#Leadership: How To Build A Mentally Strong Dream #Team…A Mentally Strong Team Starts with a Mentally Strong #Leader. Role Model, Healthy Habits, & Refuse to Participate in the Things that Could Sabotage the Team’s Best Efforts.

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Mentally strong team TISI +0.23% members cooperate, build on one another’s strengths, and openly learn from their mistakes. When you teach individuals how to be mentally strong – and how to work together to form a strong team – they can accomplish incredible feats.  Yet, most teams struggle to reach their greatest potential because issues of resentment, fear, and entitlement lurk beneath the pleasant conversation. When left unaddressed, these issues can lead to hidden agendas, communication breakdowns, and reduced productivity.

How to Build a Mentally Strong Team

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A mentally strong leader who is knowledgeable about group dynamics can influence the way team members work. Here are three ways to build a mentally strong dream team:

1. Create a Culture of Strength

 Teams create their own subculture, which may be very different from the rest of the organization’s culture. Team members who remain silent about upcoming policy changes in large company meetings may express their fears during smaller team meetings. Or employees who outwardly congratulate another team’s success, may express resentment toward those team members when behind closed doors.

 A team’s subculture will either help or hinder their performance. Members will either engage in tasks that help the team become better, or they’ll get caught up in counterproductive habits that will prevent them from moving forward.
Mental strength is about learning to think realistically, manage emotions effectively, and behave productively despite the circumstances. Building a culture of strength means establishing social norms that will help people perform at their best, while also helping them avoid bad habits that could hold them back.
2. Facilitate Productive Behavior

Emotions and irrational thinking can be contagious. Whether you’ve got an employee who thinks the company is going bankrupt, or you’re dealing with a team member who insists on being a people-pleaser, these issues can create a toxic environment if left unaddressed.

Encourage team members to confront issues and provide feedback respectfully. Show employees that conflict can be healthy – as long as everyone is uses direct communication and works together to address issues as they arise. You won’t get maximum results from all your members unless everyone feels safe and respected when they share their opinions.

Turn negative thinking and distraught emotions into productive behavior. If employees want to turn a weekly meeting into a pity party, turn their concerns into active problem-solving. Or, if the team tries to blame their problems on the company’s new policy, help them focus on things that are within their control.

If you allow the team to engage in bad habits, it’ll undermine their strength. Be vigilant in facilitating productive behavior that will advance the team’s efforts.

 

3. Train Employees on Mental Strength

Skill will only take your team so far. A productive team also needs to be able to work together successfully. If certain individuals – or the team as a whole – lacks mental strength, they’ll struggle with certain tasks no matter how much talent they possess.

Teach employees how to become mentally strong on an individual and team level. Show them how seemingly minor bad habits – like spending just five minutes complaining during each meeting – adds up over time. Don’t be afraid to talk about issues like mental health, personal development and resilience in the workplace.

 

Assess team dynamics from time to time. Proactively address problems as they arise and be willing to confront members who are undermining the team’s strength.  A mentally strong team starts with a mentally strong leader. Role model healthy habits and refuse to participate in the things that could sabotage the team’s best efforts.

Amy Morin is a psychotherapist and the author of 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do, a bestselling book that is being translated into more than 20 languages.

 

Forbes.com | May 3, 2015 | Amy Morin

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