Our world is made up of teams of all configurations, large and small, and in every realm of life. Some of these teams succeed and others fail due to many factors, but one of the most overlooked keys to success is resilience.
Here is why. Every team and every organization faces crises, challenges, and changes that threaten to squelch its purpose, slow its progress, or destroy it altogether. When, not if, challenges come, it is a team’s ability to recover rapidly that determines whether it survives and prospers or joins the list of those that have fallen by the wayside.
What makes the need for the marvelous quality of resilience even greater is the fact that teams are comprised of individuals, and those individuals are also subject to crises, challenges, and unexpected changes.
A resilient team is one that experiences a crisis, challenge, or change and then quickly returns to or exceeds pre-crisis levels of performance. Exactly how does resilience work? How is it infused into a team? What is the secret that causes one team to bounce back from adversity and another to crumble?
After nearly forty years studying the performance of successful teams and the individuals that lead them, I discovered several distinctive aspects about resilient teams. Here they are.
Resilient teams…
- Anticipate future challenges and proactively develop strategies to address them.
- Are steadfast in Mission, Values and Culture, but flexible in methods, adjusting as needed to continue to perform at high levels.
- Prepare team members with education, training, and mentoring to overcome adversity and insure consistency of performance.
- Team leaders trust their organization’s culture in the midst of the storm and never panic.
- Team leaders remain connected to team members, understanding their concerns, hopes, and skills.
Notice that the majority of the concepts above are applied before a crisis hits… not during. If you fail to properly prepare your team, the only thing that develops during troubling times are migraines and mistakes. We can do better.
For more information, check out my books Building Resilient Teams and The Resilient Leader.
BRIAN D. MOLITOR is Chief Executive Officer of Molitor International, an award-winning company with over thirty-five years of experience providing consulting, training, and coaching services worldwide. His company has helped hundreds of organizations transform their cultures, including those in healthcare, business, government, education, and nonprofits. He currently lives in Midland, Michigan. He is the author of The Resilient Leader and Building Resilient Teams.
