Can Teams Overcome Distance with Resiliency?

There is less separation between work and home now more than at any other time in human history. This new breakdown of barriers can affect our mental health, our performance, and even our relationships. During this socially distanced time, it's almost impossible to stop work issues from leaking into our personal lives and vice versa. For these reasons, resilience is an essential quality organizations must embrace to thrive during the pandemic. In this post, we'll look at 3 key aspects organizations are using to encourage resilience within their teams.

1 On 1 Sessions  

Teams separated by physical distance need to find ways to stay connected. 1 on 1 sessions help leaders maintain personal connections with employees, which is something that can get lost during remote work. Simple questions like "what's on your mind?" and "how are you dealing with __?”, will encourage employees to open up and give leaders an accurate idea of morale and stress levels.    

1 on 1 sessions also give employees a chance to ask questions they don't necessarily want to ask in a group setting. These sessions are excellent for building trust and rapport, which are valuable assets during distanced work. Our updated manual on remote work dives more into how 1 on 1 sessions help create a foundation for a psychologically healthy workplace.  

Master Mind Groups Build Resourcefulness 

Resourcefulness is a powerful quality that will spread resilience throughout your team. During remote work, resourcefulness refers to your team's ability to come up with creative solutions to the challenges they face. Leaders can inspire resourcefulness by encouraging information to flow freely within the organization. Sharing key metrics from different departments helps employees think outside their normal scope and develop creative solutions.   

Investing in resources such as Master Mind Group sessions (MMGs) is an ingenious way of harnessing internal resources to strengthen employees' resourcefulness. MMGs are usually comprised of 6-10 employees, either from the same team or a cross-section of employees within the organization. This small, intimate group will generally meet monthly or as needed, for 60-90 minutes to address 1-2 issues/challenges faced by one or two group members.  These mastermind sessions offer a rich resource for inspiring employees to look at the problems in front of them from different perspectives. This breeds innovation, creativity and a deep sense of agency and autonomy. This translates into more resilient employees. 

Clarify Roles 

Clearly defined roles drive resiliency. Without clear direction during remote work, it's easy for teams to lose their sense of motivation and slip into bad habits. Clearly defined roles help give employees a sense of purpose, which is essential for driving motivation in a physically distanced work environment. Clear leadership and expectations are also a psychosocial factor that gives the entire team a consistent sense of direction and agency. When employees are clear and confident in their role, it helps them make better decisions, especially in crises where decisions are made under pressure.  

Ultimately, resilience within your organization must be cultivated by leadership. Establishing trust and healthy relationships creates an environment where employees feel safe sharing their concerns. Encouraging trust and willingness to communicate are essential during this time when work and personal lives are closer than ever. Practicing resiliency helps your team develop healthy responses to conflict and contributes to building a psychologically healthy workplace.