Module 4

Building and Leading Resilient Teams: Module 4

Module 4: Increase the team’s ability to solve problems and overcome challenges by facilitating team learning (part 1).

When people work together as a team, they create shared experiences that they can learn from. As a leader, you are expected to facilitate this experiential learning process. Learning is how teams solve problems and overcome challenges. You can lead the learning process by ensuring that your team is constantly reflecting on its past and present experiences to assess performance and find ways to improve. As your team develops new ideas for improvement and change, you will need to approve and prioritize those ideas. Most importantly, it’s your responsibility to make sure these ideas get put into action, tested, and validated. Some ideas will work; some will not. Either way, team learning has occurred.

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

Team learning is the process of routinely learning from individual and team experience and applying that learning to the accomplishment of team goals.
Experiential learning is the cyclical process experiencing, reflecting, deciding, and acting.
Experiencing (concrete experience) is the stage of the experiential learning cycle where teams directly observe or participate in events as a basis of knowledge.
Reflecting (reflective observation) is the stage of the experiential learning cycle where teams carefully and critically consider something.
Deciding (abstract conceptualization) is the stage of the experiential learning cycle where teams use experience and reflection to guide their decision-making.
Acting (active experimentation) is the stage of the experiential learning cycle where teams act in furtherance of a decision.
Bias for action is favoring action over inaction, especially in the face of uncertainty.
Team goals are objectives or targets that a team is trying to reach or achieve together.
Stretch goals are purposefully ambitious and challenge a person or team to step outside of their comfort zone.
Unity of effort is the deliberate coordination and cooperation of people toward a common objective.
Leader’s intent is provided to explain “why” something needs to be accomplished so that teams can develop their plans for “how” to get the work done.
Incremental goals are benchmarks set between a starting point and end goal that are used to track progress and provide motivation as accomplished.
Collective efficacy is the belief that a group can meet challenges and complete tasks together successfully.

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 learning capacity.

Team learning is the process of routinely learning from individual and team experience and applying that learning to the accomplishment of team goals. Experiential learning is the cyclical process of experiencing, reflecting, deciding, and acting. Working together, teams learn from experience how to improve, innovate, and solve problems.

Has your team recently solved a problem?
Has your team recently overcome a challenge?
Has your team recently developed a new idea for improvement or innovation?

The cycle of experiencing, reflecting, deciding, and acting is continuous. Learning from their experience is how resilient teams overcome adversity, and then adapt and grow together because of that adversity.

The Experiential Learning Cycle by David Kolb

The experiencing stage of the experiential learning cycle is where teams directly observe or participate in events as a basis of knowledge. Everything that a team does together creates experience that can be learned from.

Would you say that teams can learn from their successes, failures, and everything in between? Why or why not?

The reflecting stage of the experiential learning cycle is where teams carefully and critically consider something. Teams reflect on their experience to find ways to solve problems, overcome challenges, improve performance, and innovate new ideas.

Does your team routinely reflect on its experience to see if there is anything that they can learn?
What process or procedures are in place for team members to share those observations with others on the team?

The deciding stage of the experiential learning cycle is where teams use experience and reflection to guide their decision-making. Often, teams will need to make timely decisions without optimal information.

Is your team effective at making decisions? How can the team improve?
What are some typical excuses for not making a timely decision?
Should leaders always get input from their teams before making decisions? Why or why not?

The acting stage of the experiential learning cycle is where teams act in furtherance of a decision. Good teams will have a bias for action. Bias for action is favoring action over inaction, especially in the face of uncertainty.

Does your team have a bias for action? How can the team improve?
What are the common excuses for not taking action after a decision has been made?

2. Orient on team goals.

Team goals should be well-defined and understood by the team. Establishing stretch goals promotes more learning and better performance and productivity. Stretch goals are purposefully ambitious and challenge a person or team to step outside of their comfort zone. Orienting on team goals helps the team identify problems and challenges.

Have performance and learning goals been established for your team?
Do you believe that everyone on the team understands the team goals?
Does your team establish stretch goals? If not, why not?

Orienting on team goals requires unity of effort. Unity of effort is the deliberate coordination and cooperation of people toward a common objective. Cohesive teams working in a positive climate are more likely to demonstrate unity of effort.

Once team goals are established, does your team have unity of effort toward that common objective?

Orienting on team goals also requires that leaders provide their intent. Leader’s intent is provided to explain “why” something needs to be accomplished so that teams can develop their plans for “how” to get the work done.

Have you worked for someone that was especially good or bad at providing their intent about something that needs to be accomplished? How did that affect the team’s ability to get the job done?
Is your team good at using leader’s intent as guidance to develop plans. Could they improve?

Establishing incremental goals helps teams develop confidence. Incremental goals are benchmarks set between a starting point and end goal that are used to track progress and provide motivation as accomplished.

Does your team establish incremental goals? If so, are they helpful? If not, why not?

As teams successfully accomplish goals together, they develop higher levels of collective efficacy. Collective efficacy is the belief that a group can meet challenges and complete tasks together successfully. Teams that are higher in collective efficacy are better prepared to overcome adversity together.

Has the collective efficacy of your team improved over time as a result of successfully accomplishing goals?

“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 4

Module 4: Increase the team’s ability to solve problems and overcome challenges by facilitating team learning (part 1).

Key Terms and Ideas

Leader Tasks and Concepts

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