Module 4

Building and Leading Resilient Teams Module 4 dated 3-30-2023

Next update summer 2024.

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.

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 Facilitate Team Learning (Modules 4 and 5)

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 of experiencing, reflecting, deciding, and acting.
The Experiencing stage of the experiential learning cycle (concrete experience) is where teams directly observe or participate in events.
The Reflecting stage of the experiential learning cycle (reflective observation) is where teams carefully and critically consider something.
The Deciding stage of the experiential learning cycle (abstract conceptualization) is where teams use experience and reflection to guide their decision-making.
The Acting stage of the experiential learning cycle (active experimentation) is 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 goal is a benchmark set between a starting point and end goal that is used to track progress and provide motivation as accomplished.

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 facilitating team learning build collective resilience?

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 developed a new idea for innovation?
Has your team recently developed a new idea for improvement?

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. Everything that a team does together creates experience that can be learned from. Improving, innovating, and solving problems requires teams to move from experiencing to reflecting. Teams that cannot move from experiencing to reflecting are not learning.

Would you say that teams can learn from their successes, failures, and everything in between? Why or why not?
Based on your experience, what are some of the challenges that prevent teams from moving from experiencing to reflecting? How can those challenges be overcome?

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, improve performance, and innovate new ideas. Teams that cannot move from reflecting to deciding are not learning.

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?
Based on your experience, what are some of the challenges that prevent teams from moving from reflecting to deciding? How can those challenges be overcome?

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. Improving, innovating, and solving problems requires teams to move from deciding to acting. Teams that cannot move from deciding to acting are not learning.

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?
Based on your experience, what are some of the challenges that prevent teams from moving from deciding to acting? How can those challenges be overcome?

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. Improving, innovating, and solving problems requires teams to complete the learning cycle by moving from acting to a new and improved experience (ideally). Even if the experience is not what the team was expecting, learning has still occurred, and the cycle begins again.

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

2. Orient on team goals.

Team goals are objectives or targets that a team is trying to reach or achieve together. 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.

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 or adapt their plans for “how” to get the work done.

Have you worked for someone that was especially good or bad at providing their intent for 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. An incremental goal is a benchmark set between a starting point and end goal that is used to track progress. Meeting incremental goals creates short-term wins and provides motivation.

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. Teams that are higher in collective efficacy are better prepared to overcome adversity together.

Has the collective efficacy of your team improved over time because of successfully accomplishing goals?
Based on your experience, what are some other challenges and best practices for orienting on team goals?

Reading:

The Best Way to Set Team Goals

How to Write Effective OKRs – Plus Examples

A Leader’s Role in Setting and Meeting Team Goals

5 Practical Tips How to Set Truly Cooperative Team Goals

Understanding Stretch Goals

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), Authorized Training Partners (ATP), and Authorized Learning and Development Partners (AL&DP) 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.

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