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This is the final part (part 8) of the significant seven teaming questions. Previous parts can be found on my website (timshaw.co.za under Shaw to Shore articles).

What criteria do you use to gauge how heathy your team relationships are? This is an important question (and something that your team ought to know) because a team can get by with a fair amount of relationship baggage and unproductive behaviours yet still perform adequately enough for them to remain under the radar.

Consider what the great physicist and scientist Richard Feynman said, the first rule in science is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool.

Perhaps a team Johari window (Johari window) exercise would be a good place to start providing there is sufficient psychological safety to warrant it.

All of us believe that other people are prone to self-deception and their ‘soft’ spots. The very nature of self-deception makes it very hard for us to see when we ourselves are its victims.

Healthy relationships will be the key to your team’s performance so use tools to forge these as it transitions through the Bruce Tuckman’s form, storm, norm and perform stages (Tuckman model). Bear in mind that adrenalin rush activities are most impactful when members engage around acquired foundational team qualities.

When people understand why they are required to do certain things, or go through a particular stage, they are more inclined to be committed and resilient for where they are going to and will support one another in the process.

Team relationships may take time to gel yet when the right people share common values and have a common purpose, the team will discover how to fly!

I am the author of Leading Self and Others (how to make a difference where you are with what you’ve got) and Teaming with ideas (life lessons in teams – from business, sport and parkrun). You can contact me here.