Thriving at Work
What is a Thriving Team?
A thriving team is where the culture and processes support effective communication, creative thinking, innovation, psychological safety, and productive conflict.
The importance of a healthy workplace is vital. By creating a culture of the best place to work, it:
Improves health/reduces risks
Increases involvement and engagement
Improves morale
Gives employees reason to feel valued and supported
Improves recruitment/retention
Increases job and life satisfaction
Demonstrates commitment to community benefit and environmental stewardship
Contributes more impactful work by healthy employees
And building a reputation as a workplace that values employee health can help companies boost their ability to attract top talent.
“Have you ever had one of those days when life hits you like a ton of bricks, and it seems like everything goes wrong?”
- Nicola Brown, Founder of KOKORO, Co-Founder of Main Street Match, ecosystem builder and researcher
-
Learn more about this leaders story here
“I remember when my whole world was in ashes, and this experience went from days to years in what seemed like overnight. It wasn’t one big problem but a build-up of many little things instead.
My romantic relationship had ended, my dear friend and mentor was dying of cancer, and I was given the news that the chronic exposure to trauma and stress in my professional dream role was contributing to the development of a chronic health condition. That condition resulted in fatigue and my inability to drive. Choosing my health became a no-brainer, and I put together a multi-year exit strategy at work that included reviewing my well-being daily.
Once I resigned, I was overwhelmed with little savings and didn’t know what to do. I started my wellness journey by turning to the things and people I love.That started with creating a music playlist, development of a prayer ritual, connecting with my dad daily, surrounding myself with those who cared for me, and speaking with mentors. Talking with key people in my life reminded me of my innate sacredness and helped me see how my emotional patterns (especially shame and blame) hindered me from moving forward. That was the beginning of my healing.
I focused on one problem at a time, resolving the most nagging first, and in my case, that was my health. I added daily visualization to my routine, a method where I visualized a future where my problems were resolved. Acknowledging the problems, dealing with the associated emotions, seeking solutions, and staying with them helped me get desired outcomes and understand that my reactivity — sensation, emotion, thought — is a momentary manifestation, and that with courage, I am resilient.
Within one year on this wellness journey, I had acclimated to a new way of navigating the world including ride-share services, trolleys, and discovering the community through walking. I started a new business of my own that allowed me to help other leaders who need support in the flow of their lives. This experience taught me that a total crash like the one I experienced could result in surprising positive growth, and that's been proven multiple times in my life.
Know that the phoenix can rise from the ashes.
Effectiveness and Team Dynamics
Adaptation of Tuckman’s Small Group Development Model
Forming
Orientation period where leadership is most important to manage expectations and clarify the role of accountability and how decisions are made.
Storming
An inevitable experience of conflict as expectations are challenges and team members strive for responsibility clarity.
Norming
An ongoing process to name when conflict arises and identify new normative behaviors to reduce friction and address team members’ concerns.
Performing
In a work environment where feedback happens smoothly and quickly, teams have clarity on their roles and responsibilities, and work moves forward easily.
The Difference Between
a Healthy and Unhealthy Workplace
A healthy team is one where everyone is motivated, encouraged to speak up for their needs, and challenges ideas to get the best result.
An unhealthy workplace is embodied by gossip, backstabbing, jockeying for personal position and accolades, demotivation, hiding from accountability, and resistance to feedback.
These dynamics exist on a spectrum, and it is possible to have elements of both appear in your workplace. As a leader, you have the opportunity to tip the scales and support your team in building stronger and healthier dynamics.
Impacts on Processes and Time Management
Processes and time management are other fundamental ingredients for a healthy culture. A healthy and thriving workplace has processes that respond to peoples’ needs and contexts as they change over time.
Are you activating true productivity or simply the illusion of productivity?
In a healthy and thriving workplace, leadership models healthy time management. Here are some questions to check in on your workplace:
Are lunch breaks respected and valued?
Are people with family commitments, such as those with children or those who care for other loved ones, able to honor these commitments and leave at appropriate hours?
Is there flexibility?
Is success based on the number of hours worked or by the quality of the finished product?
Wellbeing Ingredients
Build an Action Plan
This guideline helps you improve your chances of reaching your goals with an Action Plan.
Create a Support Team
Learn how to create a supportive team of peers and mentors to work with you through challenging times.
Workplace Wellbeing
Learn how to provide resources to your teammates so that they know where and how to seek support.