Is Your Team Healthy? Here Are Signs of a Healthy Team
Having unhealthy teams impacts more than just a company’s bottom line. Similar to how the failure of one organ can affect our entire body's well-being, a dysfunctional team can sap a company of its overall vigour and vitality.
To put it another way, healthy teams enable a company to thrive, while unhealthy teams harm its interests.
Check out the team health indicators below to assess whether your team is performing above or below par.
Safety and Trust
The most critical indicator of a healthy team is a high degree of trust among all members, which includes the following aspects:
Open Feedback: Is there a free and open exchange of constructive feedback among all team members, including yourself?
Vulnerability: Is your team comfortable enough to discuss less-than-perfect moments and ask for help when needed?
Safe Space: Does everyone feel safe to express their thoughts and ideas in discussions?
Voices Heard: Are their thoughts and ideas listened to and considered?
Clear Vision and Direction
A clear vision and direction lay the foundation for healthy teams and long-term success. Without these two fundamental elements, anything else built on top will be unstable.
Clearly articulating the vision and direction that you want your teams to strive towards is akin to building a lighthouse in the midst of dark, deep waters.
To assess whether this has been achieved, ask yourself these questions:
Clear expectations: Does everyone on the team clearly know what is expected of them?
Understanding the Reasons Behind: Do they truly understand the "why" behind the goals?
Autonomy
The final aspect of healthy teams is autonomy. Autonomy doesn’t mean the freedom to do anything but rather:
Independence: Can you, as the manager, be hands-off? Are team members able to complete their tasks independently without your input
Well Equipped: Do your teams have all the necessary tools and information to complete their tasks independently?
If you observe that your team is lacking or contradicting any of the above, influence team members in the right direction through guidance rather than directives, which can often drive people away.
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