Team Wellness

“Well, that’s not going to fix itself.” This was the mason’s reply when he saw the plaster damage to the interior ceiling from the tuckpointing problem on the exterior of our building. You can treat the symptom or the source. A little spackle would fix the cosmetics, but the problem was sure to return if we didn’t address its cause. A little fix now or a big fix later. Your choice.

…twenty years ago, right? And the second best day is…drumroll… today. This well-worn adage applies to almost anything we wish we’d known or done in hindsight. It’s the very nature of an epiphany – the sudden flush of clarity only lasts until you realize how obvious it should have been. Very few teams enjoy the gifts of launching their culture from scratch and building the right norms and values from day one. In reality, most teams are stuck fixing something that someone else broke.

The clinical and organizational worlds merge when teams are under pressure. The lens through which we measure adaptability is both strategic and psychological. Sometimes we use the perspective of workplace wellness by focusing on culture. Other times we zero in on human coping skills and view the world through a behavioral health perspective.

The older you are, the more likely it is that it’s both. There’s a window of opportunity in adulthood to shift direction. Once past that window, most of your energy serves to keep things the same, no matter how miserable. Pain gets normalized over time. It’s easier to endure a known discomfort than it is to risk the consequences of change.

Imagine you’ve been given a blank slate. You get to pick your teammates and choose your mission. You can choose how fast or slow to move and how cautious or risky to act. You have unlimited funds and a vast pool of talent. You get to start from zero. What’s your first move?

It’s time to get clear about what is sanctioned in the workplace. Psychology 101 teaches us that dysfunction is considered normal by children until they reach sufficient emotional maturity to realize it’s not. Do you mean all dads don’t abuse moms? No way? I thought treating people like $#!T was the way all families operate. Unless and until you have that epiphany, you are extremely likely to select a workplace culture that perpetuates your own personal pathology. Most workplaces are populated by employees who haven’t figured that out. That’s the prime reason healthy cultures are so rare.

Everyone carries a burden. We live in a world where showing your pain is a sign of weakness, so most people’s burdens are not visible. Stanford University uses a duck as the metaphor for invisible effortlessness. The objective is to make accomplishment look easy so imagine the water fowl gliding swiftly across the water while his webbed feet are paddling like mad, out of view, to move forward. Most people respond with “fine” when asked how they’re doing. Are they really fine?

Growing up, most of us are taught how to succeed as individuals. The formula is simple: set goals, take initiative, work hard, and persevere. Succeeding on teams uses different competencies and they don’t always come naturally. The same skill set that gained you acceptance into an elite college probably doesn’t make you the best teammate. Teams are messy and complicated. Conflict is unavoidable and it only takes one disengaged teammate to ruin a culture. So how do we learn the skills and competencies to function in team settings? Clue #1: It’s not by taking personality tests and discovering what makes other people tick.

Everyone has advice and guidance these days. The paths to wellness, individually or as a team, are many. Like most fads, there’s always something new that catches the attention of social media and gets talked about among friends. While all of that is unfolding, there remain three simple tools that have stood the test of time. One at the micro level, one at the mezzo level, and one at the macro level.

When people think of the word ‘team,’ they often imagine a larger group of talent with interlocking roles. They repeat the adage about the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. They measure the impact of effective leadership and good chemistry while imagining some pro sports team winning a world championship. While all of this can be accurate, it is a stereotype. Teams assume many forms.

Some people seem happy all the time. Whether at work or play, they move from event to event with a bounce in their step and a twinkle in their eye. It’s not that adversity doesn’t come their way – it’s that they manage it with grace. Is this simply because they were born with a cheery disposition? Have they just faced less trauma than their peers who appear filled with consternation? Perhaps they’ve developed a better arsenal of coping skills. Or maybe they’ve discovered the elusive secret to a satisfying life.

Granted, it’s not over. The delta variant appears more contagious than the alpha. Businesses are rethinking the wisdom of requiring workers to return to the workspace. Many industries are requiring full vaccinations and/or repeated proof of negative COVID tests to stay employed. Those of us in client-facing roles are reinstituting masks and social distance. As we brace for another wave of adaptation, let’s take stock of what we’ve learned.

Adult coping skills are built for crisis management. Some fight, some flee and some freeze. Each instinct has value. The fighters take action, the fleers seek safety and the freezers observe. Action, safety and observation are all important aspects of navigating trouble. In the moment of the challenge, the body ramps up some functions (heart rate, brain speed) and slows down others (immune system, digestion). All of this is designed to make us more focused and efficient under duress. However, this heightened state is unsustainable for long periods. These days, you don’t have to look too far to find a team falling apart under the pressure of prolonged stress.

What actually constitutes a team? Two or more people working on a common goal? Not if they are working in silos. It’s entirely possible for coworkers to wear the same uniform, share the same space and toil away at the same objective yet still not function as a team. They aren’t a team until their successes and failures are tied together. They have to put their lives in each other’s hands.

Productivity and profitability are not always indications of a healthy team. Often, they occur at the expense of employee satisfaction and workplace culture. When money is being made, it’s easy to overlook the soul-sucking interactions that get normalized over time. Anyone who has ever been in this type of environment knows the compromise. Sunday nights are filled with dread yet you drag yourself in on Monday morning. Friday brings relief and Saturday is devoted to recuperation. Weeks turn to months and months turn to years. Before you know it, you’re old.

Some teams don’t need a rigorous consultation engagement to get their business on track. If nothing is terribly broken, a small tweak might be enough to make a big difference. Strong relationships of all varieties get in the habit of regular self-checks. Usually, everything is fine. Sometimes, though, the team is alerted to the beginning of a problem. If you catch it early, the trouble never has a chance to take root. Here are some key questions to ask if your team needs a minor adjustment.

Someone on the team needs to stay focused when chaos hits. Once adrenaline is dumped into everyone’s blood streams, the fight-flight-freeze instinct takes over. Our best intentions to remain calm get hijacked by the contagious emotion of the group. The teammate with the best coping skills becomes the leader. Here are some tips.

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.

When the toxic element of a team devolves to a mutiny, the chance of repairing a broken culture is slim. Intractable positions only end in standoffs. Of all the reasons teams become stuck, this is the least healthy. The bulk of the team’s energy is consumed in reacting to its demise. At this stage, choices are limited. You can stay stuck or move forward.

This is the time of year when businesses are looking for creative ways to thank their most loyal clients for their patronage. While a fruit basket aptly sends a message of gratitude, it falls short of communicating an investment in continued partnership. A few imaginative companies have taken a less conventional path to say thanks. Might this approach fit your customer relations strategy?

The five consecutive top workplace awards provided the first clue. The first thirty seconds inside the carefully designed workspace off the beaten path in the City of Duluth, however, provided the confirming evidence. You can sense the culture of an organization when you enter its space. It’s in the air before the first employee greets you with eye contact and a smile. Walk a little further into the building and you’ll find that the most valuable square footage overlooking Lake Superior is not reserved for the Managing Partner of the firm and his leadership team – it is devoted to the rank and file and their customers. The first impression was only the beginning.

Although the 20% “actively disengaged” statistic may not apply to your workplace, chances are you have dysfunctional elements lurking on your team. Most organizations do. It is the nature of being human that negative attitudes, broken personalities, and poor coping skills creep from families into the job site. Usually, it’s subtle and insidious. Businesses are being robbed.

Someone said or did something that hurt your feelings. Should you say something? It’s easier not to. Your most trusted teammate wasn’t listening when you took the risk to expose your emotions. Do you let him know it made you feel like a low priority? It’s easier not to.

A meditative lifestyle practiced for centuries has suddenly become the hot mantra in workplace wellness. Mindfulness is the new remedy for chronic career stress. It’s simple – when the pressure of your job grows too intense, invite a deep breath to be the pathway to awareness of the sights, sounds, and smells of your surroundings. All is now well, right?

Breaking the spirit of a team is simple. Here are four easy steps to successfully halt the evolution of any team’s growth.

“But, he’s our top performer.” Many teams are graced by the dilemma of managing the coworker who leads the pack in business performance but poisons every human he touches on the way to his personal success. Leaders are beset with the fallout while the cash register keeps ringing. Mr. Toxic has become indispensable.

“I just received word that all of our 4000 employees received donuts this morning as part of our spirit week celebration,” announced the hospital H.R. Director with pride, speaking as part of an award-winning healthy workplace panel. The donut gift was part of an effort to improve workplace culture.

Often, the most powerful gift simply elevates the recipient. It’s given from behind the scenes without the need for gratitude. The sole purpose is an investment in the well-being of the partner. The knowledge of your impact on their health, energy, quality-of-life, efficiency, productivity and outlook consummates the exchange. More than just a random act of kindness, generosity is an investment.

Through their absence or presence, families coalesce during the holiday season. These annual gatherings are defined by who’s coming and who’s missing. Our clans provide the curriculum for Team 101.

I am often asked to assess the structure and dynamics of teams I’ve never before met. With no contextual information, I am forced to rely exclusively on the accuracy of the data that arises from the Team Clock team effectiveness survey. Once the analysis is complete, I am introduced to the team for the first time for a debrief session. Sometimes, it feels like running in the dark.