Building Teams that Think Together, Not Just Work Together

At first glance, they looked like a team. They had regular meetings. They were working towards a shared organisational purpose. They even said all the right things.

But in the early conversations we had, a different picture began to emerge.

They were thoughtful, kind, and committed. But they were also being too careful. There was a strong desire not to offend, challenge, or disrupt. People were working around each other rather than with each other - guessing at preferences, concentrating on their own departments, and keeping things safe.

Some members of the team had recently joined. Others were navigating new responsibilities. What I’d met wasn’t yet a team, it was a group of capable individuals who were working in silos, and didn’t yet understand one another clearly enough to collaborate with ease.

Not every group becomes a team - and not every team stays a team. Groups can achieve a lot through goodwill and coordination. But the benefits of real team thinking - the kind that brings insight, innovation and impact - only emerge when people feel safe, connected, and committed to shared success.

This takes time. And when teams are working mostly online, as many now are, it often takes even longer.

Without the small moments - the corridor catch-ups, the shared coffee, the knowing glance in a tough meeting - it’s harder to build trust. Misunderstandings take root more easily. And people often default to ‘being nice’ instead of being clear.

That’s not a failing. It’s a very human response to uncertainty and limited connection.

But it does mean that if we want teams to think well together, we need to be intentional about how we support that.

In this case, we used Lumina Spark as a foundation - not just to explore personality, but to help the team understand themselves and one another with more depth and accuracy.

It gave them a shared language to talk about how they work, insight into what energises and frustrates each person, awareness of how preferences shift under pressure, and space to name what had been left unsaid.

From there, we created room for honest conversations - about priorities, assumptions, decision-making, and what they each needed to do their best work.

By the final session, the tone had changed completely.

They told me:

We’re clearer on what we’re trying to achieve together, not just in our own departments.

We can be more decisive and present a united front.

We’re supporting each other more - there’s more sideways conversation, not just up and down.

We can be more open, even vulnerable - and it’s actually more enjoyable.

What’s really happening psychologically when a group becomes a team?

At the heart of it are three core shifts:

1. Psychological safety: When people feel safe to speak up, take risks and be honest without fear of blame or ridicule, trust grows. Psychological safety doesn’t mean comfort. It means people know they can challenge each other constructively, ask for help, and say “I don’t know” without shame. This is what enables real dialogue.
   

2. Belonging and social identity: We don’t automatically identify with the teams we’re placed in. We identify with the teams we feel part of. When people feel seen, included, and connected to a shared purpose, their motivation, creativity and commitment increase. That sense of “we” rather than “me” is fundamental to performance.
   

3. Understanding difference: Differences in personality, communication, and ways of thinking can be a source of strength... or misunderstanding. Tools like Lumina Spark give teams a way to explore those differences without judgement. Instead of trying to be the same, people can lean into what makes them different, and use that to strengthen collective thinking.

Real teams don’t happen by accident. They form through experience, trust, and safe, structured spaces where people can explore how they relate to one another - especially in fast-paced or remote-working contexts.

Team coaching doesn’t impose a model, because every team is unique. Instead, it holds up a mirror, encourages reflection, and creates the conditions for:

• relationship building

• stronger communication

• more inclusive decision-making

• and shared responsibility for outcomes

Because when a group becomes a team, everything flows more easily - clarity, confidence and results.

Is your team still operating more like a group? I work with thoughtful professionals and teams to build trust, clarity and connection - often using Lumina Spark to support the process. If that shift feels timely, I’d be glad to talk.

Contact Me