Every relationship, team, and organization can become more effective. Few, however, are ready to take on the burden of evolving. Living, breathing ecosystems are always in a temporary stage of development. Teams, therefore, are constantly faced with a choice about attending to or ignoring the symptoms indicating the need to adapt. Most opt for the comfort and consequences of staying the same. Consider these six motives for embracing the discomfort of growth and moving your team forward:

“Team chemistry” is hard to define. Everyone knows it when they see it. Teammates appear locked in to success, whatever the endeavor might be. Colleagues anticipate each other’s needs. Players play with field vision. Interdependence unfolds naturally. However, teams don’t just conjure up chemistry like magic. There is a recipe. Unfortunately, it takes a level of sacrifice few teams are willing to make.

A key driver of effective collaboration is customization. After a careful assessment of strengths, we tailor our relationships to create a language unique to each connection. Every partnership adjusts to accommodate the nuances of personality, history, perception, and psychological wellness. Try this path to enhance team communication.

Ask three simple questions and then choose a course of action:

1. Where is our team in its lifecycle?
2. Why are we in this stage?
3. What should we do to move our team forward?

All teams travel through predictable cycles of investment, trust, innovation, and change. Knowing where you are validates the emotional reaction to current challenges. Understanding why the team is experiencing any obstacle is the key to getting unstuck. A diagnosis ignites an action plan. Consider this simple model:

Effective decision-making is harder under stressful conditions. Our body chemistry mobilizes as if there’s a crisis and the most primitive part of the brain takes over. Rather than calmly weighing options and considering past experiences, we react in the moment at a maturity level we might later regret. Adaptable leaders know how to reboot the central nervous system to maintain poise and clarity. Try these tips the next time your coping is disabled.

One of the fundamental principles of human development states that, with each stage, the child inherits both the successes and failures of the previous stage. So it goes in the life cycle of a team. How, then, do you keep history from repeating?

Team succession happens formally and informally. When formal, high potential talent is promoted to greater responsibility under the mentorship of someone above them on the organizational chart. Often, a new title gets printed on a business card. When informal, the daily delivery of skill, initiative, and engagement creates opportunities that can’t help but get noticed. While there may not be a new title on the business card, these teammates end up under someone’s wing where resources and support can have immediate bearing. Because they’ve been sponsored, every day is a job interview. So, what’s the difference between mentorship and sponsorship?

Adversity teaches us how to cope. Occasionally, we come up from an underground subway platform to street level and momentarily lose our bearings. Where am I? Which way is north? In that fleeting moment where nothing looks familiar, we are lost. The fear center of our brain gets activated as we fend off panic and search for direction. Of course, no one stays lost forever. Eventually, learning occurs. Consider what might happen if we got lost on purpose. A good crisis provides many lessons. Let’s look at how growth unfolds.

The most impactful innovations are rarely just the good ideas arising from workplace cultures that support creativity. They are the outcomes of diversity and collaboration that begin with a problem and end with a solution that improves the world. As simple as the recipe might be, it’s difficult to assemble and sustain a team of people who are capable of unselfish, integrative thinking. Why, for instance, would a group of world renowned physicians invite a team of engineers and designers to a strategy session? Even though the physician has never designed a device and the engineer has never performed a surgery, the integration of their talents might create a breakthrough in disease management. How might this apply to your industry?

It’s usually the topic we’re not discussing that wields the most power in the room. Subtle and often hidden from view, insidious obstacles make collaboration difficult. These landmines are both sins of omission and sins of commission. Usually, we know they are causing or perpetuating struggle but we’re not willing to risk the consequences of unveiling them for open communication. So, we make them normal in our culture. Consider these ten landmines and perform a quick assessment of your own team.

As much a sameness brings comfort, the constant nature of change forces us to become experts at managing transitions. Changing jobs. Changing seasons. Changing teammates. Changing leadership. Changing health. Changing direction. Changing priorities. Regardless of what event defines the transition, adapting has two vital components: mourning loss and refocusing on new circumstances. Name the pain and then work the problem. Consider these case examples:

Eventually, there is a tipping point. Once an organization decides to address team culture, a tremendous amount of effort is exerted before employees can discern the difference. The shift from current state to desired state is filled with both pain and hope. It happens in stages. Once the process has traction, a lone voice or a single action is enough to propel positive momentum. Let’s take a look at each stage.