The past year has not only challenged everyone and brought many businesses to their knees, it has transformed the marketplace. For businesses to successfully adapt and perform under this sustained pressure, we need more than resilient individuals. We need resilient teams, writes Andrew May is founder and CEO of StriveStronger.

Businesses that succeed and businesses that fail often face the same kinds of adversity and some people adapt much worse than others. Research shows that the resilience of the team people you are a part of can be the difference between those businesses that thrive and those that fall apart.

According to researchers, team resilience “helps teams handle and bounce back from challenges that can endanger their cohesiveness and performance”.

Interestingly, team resilience does not necessarily comprise only individuals who are resilient but is “truly a team-level phenomenon”.

How do we boost team resilience?

1. Create psychological safety

This means inclusivity as well as the sense they can share ideas and give honest feedback about how to improve or tackle setbacks without fear of reprise. Psychological safety comes from leaders who show up with curiosity and humility and are able to admit fallibility, otherwise known as being human. It also involves ensuring your team is on the same page about the work you are doing, inviting engagement (asking questions – how are they going, what ideas do they have, how can you help them), and responding productively.

2. Connect individually

Checking in with how individual team members are coping with changes as well as displaying compassion and appreciation can help bolster anyone who is struggling. Find out how are they going with the changes to the way you work, like telecommuting and what you can do to better support them, whether its flexible workdays to accommodate family commitments, positive feedback about their work or ensuring they have the resources and equipment they need to do their jobs effectively.

3. Cultivate opportunities to grow

Resilient teams are comprised of individuals who know their roles and responsibilities – as well as those of their team members – so they can kick into gear quickly and effectively as a group during adversity. Being able to improvise, grow and step up is equally important during crises. Ideally, you have created an environment where people feel safe to share their ideas and you have a sense of their existing skills and strengths. Drawing on these during times of change and allowing your team to generate new ideas, collaborate and grow in their roles fosters both individual and group confidence.

4. Communicate clearly

If you have staff, give them information about your plans, check in with how they are feeling and remember that good team morale will help you all as individuals and as a business to bounce back in the short and long-term. If you have clients or customers, communicate with them, letting them know how your business has been affected and how this may affect your service. Also reassure them that life – and work – will stabilise.

5. Develop leadership skills

The way we show up sets the scene for our teams, especially during challenging times. This means ensuring we manage our own stress by prioritising self-care (the basics like exercise, nutrition and sleep) as well as finding healthy coping strategies.

6. Reflect and learn from mistakes

Take the time to reflect on what can be learnt from the challenges you have faced and how you might make changes to minimise the impact of future challenges. Remind your team that failures are an opportunity to reflect on and grow from and, if you all do this, you will bounce back stronger than before both as individuals and as a team.