How leaders can support team resilience and momentum

Organisations need more than exceptional individuals, they need high-performing teams. Team edge is a core ingredient of such teams.

In brief

• High-performing teams are critical for organisations to survive today’s volatile business environment; relying on exceptional performers isn’t enough.
• To build high-performing teams, leaders must actively build their teams’ resilience and maintain psychological momentum.

Whilst talented employees can facilitate high performance, they aren’t guaranteed to. It’s important to attract and retain talented employees, it’s also incredibly important that they come together to form high-performing teams.

According to performance and organisational psychology research, high-performing teams_{1, 2, 3}:

• Consistently satisfy the needs of customers, employees, investors and others in their area of influence
  
• Frequently outperform other teams producing similar products and services under similar conditions
• Produce the most effective outcome with the greatest efficiency
• Take full advantage of all the task-related knowledge within the team

Research from areas ranging from sport to the military has taught us that high-performing-teams differ from those that simply function_{1, 2, 3}. This is attributed to team edge, one of the key characteristics of such groups. Team edge refers to a team’s ability to perform under pressure, create and build on positive momentum, or change the direction of momentum when the team is in a downward spiral. It encompasses two main factors: team resilience and team momentum.

Developing team resilience

Team resilience refers to a team’s ability to absorb, cope with and recover from pressures, challenges or adversity.₄ Resilient teams outperform those who are not, because of their ability to both handle and thrive on pressure.₅ To build team resilience, leaders should:

1. Get clear on your team’s ‘why’
   
   Creating a team’s reason for existence involves connecting to people’s purpose, cause or belief that inspires them to do the work they do.₆ When a team is clear on its purpose and inspired by why it exists, they can make better decisions under time pressure, information overload and ambiguity. As a leader, work with your team to create a purpose which energises and mobilises them. This clarity will inspire your team to push on in difficult moments and move forward in the face of setbacks.
   
   
2. Role model and celebrate ‘back-up’ behaviours
   
   Back-up from teammates and the team leader is critical for helping the team to perform under pressure.₇ This involves recognising the signs that a colleague is stretched and offering support with their work. These gestures not only help individuals who are struggling, but also boost team morale and make the team more efficient. As a leader, role model the actions you want to see and go out of your way to acknowledge other team members when you see them doing the same.
   
   
3. Make the debrief part of the routine
   
   The most resilient teams view disruptive or challenging events as opportunities for learning, and failures as a chance to evaluate how they approach tasks._8,9,10 This perspective allows teams to confront their failures head-on, with the knowledge that the experience they gain will help them aim higher in the future.₁₃ Teams that debrief outperform those who don’t by 20-25%.₄ To develop a culture of team learning, facilitate meetings so that your team reflect on what went well and what didn’t.