Building team spirit: our journey with Nico from Teamfullness

A strong team spirit, much like a positive company culture, can make all the difference within any organization. When people are mindful of each other, both professionally and personally, results can flow naturally.

With this in mind, a year ago we reached out to Nico from Teamfullness and embarked on a journey with him. His aim is to connect individuals to themselves and to their peers within organizations. In other words, Nico is a company coach who helps people grow together within their professional environment while encouraging a strong team spirit, pushing everyone to go further.

After our last session in June, we took a moment to reflect on our journey with him and as a team. Read on to discover more about Teamfullness’s mission.

Could you introduce yourself and explain in what consists your job?

I'm Nicolas, founder of Teamfullness. I'm passionate about sports, especially team sports. And I had the privilege to play for the Belgian Rugby national squad.

In my life, I've lived some vibrant moments, but also experienced some frustrations. I was missing that emotional shoulder to lean on sometimes. And that's why I created Teamfullness to connect in my mission in life. Today, I'm providing this support I didn’t have to teams, both in top sports and in organizations. I want to help people fulfill in life and lighten the burden they can sometimes feel.

How did it all start and could you share the inspiration behind starting Teamfullness?

Back in 2012, I was getting bored as a trainee lawyer and read an article on a rugby website about a French student, Arthur Juin, leaving to Argentina to coach youngsters through rugby. He barely spoke Spanish, raised some money, and left with that intention. I resonated with what he was doing and realised I had an inner calling to coach youngsters through rugby.

In 2015, I thus resigned from my job as business developer in Brussels in 2015 after completing a late studies management program at the Solvay Business School, and left to Argentina to make several dreams come true.

I started finding a top amateur rugby club I could play for, the Buenos Aires Cricket and Rugby Club (aka "Biei") that is now playing in the elite league of the Province of BA (the "Top 12"). I made friends and grew a lot as a player. It was fantastic!

Then, I heard about "Botines Solidarios", a NGO founded by the charismatic Ignacio Corleto (former Puma). We were providing rugby coaching sessions ("clinics") in humble neighborhoods, jails for minors, and organising social rugby tournaments in other provinces of the country. It reconnected me to my essence: support and reveal human beings in their journey in life. I also wrote my first book ("En quête d'essence"), an illustrated essay setting the foundations of what I became today: a free man serving humanity and responsible for what he feels and thinks is right for human beings to change the game in our world.

After this trip, I felt that human coaching was definitely what I wanted to do for a living. I started to learn the job first in a company and after a year, in 2018, I started Teamfullness by drawing my first ever tool.

All of it came from my guts, simply, with a lot of fluidity and now I really fulfill in this.

How does a workshop work concretely? And can you explain maybe one exercise you usually do with the team?

The intention is really to bring people back to what's essential. So who they are as human beings, before talking about their roles within the organization or on the team.

Usually, we start the journey by assessing the needs with the team leaders. It could be the head coach in sports, for instance, or the founders of a company. We align on those needs and based on that I suggest things, that feel right for me, in my view.

Once we've validated that together, we make it happen. It could be a half day workshop, starting a team coaching, etc. And then the flow does the rest.

The possibilities are endless because every coaching will be different, singular, asking me to adapt every single time. Most of the time, during the exercices, I let the team speak up and develop the session themselves while still being there as a guide. I can make the same exercises or ask the same questions to different teams, and what's going to come up will be totally different. That's what makes my human coaching magical and so enriching. It's comes from within, from the essence of the people, of a group, and I never know what I'm going to face, hear, feel.

One good exercise that I like to begin with is simply to ask people : What are their core priorities in their lives currently and how do they let go all the tensions, stress, anxiety they might feel?

From my experience, this exercice always brings special moments where people share what they feel they want to share with the team. Depending on the level of depth between the team members, it would be either superficial or very deep and emotional. But whatever comes up is right. Each team dynamic has its own rythm, evolution and maturity. It's all about accepting it and observing it without any judgments of value.

A few words to describe our team?

The team is young, energetic, passionate, loving & caring. Sometimes intense haha.

I also feel that because the team is having the intention to be kind, sometimes people don’t dare to be fully honest with each other. During our last workshop, we talked a lot about the concept of tough love. Because we need it sometimes to push ourself to the top, further, and to grow each other mutually.

Can you describe the journey of Merchery?

Our journey started almost a year ago, in September 2023, with a first workshop at the seaside.

The first time we met, I remember asking you a couple of questions in a discussion and people were a bit defensive, didn’t feel like sharing really intimate things. Now, after barely nine months, the connection is a lot deeper, the bond is way stronger and the level of sharing has tripled. The team is more open humanly speaking, which allows team members to communicate more easily with each other.

Also, I think that people listen to each other much more now than before. A big indicator of how caring the team is today is that the introvert people really make that step to speak up more, and the extraverts take less place, too.

I feel that there is a global harmony, that starts arising from the work we're doing. The team is evolving a lot thanks to the workshops. And it keeps growing and growing every time we share a moment together.

What do you love the most about your job?

Change. Change in what I witness as human coach, what I feel, what I learn. I also see people change, evolve.

An advice for a team wanting to start a journey on their company culture?

I would invite team leaders to regularly take some time for themselves away from the field in order to step back and wonder how they feel their team is evolving. The purpose here is to be aware and conscious of their team needs, whatever they are. Asking for support mustn't happen when it's too late. You can have a good team and be willing to get closer humanly when things are going well. In the end, that's what will make you face adversity with serenity when it appears. In my view, it is key in a changing world full of uncertainty.

A quote to share?

Here is a quote of Wayne Smith, a pioneering rugby coach I admire that namely spent 16 years supporting the All Blacks:

Our journey with Nico has provided us with invaluable tools to operate better both on a personal and professional level. His benevolence and deep knowledge have been instrumental in this transformation.

A team that knows each other well is undoubtedly a team that can achieve unremarkable results—just like the legendary All Blacks rugby team. By fostering a strong team spirit and prioritizing personal connections, we have set the foundations for continued success.

Thank you Nico for showing us the way to being a united, mindful, and supportive team.