There are many types of coaching. As a certified space coach®️, I have the exciting opportunity to occasionally coach aspiring and already trained astronauts. Sounds interesting? It is! But instead of going into detail about space coaching, I would like to ask you: How would you master the challenges in space together with your team?
In this article, I am sharing how I use my experience and knowledge as a certified space coach®️ also for team trainings. In those themed training, all participants imagine that they are working on the ISS space station together with their team. Why this method can be especially effective is also explained.
What is space coaching?
As a space coach, I coach and train aspiring and fully trained astronauts in a playful but challenging way so they are better equipped to master different challenges and situations that they may encounter in space. We focus on both the individual role of the person as well as on the team dynamics in the context of the crew.
No matter if you are an astronaut or not: Athletes and executives also need to be mentally strong to defy any difficult situation. Therefore, my coaching philosophy and task is to provide helpful tools and methods from my toolbox. These tools help to deal with stressful situations more easily and effectively. Possible tools from my toolbox are my self-designed SoccerField Model©️, the visualization of the place of inner peace and many more.
Space Themed Team Training: how does it look like?
I always adapt my team trainings to the team I am working with. It often helps participants to imagine certain situations and visualize scenarios. Therefore, I work with tools and methods such as my self-designed SoccerField Model©️ to successfully pick up managers and employees.
Team trainings can be designed thematically. With the help of the space exercise, I invite the training participants to imagine that they are astronauts on a space station. Although such a mission is somewhat different from our daily life on Earth, this kind of role play can help to highlight the strengths of a team, to assign clear roles and to develop a common language.
Learning from a space Crew
Different rules apply on a space station. Astronauts find themselves completely out of their comfort zone. Essential for survival in this environment is that all procedures and processes run smoothly. Each member of the space crew has his/her role and tasks in the team. The mission can only be a sucess if everyone works together effectively. In this case, they return safely to Earth.
Of course, this scenario sounds dramatic as astronauts work in a dangerours environment. However, thinking in thse terms brings a seriousness to the training. It is precisely this component that can help to strengthen cohesion and the sense of togetherness in the team.
Questions, we would work on:
1.) What is our common goal?
While in space, the goals of astronauts is to complete their mission successfully and of course, safely return to Earth. In the same sense, each team no matter what their job is should have a common goal that motivates team members and let's people work in the same direction. Having a space themed team training can highlights what is important in a team and enables to clearly formulate their own common goal.
2.) How is the communication and distrubution of job roles?
I any job, there can be surprises or things that don't work out. Such an emergency can be a critical situation for astronauts and, in the worst case, endanger their lives. Although in many other professions emergencies may not be life-threatening, every team needs to be able to stay calm and find solutions. Therefore, teams need to know who has what role and how to communicate in these stressful situations effectively. This is what we work on together in the team training.
3.) How do I balance my own needs and the needs of my team?
When going into space, astronauts have the same mindset: they know they have a mission and must work together to succeed. This helps them to focus on the common goal and to take disagreements less personally. When team members are aligned on working towards the common goal, cohesion among team members is greater.
While it is important to work together and treat each other respectfully, it is equally important to create respect to create personal space. Every member should feel comforable and also needs to be able to focus on their own tasks without feeling contantly pressured or insecure. For this exercise, I often use my self-designed SoccerField Model©️, which illustrates that each person has their own half of the field which they need to take care of first.
4.) What tasks must the manager take on?
As a leader, you have to support your team members by clearly highlighting and supporting their roles and strengths. At the same time, there are critical situations in which a leader must take action. Like on the space station, there are situations in which there is no time for no discussions, but decisions have to be made quickly. Therefore, the leader has to decide when and how manage more directly and display a hierarchical order without forgetting to maintain a sense of equality among all team members including him/herself.
I hope this post has given you a greater insight into my team trainings with astronauts and other professional groups and has shown you what we can all learn from astronauts! :)
If you are interested in a team training with the theme space or if you are interested in any other training or coaching, feel free to write me.
You can find more information about my team trainings here:
Videos of my Space CoachING Weekend
Thank you for reading. Feel free to write me your feedback or email me with any questions. Email: coco@cocodecrouppe.com