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Team analysis in coaching: models, steps and pitfalls

Team analysis in coaching: models, steps and pitfalls

The team discusses their collaboration with a coach

A team analysis reveals what is really going on in a team before you intervene. You look at the collaboration, the roles, the tension and the unwritten rules. Then, together with the team, you choose what you are going to work on. In this article you will read which models you can use as a coach, how to carry out an analysis step by step, how to discuss the outcomes and where things often go wrong. We close with what this requires of the way you store team members' data.

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In short

  • A team analysis maps out patterns in a team, so you address the cause and not just the symptom.
  • Choose a model that fits the question: roles, behaviour, phases, goals or safety. A model is a lens, not a verdict.
  • Work in fixed steps: intake with the client, measuring, debriefing, choosing goals and following up.
  • Only discuss team scores if you have promised anonymity, and investigate psychological safety separately.
  • Store answers and notes securely, with clear agreements on who may see what.

Table of contents

What a team analysis is

In a team analysis you systematically investigate what is happening in a team. This goes beyond the question of whether people like each other. You look at what drives people, at recurring patterns in the group, at the distribution of tasks and at tension between team members.

A handy starting point is Remmerswaal's 'levels in groups' model. It examines group behaviour at five levels: content, procedure, interaction, existence and context. This helps you as a coach to see where a problem really lies. A team that complains about poor meetings (procedure) sometimes has a conflict beneath the surface (interaction). Or it feels unseen by the organisation (context).

Five levels for analysing group behaviour

A team analysis is therefore not a final report. It is the start of a conversation. Many team coaches also say: naming what is going on already sets something in motion. Simply filling in a questionnaire makes team members reflect on their own role.

Which models and instruments you can use

There is no single best model. You choose based on the question from the team and the client. The table gives an overview of models that coaches in the Netherlands often use.

Model or instrument What it maps out Fits well with the question
Belbin team roles Which roles people naturally take on and which roles are missing “We all do the same thing” or “no one finishes things off”
Lencioni Obstacles in teams, such as a lack of trust or avoidance of conflict Meetings without real discussion, decisions that don't stick
DISC Behavioural styles and how people respond to each other Clashing work styles, communication that runs into friction
Tuckman Which phase of development a team is in New teams, mergers, lots of staff turnover
GRPI Goals, roles, processes and interpersonal relationships Unclear tasks, unclear responsibility
Levels in groups Content, procedure, interaction, existence and context When you don't yet know where the problem lies
Talent analysis (for example TMA) Talents and drivers per person, brought together into a team picture Team composition, recruitment, distribution of tasks
TeamCheck Shared understanding of tasks, roles, time and media use Teams that work largely remotely or hybrid

A few remarks about these models:

  • Talent analysis. TMA describes the team analysis as bringing together individual talents and drivers, so that strengths, pitfalls, talent gaps and overlap become visible. This works well when you want to know what the team as a whole does and does not have on board.
  • Hybrid teams. The TeamCheck instrument is mainly intended for virtual and hybrid teams. It also looks at trust, communication and learning. These are precisely the things that quickly erode at a distance.
  • Conversations within the group. Not every analysis is a questionnaire. In the book Coachen naar de kern, Kilian describes exercises from Deep Democracy, such as the Weather Report, Conversation on Feet and the Debate. These quickly provide a picture of what is going on in the group, including among people who are slower to speak up.

Many coaches combine two layers: an instrument at the individual level (such as DISC) and a model at the team level (such as Lencioni or Tuckman). This way you see both what each person brings and what happens between people.

When a team analysis is worthwhile

A team analysis is especially helpful when you want to adjust course in a targeted way. Without an analysis you quickly start working on whatever shouts loudest. That is often a symptom: a conflict between two people, a missed deadline, a complaint from the manager.

Typical moments to deploy a team analysis:

  • At the start of a team process. You record a baseline measurement. After a few months you measure again and see what has changed.
  • After a major change. A reorganisation, a new manager or a merger. The team is then often back in an early phase.
  • When a team gets stuck. There is friction, but no one can say exactly where it lies.
  • As a regular check-up. Some teams have themselves reviewed every year, just like a car's roadworthiness test. This can be short, for example half a day.

A team analysis is less suitable when there is an acute conflict with legal consequences, or when there are serious complaints about integrity or safety. In that case the matter belongs first with HR, a confidential adviser or a mediator. Also, if the client wants to use the outcomes to assess people, pause. An analysis that feels like an assessment does not produce honest answers.

Carrying out a team analysis in six steps

The sequence below works for most coaching processes. Adjust the pace to the size of the team and the question.

  1. Intake with the client. What is the question behind the question? What needs to be different in six months' time? Agree now who gets to see the outcomes. Record this in your coaching contract, so there is no discussion later.
  2. Introduction to the team. Explain why you are measuring, what you are measuring and what will happen with the answers. People respond more honestly when they know their answers won't reach the manager.
  3. Measuring. Send the questionnaire to all team members, or hold individual conversations. Where possible, combine numbers with open-ended answers. KeyQuest, for example, collects both figures and explanations and reports only the combined team score, so that no one is identifiable.
  4. Analysing. Look for patterns, not culprits. Where do team members agree with each other? Where do the answers diverge widely? Big differences are often more interesting than a low average.
  5. Debriefing with the team. Discuss the outcomes together in a safe setting. You can read more about this in the next section.
  6. Choosing goals and following up. The team chooses two or three development goals, draws up an action plan, and you schedule fixed moments to check how things are going. A repeat measurement after three to six months makes progress visible.

A tip for step 1: use a fixed format for your proposal to the client. With the coaching proposal generator you quickly put the goal, approach and agreements on paper.

Investigating psychological safety separately

Everything you measure depends on one question: do team members dare to be honest? If not, you get socially desirable answers and a picture that is too rosy.

The Dutch Association of Psychologists (NIP) therefore advises investigating psychological safety explicitly. A short quick scan can, for example, check:

  • whether mistakes are held against someone;
  • whether problems are put openly on the table;
  • whether team members dare to ask for help.

Does a team score low on these questions? Then that is your first topic. There is little point in talking about roles or goals if people don't dare to say what they think. In that case start small, for example with conversations in pairs, before you bring the whole team together.

Discussing outcomes and translating them into goals

The debrief is the moment when a team analysis works or fails. A few principles help.

Put the responsibility with the team. The aim of team coaching is for the team itself to become responsible for the quality of the collaboration and the results. You provide the picture, the team draws the conclusions. So first ask: what stands out to you? Only then do you give your own observations.

Use the model as a shared language. If a team says in Tuckman terms “we're in the storming phase”, that is less personal than “Jan and Fatima are always arguing”. The model gives words to something everyone already felt.

Choose few goals. A list of ten points for improvement disappears in a drawer. Two or three goals that the team chooses itself work better. Make them concrete and visible in behaviour. Not “communicate better”, but “in every team meeting the chair asks everyone for their opinion before we decide”.

Make actions and owners explicit. Who does what, and when do we review? This is where accountability comes in: making agreements, keeping them and reviewing them together. A short worksheet based on the GROW model helps to get from goal to concrete step.

Discussing outcomes and translating them into goals — overview diagram

Schedule the follow-up straight away. Without fixed check-ins, the energy fades after a few weeks. A short check-in between sessions, with one or two questions about the chosen goals, keeps the topic alive.

Pitfalls to watch out for as a coach

  • The model becomes a label. “I'm just a D” is an excuse, not an insight. Emphasise that a profile describes behaviour in a certain situation, not who someone is.
  • The manager steers the outcome. A manager sitting at the table during the debrief can shut down the conversation. Consider talking to the team first and then to the manager, or the other way around.
  • Groups too small for anonymous scores. In a team of four, an average is quickly traced back to an individual. Discuss this in advance and then opt instead for an open conversation.
  • Measuring without follow-up. An analysis without goals and follow-up leads to disappointment. People have put time into their answers and want to see that something is done with them.
  • Working outside your expertise. Do you see signs of burnout, intimidation or serious psychological complaints? Then refer to the occupational physician, a confidential adviser or a psychologist. That is not failure, but good work.

Handling team data confidentially

In a team analysis you collect a lot of sensitive information: answers to questionnaires, profiles, notes from conversations and sometimes remarks about colleagues. That requires care.

The GDPR (the General Data Protection Regulation, the European privacy law) also applies to coaches. In practice this means, among other things: you only collect what you need, you tell team members what you do with their data, and you don't keep it longer than necessary.

For psychologists, the NIP code of conduct provides a concrete guideline: records are kept for one year after the end of the service, longer if necessary or if the law requires it, and no longer than that period. If you are not a psychologist, that code does not apply to you. It is, however, a good benchmark for consciously choosing and writing down your own retention period. In doubt about what you may keep or share with a client? Then put your situation to a privacy lawyer or to your professional association.

Practical agreements to make in advance:

  • Who sees the individual answers? Usually only you.
  • What does the client get to see? Usually only the team picture and the chosen goals.
  • Where do you store the data, and who else has access to it?
  • When do you delete the data?

Loose spreadsheets, emails with attachments and documents in a shared folder make this difficult. You quickly lose track of who has seen what.

How we view team analysis

We see many coaches who do a strong team analysis and then lose the overview. The questionnaire is in one tool, the notes in a document, the goals in an email and the check-ins in a chat app. After three months no one remembers exactly what the team had agreed.

That is why we believe a team analysis should not stand apart from the rest of the process. The outcome is the beginning of goals, actions and follow-up. When all of that is in one place, linked to the right team and the right process, you as a coach can see after every session where progress is being made and where the team needs extra attention.

We also believe that confidentiality is not a side issue. Team members tell you things they don't tell their manager. You only earn that trust if you store their data carefully and clearly agree who may see what. Software helps with this, but never automatically makes a practice GDPR-compliant. The agreements you make with the team and the client remain your responsibility.

— Martijn

Team analysis and follow-up in Exantur

Exantur is software for coaching practices built around the coaching process. For team processes, Exantur for organisations offers teams and roles, team analysis, 360-degree feedback and insight into what coaching delivers for the client. A log shows who viewed which data.

Assessments such as DISC and the Wheel of Life, session notes, goals, action points and check-ins remain linked to the right coachee and the right process. Coachees see their own goals and progress in a personal portal. Data is hosted in the EU, in Frankfurt, with two-step verification (MFA) and an available data processing agreement.

Working with multiple coaches? An additional coach costs €25 per month. View the packages and prices and start with a free trial.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a team analysis and team coaching?

A team analysis is the investigation of what is going on in a team. Team coaching is the process in which the team then works on what came out of that analysis. The analysis is therefore often the first step of team coaching, and later a way to measure progress.

How much time does a team analysis take?

That depends on the method and the size of the team. A short version can be done in half a day. An extensive analysis with questionnaires, individual interviews and a debrief usually takes a few weeks from start to discussion.

Which model is best to start with?

Start with the team's question, not with the model. If you don't yet know where the problem lies, the 'levels in groups' model gives a broad first impression. If it is clearly about roles or behaviour, then Belbin or DISC are a better fit.

May the client see the individual answers?

Only if you have agreed this in advance with all team members. In most processes the client only receives the team picture and the chosen goals. Record this agreement in your contract, so everyone knows where they stand.

Sources

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