Module 3

Building and Leading Resilient Teams Module 3 dated 3-30-2023

Next update summer 2024.

Building and Leading Resilient Teams: Module 3

Module 3: Improve motivation and commitment by providing purpose in the workplace.

When people have a sense of purpose for the work that they do, they are more motivated and committed. You can provide purpose in the workplace by challenging people to be their best. Most people are looking to grow personally and professionally. You should challenge each person on your team to learn new skills. You should challenge the team to learn new collective skills together. You can also provide purpose by helping your team understand how their work supports the organization’s mission. When people have a sense of purpose at work, they are better able to overcome adversity, and then adapt and grow together because of that adversity.

Why build and lead resilient teams?

Collective resilience is the team’s ability to overcome adversity, and then adapt and grow together because of that adversity. Resilient teams are the key to both individual and organizational resilience. Resilient teams are stronger together and they make learning and change possible.

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.

Learning Objectives for Provide Purpose (Module 3)

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

Purpose is the desire and determination that drives a person to achieve a satisfying and meaningful future.
Personal growth is the development of mental and social skills that enable a healthy, happy, and fulfilling life.
Professional growth is the development of knowledge, skills, and experience that contribute to success in the workplace.
Self-esteem is a person’s sense of overall personal worth or value.
Coaching is the process of unlocking a person’s personal and professional potential.
Growth mindset is a person’s belief that his or her knowledge, skills, and abilities can be developed through hard work and dedication.
Self-directed learners are people that take initiative and accept responsibility their own learning.
Self-efficacy is a person’s belief in his or her ability to solve problems, overcome challenges, and complete individual tasks successfully.
Responsibility is a duty or task that a person is required or expected to perform and be held accountable for.
Empower implies giving the means and official authority to do something.
Decision-making is the cognitive process of gathering information, assessing alternatives, and selecting choices or courses of action.
Mission is what individuals, teams, and companies do day-to-day to accomplish goals and objectives.

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 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 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.

Collective resilience is the team’s ability to overcome adversity, and then adapt and grow together because of that adversity. As you work through this module, consider the following question. How does providing purpose build collective resilience?

Leader Tasks and Concepts

1. Analyze individual purpose.

Purpose is the desire and determination that drives a person to achieve a satisfying and meaningful future. Most people want a better future for themselves and their families. Work is typically the means to that end. Providing purpose in the workplace is about enabling the desire and determination of each person to reach their full potential. Providing purpose improves motivation and commitment.

What type of future are you working to achieve for yourself?
Do you know what type of future each person on your team envisions for themselves?

Leaders can provide purpose by challenging people to grow personally and professionally. Personal growth is the development of mental and social skills that enable a healthy, happy, and fulfilling life. Professional growth is the development of knowledge, skills, and experience that contribute to success in the workplace.

Are you being challenged to grow personally at work? If not, why not?
Are you being challenged to grow professionally at work? If not, why not?

Leaders can also provide purpose by helping people understand how their contributions help the organization achieve its goals. Keep in mind that people will leave organizations that they love if they are not being challenged personally and professional to grow.

How strong is your desire and determination to help your organization achieve its goals?
Have you, or someone you know, left a job because there were no opportunities for growth?

When people have a sense of purpose, they are more flexible, creative, and open to new ideas. They are also better at solving problems and overcoming challenges. Providing purpose is essential for building resilient teams.

Are you personally more flexible, creative, and open to new ideas when you have a sense of purpose for the work you are doing?
In your experience, how does improving motivation and commitment help teams overcome adversity and then adapt and grow together because of that adversity.

Reading:

Making a Difference at Work

What if We Had Workplace Actualization?

The Engaged Workplace: Making The Meaning of Work Visible

Learning Culture Breeds Knowledge, and Knowledge is Power

2. Show genuine concern for people.

Leaders show genuine concern by getting to know their people. Relationships with people can be both personal and professional at the same time. Showing genuine concern for people helps provide purpose.

What lines should not be crossed between personal and professional relationships at work?
How do you show genuine concern for the people on your team?
Have you worked for someone that did not show genuine, or perhaps any, concern for you or others on the team?
In your experience, how does showing genuine concern for people affect motivation and commitment?

Leaders can show genuine concern by helping people focus on their strengths instead of weaknesses. Focusing on strengths doesn’t mean ignoring weaknesses. Focusing on strengths can improve self-esteem. Self-esteem is a person’s sense of overall personal worth or value. People that know their strengths and have high self-esteem are better able to overcome adversity.

Have you or anyone on your team taken a strengths test or assessment? If so, were you surprised at the results?
Do you focus more on exploiting your strengths or fixing your weaknesses?
Are you able to put your strengths to work on the job?
Would you characterize yourself as having high self-esteem? If not, why not?

Coaching is a show of genuine concern. Coaching is the process of unlocking a person’s personal and professional potential. Workplace coaching is gaining in popularity and some organizations have embraced the idea of creating a “coaching culture”.

How would you rate your ability to coach other people?
Have you helped someone at work overcome a personal or professional challenge at work? Did they appreciate the support?
Has someone at work ever helped you overcome a personal or professional challenge? How did that affect you?
Have you or anyone on your team earned a certification in coaching?
Based on your experience, what are some other challenges and best practices for showing genuine concern for people?

Reading:

Get to Know, and Care About, Your People

Strengths or Weaknesses?

Strengths at Work

The Strengths Revolution Transforming Our Workplaces

Self-Esteem at Work

Why Top Strengths are the Secret to Your Success

Build Your Career Around Your Strengths, Not Your Weaknesses

Coaching Others To Be Resilient

3 Tips for Better Coaching Conversations

Feedback Is Not Coaching

3. Encourage individual learning.

Leaders should develop learning goals for themselves and their team members. Putting new knowledge and skills to work quickly is essential for learning retention. Constructive feedback from leaders is essential to the learning process. Encouraging individual learning helps provide purpose.

Have you worked for someone that encouraged you to develop your knowledge and skills?
Have you been assigned learning goals at work?
Do you receive constructive feedback on work that you can learn from?
In your experience, how does encouraging individual learning affect motivation and commitment?

With encouragement, some people will develop a growth mindset and become self-directed learners. Growth mindset is a person’s belief that his or her knowledge, skills, and abilities can be developed through hard work and dedication. Self-directed learners are people with a growth mindset that take initiative and accept responsibility for their own learning.

Would you describe yourself as a self-directed learner?
Would you describe other people on your team as self-directed learners?
Do you believe that a growth mindset can be developed? Why or why not?

Learning prepares people for more responsibility. As people routinely put new knowledge and skills to work, they develop self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is a person’s belief in his or her ability to solve problems, overcome challenges, and complete individual tasks successfully.

Would you rate your self-efficacy as high or low? Can your self-efficacy improve?
How would you rate the self-efficacy of others on your team?
Based on your experience, what are some other challenges and best practices for encouraging individual learning?

Reading:

Getting More Purpose at Work With Feedback

Foster a Learning Environment for Your Team and Yourself

Your Ultimate Guide to Applying Skills in the Workplace (and Making Them Stick)

3 New Year’s Resolutions for Workplace Learning and Development

Investing in the Professional Development of Your Team is No Longer Optional

How To Advance Your Career Through Skills- Based Learning

4. Delegate responsibility.

Responsibility is a duty or task that a person is required or expected to perform and be held accountable for. Delegating responsibility to team members provides opportunities for autonomy, ownership, and growth. Aspiring leaders will seek out opportunities for more responsibility. Delegating responsibility helps provide purpose.

Do you frequently seek opportunities for more responsibility at work? Why or why not?
Do people on your team seek or avoid opportunities for more responsibility?

Delegating responsibility allows leaders to maximize their own productivity. Leaders often have difficulty “letting go” of responsibilities that should be delegated.

How would you rate yourself at delegating responsibility? Could you improve?
Have you worked for someone that was reluctant to delegate responsibility?
In your experience, how does delegating responsibility affect motivation and commitment?
Based on your experience, what are some other challenges and best practices for delegating responsibility?

Reading:

Empower Future Leaders by Delegating Task Ownership

5. Empower decision-making.

Team members should be empowered to make decisions consistent with their responsibilities. Empower implies giving the means and official authority to do something. Decision-making is the cognitive process of gathering information, assessing alternatives, and selecting choices or courses of action. Leaders should expect people to make some bad decisions. Learning from mistakes is essential for personal and professional growth. Empowering decision-making helps provide purpose.

Is your authority to make decisions consistent with your responsibilities?
How would you rate yourself at empowering decision-making?
Have you ever worked for someone that was reluctant to empower decision-making?
In your experience, how does empowering decision-making affect motivation and commitment?

Leaders should encourage team members to make timely decisions. The desire for more information to make decision must be balanced against timeliness. The willingness of team members to make decisions during times of adversity is critical.

How would rate yourself at making timely decisions? Could you improve?
How would rate yourself at making decisions under pressure? Could you improve?
Have you worked for someone that was not able to make timely decisions or decisions under pressure?
Based on your experience, what are some other challenges and best practices for empowering decision-making?

Reading:

When You Delegate, Include Tools for Success

Boosting Decision Making and Performance Under Pressure

6. Keep people focused on the mission.

Mission is what individuals, teams, and companies do day-to-day to accomplish goals and objectives. Being mission-focused is always important and critical during times of adversity. Leaders keep people focused on the mission by eliminating distractions and prioritizing tasks. People should know the purpose behind each task. Second-guessing decisions made in good faith is not useful. Keeping people focused on the mission helps provide purpose.

How would you rate yourself at keeping focused on the mission?
How would rate yourself at keeping your team focused on the mission.
Have you been on a team that lost focus when confronted with significant problems and challenges?
In your experience, how does keeping people focused on the mission affect motivation and commitment?
Based on your experience, what are some other challenges and best practices for keeping people focused on the mission?

Reading:

Hard Times? Focus on the Mission

7. Be there when the going gets tough.

Leaders need to be present to help their teams work through challenging situations. Being there means getting involved and helping, but not micromanaging. Being there when the going gets tough helps provide purpose.

In your line of work, are there times that are typically tougher than others?
Have you ever worked for someone that failed to show up when the going gets tough.
In your experience, how does a leader “being there when the going gets tough” affect motivation and commitment?

It’s important that leaders “keep their cool” when the going gets tough. People trust leaders that can manage their emotions and stay calm in difficult situations.

How would you rate yourself at being able to stay calm in difficult situations?
Have you ever worked for someone that lost their cool when the going got tough? What was the impact on the team?
Based on your experience, what are some other challenges and best practices for being there when the going gets tough?

Reading:

Leaders Need to be Present During a Crisis

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.

Note about certification exams. Front-line supervisors that sit for the Resilience-Building Leadership Professional (RBLP) certification exam are assessed on the leader tasks covered in Modules 1-3 only. Middle managers that sit for the Resilience-Building Leadership Professional Coach (RBLP-C) certification exam are assessed on the leader tasks covered in Modules 1-5 only. Senior leaders that sit for the Resilience-Building Leadership Professional Trainer (RBLP-T) certification exam are assessed on the leader tasks covered in Modules 1-7.

Resilience-Building Leader Program, Inc. owns the copyright to this curriculum and licenses the curriculum to Authorized Education Partners (AEP) and Authorized Training Partners (ATP) on a royalty-free, no-fee basis for their use in providing education and training programs to students and customers. The license permits the AEP or ATP to re-publish and distribute the curriculum materials to students, customers, faculty, and staff, so long as the copyright notices included in the materials are kept intact and not removed or altered. An AEP or ATP may modify and alter the materials within the spirit of the content of the materials as they see fit. According to this license, an AEP or ATP may not sell the materials. By using, publishing, and/or distributing the curriculum, you agree to this license.

Resilience-Building Leader Program, Inc. also licenses the curriculum to current Resilience-Building Leadership Professional Trainer (RBLP-T) certification holders on a royalty-free, no-fee basis for their use in providing one-on-one training only at no cost for up to five family, friends, or coworkers per calendar year. This license strictly prohibits the re-publishing, modification, or alteration of the curriculum materials. According to this license, the RBLP-T certification holder may not sell the materials. By using and/or distributing the curriculum, you agree to this license.

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

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

Building and Leading Resilient Teams: Module 3

Module 3: Improve motivation and commitment by providing purpose in the workplace.

Why build and lead resilient teams?

Key Terms and Ideas

Leader Tasks and Concepts

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