A team’s resilience can be ascertained by how they react to a negative situation. How do they react to, manage, move on and bounce back from adversity?
1. Thinking Differently – Growth Mindset
Carol Dweck, an American psychologist, considered an expert on the mindset psychological trait delivers a great Ted talk on growth mindset.
She says, “In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment.”
In people with a growth mindset, the brain is most active when they are being told what they could do to improve. It is a very different approach: from ‘How did I do?’ to ‘What can I do better next time?’
One is about how they are perceived, and one is about how they can learn. By fostering a learning environment based on improvement, resilience can be accelerated. A setback is used as a learning experience- to try harder- to find a solution that will work. Asking the team “what is possible?” A positive possibility mindset that allows not only improvement but retains focus on what is within the teams' control. There will be factors that the team cannot impact- the focus is on what they can impact.
“Control the controllable”
This feeds into the wellbeing point- people who feel in control perform better. They can ignore the voice that says something can't be done and find a positive solution.
2. Recovery
How does the team recover from a negative situation? Are they learning and improving?
If a leader is still talking about a situation, they may not have truly dealt with it.
A resilient team will acknowledge what went wrong, deal with it, learn from it and move on.
When a team member dwells on a past decision, then the whole team is held back- they haven’t truly recovered. Resilient teams are prepared for the letdowns that happen every so often. Recovery includes
· Knowing that any lost opportunity allows the team to take advantage of the next one.
· Studying mistakes and learning from them.
· Not dwelling on the mistakes but acknowledging and recovering from them.
There are ample stories of people who failed miserably but did not give up. Thomas Edison, inventor of the lightbulb showed resilience in his attempts to create a solution that worked.
“I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work. Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”
He looked at what went wrong, adjusted, and kept trying to find the next solution rather than focusing on what was going wrong.
Learning from challenging situations and creating the right culture for an upgraded operational rhythm is vital.
3. Bouncing Back
Once a team has recovered the final step is to bounce back. The focus shifts from the rear-view mirror to the road ahead.
This is where the team makes the changes that will make the difference, that will lead to results. If the team has a positive wellbeing and the tools provided for a growth mindset they can move forward.
A lot of teams do not change themselves. Many organisations wait for change. These are teams that are destined to fail. Resilient teams take control of the situation. Make changes.
One of the most resilient sporting teams in recent history are the New England Patriots in the NFL. Built on a strong team ethic led by their quarterback Tom Brady.
In the 2017 Superbowl they were down 21-0. This soon became a deficit of 28-3.
They remained focused on bouncing back. Brady’s teammates were driven by Brady’s resilience.
“When it comes down to game time, he’s the best,” teammate Danny Amendola said. “He’s our leader, he’s so competitive. We rally behind him.
The Patriots ending up winning the 2017 Superbowl in overtime 34 to 28. Brady was down for most of the game and at 39 years of age was up against the odds. Yet he bounced back and played quarterback at a level rarely attained before. With his team rallying behind him they had won from a hopeless position.
The Take-Away:
Resilience needs to be an ongoing project within an organisation- built into operating models and change management systems. It needs to be continually invested in and measured. A resilient environment fostered within all teams.
Resilience coaching is the best way for businesses to thrive. A resilience assessment can be conducted to determine a range of measures:
· mental health
· ability to bounce back
· managing stress
· well-being
· emotional intelligence
· agility
· purpose, trust and flow
To find out more or see how we can assist your team please email Performance Shift: info@performanceshift.com.au