Resilience is a very popular topic these days, for a lot of good reasons. Individuals are working to develop their resilience so they can effectively work through the many unexpected challenges that seem to await us daily in this COVID-19 environment.
Resilience is also an important topic for teams to consider. How can you build your team’s Resilience to handle challenges and persevere? Research reported in Harvard Business Review* suggests that teams can build resilience in the following ways.
*Build Confidence Before Adversity Strikes. Teams build confidence by repeatedly carrying out various assignments at a high level of performance. A good leader will select assignments within the team’s capabilities and set a high standard of performance. Over time, the difficulty of assignments can increase as confidence builds. The team reflects on its performance and learns how to continually improve over time.
*Build a Culture of Trust & Respect. This begins with the integrity of the leader who role models honesty and respect for others. An expectation of respect for one another and honesty permeates the team. This builds the cohesiveness of the team.
*Assure that Everyone Knows Their Roles. Each team member is clear on their set of responsibilities and understands the roles that each person on the team plays. They know each team member’s strengths and what they need assistance with. Therefore they can easily and quickly transfer work products to one another and coordinate action efficiently.
*Culture of Innovation & Improvisation. When a new challenge appears, Resilient teams quickly identify it and begin brainstorming ways to address it. Team members draw on one another’s strengths as they build new processes, services, or products needed to address the challenge.
Effective leaders remind their teams that they can handle a challenge when it appears and provide encouragement. They frame a challenge as an opportunity to learn and improve. They make sure to reflect on the challenge afterwards so the team can continue to develop.
Challenges have always been a part of our lives, it just seems they are showing up more regularly these days. The more you can build the Resilience of your team, the better prepared they will be to address these.
*Kirkman, B., Stoverink, A.C., Mistry, S., & Rosen, B. “The 4 Things Resilient Teams Do,” Harvard Business Review online, July 19, 2019.
