TEAM COACHING, KNOWLEDGE WORKERS AND VIRTUAL TEAMS IN THE CONTEXT OF FUNCTIONS, CONDITIONS AND INTERVENTIONS

摘要

Peter Drucker created the term "knowledge workers" to designate workers that use information and their own knowledge more so than any physical attribute. Engineers are a prime example of knowledge workers and the discipline of engineering management is built around the challenges faced in leading this type of worker. For example, engineers frequently work within team structures that span functional areas and formal skill sets. For this reason, effectively leading cross-discipline teams can be difficult. One-on-one mentoring or coaching fails to consider the different facets that are present in integrated process teams. The nature of the work suggests a different approach is needed to lead knowledge workers. An emerging trend to consider in this setting is group or team coaching. Group coaching can foster trust and commitment, support effective problem solving and bring about a heightened sense of ownership within the team, which also benefits the organization. Further study is needed to determine if this approach significantly affects overall team productivity. How engineers, for example, learn outside of the team and outside of the organization deserve to be considered. More specifically, effectively leading engineering teams needs to be analyzed further in the context of cross-functional collaboration. The key is to better understand how engineering teams operate, how team coaching functions and how team coaching can apply to knowledge workers.