I sat down in Brisbane with my friend and fellow facilitator, Steph Clarke, to dig into team coaching—what it is, how it differs from facilitation, and why letting a little chaos reign can be the catalyst a dysfunctional team actually needs. Steph shared what she learned during her accreditation, including how a coach intervenes with questions (not directives), works with the team in situ, and helps teams build the vocabulary to talk about tension, purpose, decision-making, and accountability in real time.

We also geek out on visual facilitation—running sessions with no slides, using the room intentionally, and creating artifacts people actually keep. Steph’s honest stories (including the “we’re honest… until the break-time side chats” moment) show how tiny shifts—language, posture, and what we notice—change team behavior far beyond a retreat.

Key takeaways

• Team coaching ≠ facilitation: coaches hold space for discomfort and coach the team-as-a-system, not individuals.
• Don’t rush to “accountability.” Start with clear commitments people make to themselves and the support they need from others.
• Use the room: no tables, no default “front,” more movement, more ownership. Visuals beat dense slides.
• Purpose first: “Why do we exist, who do we serve, and how are we greater than the sum of our parts?”

Memorable lines

• “You have to let the chaos reign—then intervene with the right question.” —Steph
• “We’re ‘honest’ until the break… then the real honesty happens in side conversations.” —Me (calling out what I saw)

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