If you think back to the best team that you have been a part of, chances are that that it was fun, productive and exciting but most of all there wasn’t a lot of complaining happening. That team was most likely resilient. Resilience, in its most basic form, is the ability to bounce back from difficult circumstances and what employer would not want this from their team?
The greatest team I was fortunate enough to work with shaped how I worked over the following years and when I think back to working within that team I realise just how much we managed to achieve in a relatively short space of time.
We epitomised the ‘work hard, play hard’ motto but at the time it definitely didn’t feel like hard work, even with the extended hours we were putting in.
So what makes one team more effective than others?
Variation within the team; A resilient team has people from a variety of difficult backgrounds with different strengths and skill sets. Members of the team who are able to see things from an alternate view will be able to add to a team and problem solve with a difference. There needs to be diversity within the team but not so much that the group has too much conflict that will get in the way of productivity. If you have a whole team of listening/sensing Judgment types; they may be more worried about people rather than policy and therefore fail to take necessary action. Adding in a few other Judgment types will ensure a team is productive and focussed.
Shared purpose and values; We’re not talking about motivational quotes up on boardroom walls here either! A team can take a few bumps and knocks along the way if they have a shared purpose. A vision they can all see and know their specific role and input within the bigger picture. Teams that understand and believe in the purpose that they are working for are highly engaged and productive even when the going gets tough.
Open to new ideas; Great teams value the input from those who may challenge the status quo. Innovation within a team comes from an idea or concept that is new, different and exciting – the disruptor is welcomed in a resilient team. Teams who are open to new ideas end up being solution focussed and when a team moves from being problem identifiers to solution searchers, resilience is built. A resilient person is one who has a well-developed internal locus of control and the same can be said for a resilient team.
Building a resilient team involves excellent planning and a highly engaged leader however, once it has been formed, they will continue to surpass all expectations and give your company the market edge.
