Your faulty thinking is killing your resilience

In the series I wrote on the Six Characteristics of a Resilient Team, we looked at the topics of common purpose, team norms, trust and candid conversations. 

The fourth characteristic of a resilient team is the ability to think resiliently.

I wrote about thinking traps fairly recently so I’m not going to repeat myself on that front.

But I will say this. The more teams can become aware of their own ‘faulty thinking’, particularly the faulty thinking that is eroding their resilience, the better.

One of the teams I have been working with recently had a collective ‘thinking trap’ of ‘externalising’. Blaming each other for lack of collaboration on key projects, complaining to the CEO about other leadership team members and so on. 

Draining, pointless and costly for the organisation.

With this mindset people are unlikely to take responsibility for what they can influence and change.

Because it is always someone else’s fault. 

A prime example of faulty thinking (and an unwillingness to take ownership and responsibility).

Did they believe they could change this mindset?

Partly.

Did they change it?

Yes.

Was it easy?

Not at first. It started with some collective understanding that things could not continue as they were and a tentative agreement to ‘explore options’.

There was a willingness to have some (facilitated by us) candid conversations . To unload some baggage, to accept joint responsibility and to co-create what they wanted the future to look like.

The CEO committed to not playing ‘middle woman’ (or ‘Mum’ as she described it).

The beautiful thing is this….. they were all committed to the organisation’s common purpose .

They were just going about it achieving it in different ways. 

Keeping the common purpose in mind is now what they do.

The thinking trap door is shut.

The mantra is now: ‘what is my part in making this team and this project work?’