Module 1

Building and Leading Resilient Teams: Module 1

Module 1: Raise morale in the workplace by creating a positive climate for people to work in.

When morale is low, performance suffers. When morale is high, performance can soar. Climate is about the shared perceptions and attitudes of teammates. Your team’s climate can change quickly, for better or worse, based on your actions and the actions of your teammates. You can raise your team’s morale by creating a positive climate for people to work in. The result is more flexibility, creativity, and openness to new ideas. Positive emotions help people cope with stress. Teams that work in a positive climate are better able to overcome adversity, and then adapt and grow together because of that adversity.

This module consists of two “at home” assignments (6 hours) that must be completed prior to the facilitated discussion (1-3 hours). Completing the preparatory assignments is essential for engaged participation in the facilitated discussion.

Assignment 1. Learn the following key terms and ideas. Knowing these key terms and ideas is essential to understanding the concepts that support each leader task in this module. (0.5 hours)

Key Terms and Ideas

Climate is the shared perceptions that people have regarding the attitudes and emotions that characterize their team.
Culture is the shared values and beliefs that govern how people behave across an organization.
Competence is having the knowledge and skills to do something well.
Integrity is the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles.
Authenticity is about being transparent with your thoughts, emotions, values, and beliefs.
Vulnerability is being open to the risk of emotional exposure.
Dignity is the inherent importance, value, and worth of a person.
Diversity is the range of individual differences in social and ethnic backgrounds, genders, sexual orientations, etc.
Inclusion is consistently providing equal and fair access to opportunities and resources for people who might otherwise be excluded or marginalized.
Active listening is seeking to understand meaning and intent without preemptively judging.
Accountability is the obligation and willingness to accept responsibility for one’s actions.
Standards are the expectations, norms, and rules that are generally accepted or specifically required.
Character is the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual.
Moral Courage is acting for moral reasons despite the risk of adverse reactions.
Honesty is being free of deceit and showing genuine principles, intentions, and actions.
Humility is having a modest opinion or assessment of one’s importance.
Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.
Transparency is open, honest, and accessible communication.

Assignment 2. Reflect on your unique leader/follower experience with each of the leader tasks and concepts below. Consider ALL the reflection questions, prepare notes, and be ready to discuss during the facilitated discussion. The recommended reading is provided to help you gain a better understanding of the leader tasks and concepts. The reading will also prompt critical reflection on your leader/follower experience. (5.5 hours)

Note to Students and Instructors: The recommended reading for each leader task is updated routinely. Articles added in the last 30 days are marked (new). Instructors may assign additional reading or relevant videos at their discretion.

Leader Tasks and Concepts

1. Analyze team climate.

Climate is the shared perceptions that people have regarding the attitudes and emotions that characterize their team. Positive climates are characterized by positive attitudes and emotions. Emotions and attitudes, both positive and negative, can be contagious. Creating a positive climate raises morale.

How would you rate the climate of your team? Is it mostly positive, or mostly negative? Why?
How does being around people with positive or negative attitudes affect you?

Culture is the shared assumptions, values, and beliefs that govern how people behave across an organization. It’s possible to have a positive team climate inside of a not-so-good organizational culture. Bad team climate inside of a great organizational culture is also possible (and unfortunate).

Have you worked on a team with positive climate inside an organization with not-so-good culture?
Have you worked on team with bad climate inside an organization with great culture?
Have you worked on a team with positive climate inside an organization that also had great culture?

Culture can only change slowly over time. However, climate can change quickly depending on the actions of team members and leaders.

Have you experienced the slow change of an organization’s culture? Was the culture getting better or worse over time?
Have you been on a team when the climate got better or worse quickly? What was the cause?

In a positive climate, people are more flexible, creative, and open to new ideas. Working in a positive climate improves the team’s ability to solve problems and overcome challenges. Creating a positive climate is essential for building resilient teams.

Are you personally more flexible, creative, and open to new ideas when you are working on a team with a positive climate?
In your experience, how does raising morale help teams overcome adversity and the adapt and grow together because of that adversity?

Recommended Reading:

4 of the Most Important Positive Emotions and What They Do

The Benefits of Positive Emotions for Inhibiting Anger

Practice Emotional Inclusion at Work, Not Toxic Positivity

2. Earn Trust.

When people trust their leaders, they are more willing to give a 100% effort at work. Trust is hard to earn and easy to lose. Earning trust helps create a positive climate.

How would you rate your ability to earn trust?
Have you earned someone’s trust and then lost it? Did you earn it back?
Have you ever worked for someone that did not earn your trust?
In your experience, how does trust in leaders affect morale?

Leaders earn trust when they demonstrate competence and integrity. Competence is having the knowledge and skills to do something well. Integrity is the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles. Earning trust takes time.

How would you rate yourself on competence?
Do you think your team would describe you as having integrity?
Have you ever worked for someone that was not competent? Did you trust him or her?
Have you ever worked for someone that did not have integrity? Did you trust him or her?

Leaders earn trust when they are authentic and vulnerable. Authenticity is about being transparent with your thoughts, emotions, values, and beliefs. Vulnerability is being open to the risk of emotional exposure. Being authentic can make a person vulnerable. Being vulnerable is a strength that takes courage.

Would you describe yourself as being authentic?
Does being vulnerable make you uncomfortable?
Is being authentic and vulnerable something that you can personally get better at? Why or why not?
Have you worked for someone that was not authentic? Did you trust him or her?

Recommended Reading:

Being Authentic Earns Trust

6 Ways to Build Workplace Trust

5 Fundamental Ways to Earn Leadership Credibility

Where Are the Trustworthy Leaders?

The 7 Habits of Truly Genuine People

How to Earn Trust as a Leader?

How Can Leaders Earn Trust?

3. Treat people with respect.

Leaders can treat people with respect by recognizing their dignity. Dignity is the inherent importance, value, and worth of a person. Treating people with respect helps create a positive climate.

How would you rate yourself at treating people with respect?
Have you worked for someone that did not treat you with respect? Did you respect him or her?
Have you worked for someone that treated some people with respect, but not others?
In your experience, how does treating people with respect affect morale?

Leaders can treat people with respect by embracing diversity. Diversity is the range of individual differences in social and ethnic backgrounds, genders, sexual orientations, etc.

What does embracing diversity mean to you?
In your experience, what are the benefits of embracing diversity?
How would you rate yourself at embracing diversity? Could you improve in this area?
Have you worked for someone that did not embrace diversity? Why do you think they didn’t?

Leaders can treat people with respect by being inclusive. Inclusion is consistently providing equal and fair access to opportunities and resources for people who might otherwise be excluded or marginalized.

How would you rate yourself at being inclusive? Could you improve in this area?
Have you worked for someone that was not inclusive? Why do you think they were not?

Leaders can treat people with respect by actively listening and valuing their opinions. Active listening is seeking to understand meaning and intent without preemptively judging. Valuing opinions doesn’t necessarily mean agreeing with those opinions.

How would you rate yourself at active listening? Could you improve?
How would you rate yourself at valuing the opinions of others?
Have you worked for someone that did not listen to you or value your work? How did that affect your willingness to work for him or her?

Recommended Reading:

Respect Your Employees

Respect: Yearned for, But Missed in Organizations

The Fight for Fairness in the Workplace

The Wisdom of Emotions At Work

4. Enforce accountability.

Accountability is the obligation and willingness to accept responsibility for one’s actions. When enforcing accountability, leaders should be firm, fair, and consistent. Enforcing accountability helps create a positive climate.

How would rate yourself at enforcing accountability?
Would others describe you as firm, fair, and consistent?
Have you worked for someone that did not enforce accountability?
In your experience, how does enforcing accountability affect morale?

Leaders should hold themselves accountable to the same or higher standards they expect of others. Standards are the expectations, norms, and rules that are generally accepted or specifically required.

Have you worked in an environment where accountability was not enforced? What impact did that have in workplace?
Have you worked for someone that did not hold themselves accountable to the same standards they expected of others?

Enforcing accountability usually isn’t about punishments. In most cases, it means ensuring that people are learning from their mistakes. Leaders need to invest the time required to help people learn from their mistakes.

Is accountability being enforced in your workplace? If not, why not?
Is accountability mostly about punishments or learning in your workplace?
Have you worked for someone that did not invest the time required to help people learn from their mistakes?

Recommended Reading:

Why Effective Leaders Must Master Accountability

The Difference Between Shame and Accountability

Accountability – What Dysfunctional Teams Are Missing

The Right Way to Hold People Accountable

5. Encourage people to have fun.

Having some fun at work is possible no matter how serious the job is. Hard work and fun are not mutually exclusive. Encouraging people to have fun helps creates a positive climate.

How do you and your team have fun at work?
Have you worked for someone that thought there was no time for fun at work?
In your experience, how does having fun at work affect morale?

Having fun at work helps people relax and take a mental break from challenges. Humor and laughter can help relieve anxiety and stress. However, leaders must ensure that people are not having fun at other’s expense. Humor must be in good taste and acceptable to all.

How important are mental breaks in the work that you do?
Are you personally able to take mental breaks at work? If not, why not?
Have you witnessed humor in bad taste at work? Was that behavior addressed?

Recommended Reading:

Why Having Fun at Work Matters

Workplace Humor Has Some Unexpected Benefits

Reduce Workplace Stress Through Fun Activities

6. Demonstrate character.

Character is the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual. A leader’s character will make or break their reputation. Demonstrating moral courage, honesty, humility, and empathy helps create a positive climate.

Have you worked for someone that had impeccable character?
Have you worked for someone that lacked character?
In your experience, how does the character of leaders affect morale?

Moral Courage is acting for moral reasons despite the risk of adverse reactions.

How would you rate yourself on moral courage?

Honesty is being free of deceit and showing genuine principles, intentions, and actions.

How would you rate yourself on honesty?

Humility is having a modest opinion or assessment of one’s importance.

How would you rate yourself on humility?

Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.

How would you rate yourself on empathy?

While there are many important character traits for leaders, the traits of moral courage, honesty, humility, and empathy are especially important for building and leading resilient teams.

Have you worked for someone that lacked one or more of these four character traits? How did that affect the team?

Recommended Reading:

Demonstrate Character with Moral Courage and Honesty

Demonstrate Character with Empathy and Humility

The Struggle with Moral Courage in Challenging Moments

Lies in the Workplace

The Paradoxical Power of Humility

Is Empathy Redundant for Successful Leadership?

7. Keep the team informed.

Keeping people informed provides transparency and helps overcome resistance to change. Transparency is open, honest, and accessible communication. People appreciate getting important news, good or bad, in a timely manner. Keeping people informed helps create a positive climate.

How would you rate yourself at keeping the team informed? Could you improve?
Have you ever worked for someone that did not keep people informed?
In your experience, how does keeping people informed affect morale?

Knowledge is power. Not having information is stressful. Leaders should ask themselves, what do I know, who needs to know it, and have I told them? Keeping people informed includes providing opportunities for two-way communication.

Does not having the information you need raise your stress level?
Is your team able to get timely answers to their questions?

Recommended Reading:

You have Information. How do you Responsibly Share It?

Talking Points: How To Communicate the Way You Need To

Improve Your Trust Building Odds

Facilitated discussion. Be prepared to discuss your experience with each of the leader tasks and concepts above. The facilitated discussion is the key to successful learning because it ensures you have a thorough understanding of applicable factual (what), conceptual (why), and procedural (how) knowledge relevant to each leader task.

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“RBLP”, “Resilience-Building Leadership Professional”, “Learn More. Lead Better.”, and the RBLP shield logo are trademarks of the Resilience-Building Leader Program, Inc.

“RBLP”, “Resilience-Building Leadership Professional”, “Learn More. Lead Better.”, and the RBLP shield logo are trademarks of the Resilience-Building Leader Program, Inc.

Building and Leading Resilient Teams: Module 1

Module 1: Raise morale in the workplace by creating a positive climate for people to work in.

Key Terms and Ideas

Leader Tasks and Concepts

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