In the workplace today, it’s easy for teams to succumb to ways of working that don’t inspire their best efforts despite everyone’s best intentions.

As human beings we have two different ways of regulating: either connect or protect. Resilient teams regulate in connect the vast majority of the time. They are connected with who they are as individuals, with each other, and with their team purpose. They know how to create synergy with each other. They know their strengths and weaknesses. They trust each other. Their experience at work is mostly enjoyable, engaging, and high performing.

Resilient teams have:

• Transparency: Open sharing and discussion, more truth telling
• Greater commitment to problem solving and solution making
• Better teamwork: More helping and increased ability to receive help
• Cognitive flexibility: Ability to brainstorm, imagine solutions, create aspirations, envision goals
• Conversational agility: redirecting conversations toward productive outcomes and respectful processes
• Improved focus
• Greater appreciation for diversity
• Deeper Learning

Biologically, our connect systems stimulate feel-good hormones, most important of which are oxytocin (trust), dopamine (reward, motivation) and serotonin (satisfaction, pleasure). These hormones not only help us feel good but also elicit our best thinking, as well as our most focused and sustainable efforts.

In contrast, our protect systems kick in when we don’t trust those around us and when we feel stressed out. In these cases, the hormone cortisol (stress, fight/flight) helps us take quick, intense action but can leave us impaired both mentally and physically in the long run. When using our protect systems for too long we see symptoms like:

• Increased presenteeism (doing as little as possible) and absenteeism
• Lack of sharing, teamwork
• Feeling ragged and defensive
• Decreased ability to focus
• Less growth and development

Below are the 4 courses required to complete the Resilient Teams Certificate:

Motivation Strengths
Building A Team
Creating Psychological Safety Through Conversations
Strengths of Difference