Challenging Dynamics: When Team Coaching Gets Difficult, the Learning Begins

Over 70 people joined us for the launch of Season 5 of the ICF Team Coaching Community of Practice — and what a rich, stimulating and honest conversation it was!

Our new series, The Challenging Dynamics of Team Coaching, opened on 23 September with Episode 1: Coaches Challenging Dynamics. Together, we explored those moments when we find ourselves struggling with someone in the team we are coaching — or when our own reactions, assumptions and emotions threaten to knock us off our best selves.

The conversation quickly moved beyond the familiar challenges of resistance, conflict and difficult relationships. Through shared experiences in our breakout groups and a lively chat, we explored what happens to us as coaches when the work gets uncomfortable.

What happens when a senior leader feels personally attacked by the session content? When a team turns its frustration towards the facilitator? When sub-groups form alliances, a client questions the value of the work, or we find ourselves caught in the very dynamics we are there to help the team understand?

As one participant reflected:

“Sometimes what we are experiencing is what’s in the room. It’s about the team.”

This was one of the powerful threads running through our discussion: the possibility that our own discomfort may be offering us valuable information about the team and its wider system. Yet, in the heat of the moment, it can be hard to distinguish what belongs to us, what belongs to the team, and what is emerging between us.

We spoke candidly about the self-doubt, frustration, anger and vulnerability that can arise in these moments — and how easily we can feel pulled into the drama, become the rescuer, or take responsibility for outcomes that are not ours to own.

So how do we work with these moments rather than simply survive them?

Our collective wisdom offered a wealth of practical ideas: pause and breathe; get curious rather than defensive; treat resistance as information; name what is happening in the room; revisit the contracting; and lean on the relationship with a co-coach, supervisor or trusted peer.

Perhaps most importantly, we were reminded that the learning often comes after the difficult moment, through reflection, supervision and the courage to look at our own triggers.

One particularly memorable reminder from a participant was:

“Nothing’s personal, nothing’s permanent, nothing’s perfect.”

It’s a simple phrase, but one that speaks to the resilience and perspective required when working with complex human systems.

The session was a reminder that challenging dynamics are not simply obstacles to effective team coaching. Approached with curiosity, awareness and appropriate support, they can become opportunities for deeper insight — into ourselves, the team and the system we are working within.

And the conversation doesn’t stop here.

Join us for the rest of the series

Our next episodes will continue to explore the challenging dynamics we encounter in team coaching, creating space to learn from one another, share experiences and build our confidence in working with the complexity of teams.

Episode 2: Team Member Challenging Dynamics
 19 November 2026 | 5.00–6.30pm

What happens when the challenge comes from an individual within the team? How do we work with difficult relationships, strong personalities, competing perspectives and the impact one team member can have on the whole?

Join us as we continue the conversation, drawing on the collective experience and wisdom of our community.

Whether you are an experienced team coach, are developing your team coaching practice, or are curious about what makes this work so different from one-to-one coaching, you are warmly invited.

Come ready to reflect, share, learn and be challenged. You may discover that the moments you find hardest are also the ones with the most to teach you.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Book your place here

ICF UK Chapter — Team Coaching Community of Practice: Connect. Learn. Grow.