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that thrive on volatility and randomness. Not only
do they resist shocks; they get better and stronger
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Nbe a paradox because one of the things that
characterizes a good team is that its members are united by a
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team’s common goal. How then can we have teams that
become stronger as they receive random shocks from the
environment?
A review of the literature on teams suggests that a couple
of team characteristics can substantially enhance a team’s
ability to leverage random shocks and emerge stronger.
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team psychological safety.
The responsibility for developing these in a team lies with
the leader. Leaders enhance team potency not only by training
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in the team’s ability to achieve their goals. The team’s mental
model of teamwork is developed through having clear goals
and professional work allocation amongst the team members.
The team’s capacity to improvise can be enhanced by the
leader’s ability to challenge the team members to think out of
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psychological safety is perhaps to most important and also models and must generate trust in their team members. This
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environment is safe for taking interpersonal risks. In other team why the organization’s goal or vision matters in the larger
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consider it their duty to be candid with each other. details about how team members’ actions relate to goal
Developing a climate of psychological safety is easier said achievement and being fair to all while sharing success and
than done and there are a couple of natural obstacles to it. UHZDUGV )RXUWK PDQDJHUV PXVW HQFRXUDJH WHDP PHPEHUV WR
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work done from others. Team members fear such tyrants. managers must treat all team members as human beings and
Other managers are able to achieve team outcomes because not just as employees.
of their stellar track record and superior personal abilities.
Such heroes inspire awe in their team members without Footnote:
substantively developing their team’s capabilities. When team Stoverink, D. A. C., Kirkman, D. B. L., Mistry, D. S., & Rosen, D. B. (in
PHPEHUV IHDU RU DUH LQ DZH RI WKHLU PDQDJHU WKH HQYLURQPHQW press). Bouncing back together: Toward a theoretical model of work team
resilience. Academy of Management Review, doi:10.5465/amr.2017.0005
is not amenable to fostering psychological safety. A third
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order to get work done. Studies have shown that when the Zubin R. Mulla is a Professor at the
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deliver substandard outcomes or they will resort to using Studies at the Tata Institute of Social
Sciences. His research interests include
unfair means to achieve the outcomes. The only way to create transformational leadership, ethics and
a climate of psychological safety is to display truly inspiring values, Indian philosophy, and executive
leadership. compensation. He is a faculty member at
Displaying authentic leadership requires managers to the Mahindra Partners SLP program too.
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