they are well-developed in the skills and capabilities that support them. They can also appreciate how those same capabilities can cost them. By being aware of these, they can - with intention - choose different approaches. This is especially important for the leader of any team.

Exploring leadership styles is essential, but let's also consider the Spiritual Intelligence aspect. How do we align our leadership with deeper values? By integrating “Mindfulness and Empathy”, we can transform power dynamics into meaningful connections. Spiritual Intelligence encourages us to see beyond roles and titles, fostering a culture where every voice matters. This shift not only enhances collaboration but also nurtures a more genuine and compassionate work environment.

One of the biggest challenges leaders face in empowering their team members is the mindset of 'If I do this myself, it'll be faster, better, and of higher quality.' I don't doubt that—you became a leader because you're exceptional. But leadership means shifting your focus from personal excellence to cultivating it in others. It takes patience to hold back from early criticism and to accept that the work may not meet your standards right away. Remember, improvement comes with practice. Consider this a growth opportunity for yourself as well. In the end, everyone benefits and grows together.