First experience of Systemic Team Coaching Programme 系统性团队教练 认证课程…. in China

A personal reflection by John & Judith Leary-Joyce

It was with some trepidation that we entered the workroom for day one of the first China Systemic Team Coaching workshop in Nanjing.

Would we get the tone right for a contemporary Chinese audience? Would our exercises, jokes and stories land as intended? And would the whole ‘systemic’ concept fit with their view of life and work?

We worked in Mandarin with our translator, with the slides and the flip charts in their script. Getting across complex philosophical and theoretical concepts in Mandarin required intense concentration and creativity. Indeed, on occasions we encountered confusion when some participants with very fluent English challenged the translation!

The AoEC experiential way of working was different to the traditional Chinese teaching style. Initially there was some uncertainty when we asked participants to begin by having discussions and then sharing their knowledge and experience of working with teams.

By the end of day one, we’d found a mutual way of working and the group showed us just how much they had to offer. We particular valued their passion, commitment and enthusiasm for learning as well as the vast amount of experience. As in most successful learning environments we learned from each other.

There were some amazing ‘firsts’ in this workshop.

We had some exciting discussions enabling us to create a model to work well together that was adapted to their culture and local market.

In preparation for the programme, the client had arranged for three business teams to be available for ‘real-time’ team coaching practice on day four. Each of the teams completed our Team Connect 360 diagnostic survey in advance, with the teams’ managers attending as Primary Stakeholders to provide further feedback. There was then follow-up on day five with reflection and supervision on their very challenging but successful team coaching process. 

At the end of day five, for fun and relaxation, I delivered my Tango – Coaching workshop which they enjoyed. Then on day six, we covered Gestalt and Constellations. 

Over the first three days, the client’s top team courageously joined us as a demonstration team to go through the Five Disciplines Model in front of the group.

Mutual Learning

What was especially moving for me was the easy affinity they had to Gestalt because of Taoism – the ancient philosophy of living life by being fully present in the moment. At each lunch break we had 30 mins guided meditation/mindfulness practice and started one day with Chi Gung body awareness exercises. 

This was one of the most exciting and productive STC programmes I’ve had the privilege of facilitating, we learned so much together. I’m delighted to announce that we’ve been invited back in November to continue the learning and we can't wait!

Follow the link for more information on our Systemic Team Coaching Certificate®.