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Community Contributions
Systemic Team Coaching: The Power of “We” in Uncertain Times
 Katya Talavera de Ward, PCC, ITCA
Senior Practitioner in Systemic Team Coaching (GTCI)


 In today’s volatile, complex world, teams aren’t just collections of individuals—they’re living systems. During this year’s International Coaching Week, I witnessed coaches converge, lean in, listen deeply, and co-create breakthroughs in real time. That’s the essence of teaming, and as a senior Systemic Team Coaching (STC) practitioner, I’ve seen how it reshapes mindsets, cultures, and performance from the inside out. In teams that embrace systemic thinking, challenges become springboards for collective creativity rather than sources of friction.

What Is Teaming?
Teaming transcends simple collaboration. It’s an intentional practice of inviting diverse voices into a dynamic conversation and mapping how each part influences the whole. Instead of handing down solutions, we cultivate an environment where questions spark discovery and differences fuel fresh perspectives. When we shift from solo expertise to shared ownership, innovative ideas ignite—and with them, deeper trust, psychological safety, and resilience emerge. This collective intelligence drives breakthroughs in ways no individual effort can match.

 

The Basics of Systemic Team Coaching

  • Outside-In Perspective: Start by scanning the broader ecosystem—market shifts, stakeholder expectations, cultural currents—so the team sees its work as part of a larger living system.
  • Future-Back Visioning: Co-create a vivid picture of an aspirational future, then reverse-engineer the milestones that will get you there, keeping every action aligned with a clear, shared destination.
  • Stakeholder Inclusion: Invite sponsors, partners, clients, and even representatives of future generations into the dialogue to surface blind spots, build trust across boundaries, and ensure real-world and legacy alignment.
  • Psychological Safety Foundation: Before deep work begins, attend explicitly to creating a safe space—norms, protocols, and practices that let people speak up without fear. Safety is the bedrock that lets systemic patterns surface.
  • System Mapping & Feedback Rhythms: Use simple mapping tools (ecosystem maps, causal-loop sketches) to visualize interdependencies, then establish regular “learning sprints” or check-ins so the team continuously adapts its future-back roadmap based on real-time feedback.

 Impact in an Uncertain World
Organizations face constant disruption—from digital transformation and shifting customer needs to global crises and regulatory changes. Systemic team coaching equips teams to navigate ambiguity with agility. Teams learn to read signals beyond their silo, adapt roles fluidly, and sustain momentum through shifting landscapes. As a Systemic Team Coach you can guide teams to embrace this mindset—accelerating innovation, strengthening alignment, and building the collective confidence to tackle tomorrow’s challenges.

Real-World Results
In a recent engagement with a commercial leadership team at a consumer-goods company, we applied the outside-in, future-back approach. By mapping expectations of internal and external stakeholders and co-creating a shared vision, we reduced decision-making bottlenecks by 30%, launched two market initiatives in just four months, and saw a 25% increase in collaboration and psychological-safety scores on the internal climate survey. This is the tangible value of coaching the “we”—results that resonate throughout the organization.

Why It Matters Now
Uncertainty can fragment teams or—when approached systemically—it can unite them. By focusing on the living system rather than isolated tasks, teams develop the capacity to anticipate change, respond creatively, and co-create solutions that endure. This approach isn’t theoretical; it’s practical and proven in corporations, family businesses, educational institutions, boards, and beyond. In environments where rapid pivots are the norm, systemic team coaching provides the frameworks and mindsets that keep teams not just afloat, but thriving together.

As we journey through our “Inspire, Transform, Thrive” lineup—with the energy and insights inspired by International Coaching Week—I invite you to experiment with this powerful methodology. Start by mapping interdependencies in your next session, inviting every voice to the table, and co-designing your future state from a future-back perspective. When you coach the “we” instead of the “me,” you unlock exponential value: challenges become collective opportunities, and isolated sparks ignite into lasting fire.

   About our Contributor: Katya Talavera de Ward, PCC, ITCA
 
Katya is a Professional Certified Coach (ICF) and EMCC-accredited Team Coach (ITCA) with over 30 years of experience in leadership, HR, and organizational transformation. She began her career as a clinical psychologist, later spending a decade in corporate HR within the Oil & Gas sector in Bolivia and the UK. For the past 21 years, she has led her own international consulting firm. Katya is a Certified Breakthrough Coach, a Senior Practitioner in Systemic Team Coaching by GTCI, and serves on the faculty of GTCI’s practitioner program.

Her work blends systemic thinking, coaching psychology, and strategic insight to help leaders and teams unlock their potential and lead with purpose. She enjoys nature walks, learning new things, spending time with family and friends, and is a devoted pet lover.