There are no magic recipes to drive your team forward. However, any team accomplishes more for its survival and success if it cultivates a series of shared attitudes than if it functions as an accumulation of people who do not work in a coordinated manner.
These qualities are explained below.
Characteristics that drive your team forward
1. Trust
No matter how independent or autonomous we want to be, human beings cannot function 100% on their own. This applies to the work environment as well. Therefore, in order to drive a team forward in a healthy way, we must be able to generate an environment of trust among all of us. This is what happens when we do not see our colleagues as a threat and is one of the most powerful factors that drive collaboration. Trust allows us to open up to others, that is, it is what allows their inner world to impact us and ours to reach them too. Trust is the openness to influence each other within a safe framework.
2. Generosity
This is the inevitable consequence of trust. If we only focus on our own self-interest (I stan out, I win, I grow) we are likely to stand out, win and grow to some extent. However, we are more likely to achieve this if, in some way, we contribute to the growth of our colleagues, that is if we work so that it is the team as a whole that moves forward, not just the individuals.
No one loses talent by sharing their talent with others, so we must all decide whether we are going to be limited to the addition of the qualities we bring together or whether we are going to look for ways to unite the team, combining the qualities of all of us so that they multiply each other.
3. Active listening
We can be very sure of our ideas, but it is a mistake for our certainties to isolate us from what our teammates think, feel, know and need. Many very bad ideas can be discarded in time thanks to the suggestions of others. They can also become perfect plans after a good conversation. Let’s not just defend our own points of view: let’s listen assertively and engage in what others have to say to us as well.
4. Reflection
A strategic vision, able to train patience, that knows how to welcome pauses, detours, and obstacles are what allows teams to work today without losing sight of the next day. Let’s think together and give ourselves time to rest and review the ideas we are building together. Trusting the processes and accepting their pace without rushing can lead to great results.
5. Calculating risks
That is the technical name for what has been known all our lives as caution and responsibility. Caution is the attitude that comes from managing fear properly. We must move forward in a controlled manner, not recklessly, knowing our resources properly and not stretching them beyond what they are capable of. Responsibility is the attitude that allows us to assume the consequences of our actions based on well-informed decisions.
The thought processes that any team undergoes must be translated into some kind of decision. This means that, at some point, we must dare to test what is in our minds. Although we are not psychics, we can anticipate to some extent what is the worst and the best that can happen if we move forward. Let’s give it a try.
Learning constructive approaches to drive your team forward
None of the five characteristics we have mentioned is generated by itself, but any of them can be trained if there is the will to do so. Teams that achieve this improve their productivity, but they don’t do it by chance: they achieve it because they improve their psychological well-being.
Ifeel has created an emotional well-being program for companies precisely for this purpose.
This program allows your staff members to foster their mental health through different levels: resources based on artificial intelligence, emotional support via chat with one of the platform’s registered psychologists, or online psychological therapy with a psychologist specialized in cases like yours.
In addition, your company’s HR managers can receive personalized, data-driven advice to get a better sense of the company’s work environment, assess team cohesion and detect psychosocial risk factors for productivity. This protects workers’ mental health while creating the right environment for optimal productivity.
Get in touch today and request more information about our emotional well-being program for companies. It’s a matter of attitude.
