Book excerpt: Many if not most teams in the modern workplace fall well short of harnessing their collective capability, maintains Erik de Haan, resulting in loss of performance and poor results. For the author of the Team Coaching Pocketbook and director of the Ashridge Centre for Coaching, this is a depressing thought yet he's quick to point out that poor performance is readily managed if team members are minded to reflect intelligently on how they operate and have the skills to do so. "This is where team coaching can be beneficial", says de Haan. "It helps teams think through what they are doing and why, how they can integrate individual skill sets and how they can innovate." Written by an expert in his field, this is a practical, insightful guide to team coaching which will benefit both coaching specialists and team leaders.