The Key Ingredients of a Thriving Team Ecosystem

There is nothing I enjoy more than seeing a team thrive together, feeling safe to share thoughts, ideas, questions and learnings. How we interact and the sense of belonging we feel with one another is key to our experiences at work.

While it doesn’t happen instantaneously, we can all create great teams if we understand the key ingredients of a thriving team ecosystem. There are many more factors at play here, however, these three ingredients will pave the way.

They include the following:

Rampant Goodwill: Thriving team ecosystems are infused with goodwill. Each team member is willing to help out their colleagues to accomplish some goal. Rather than a "me" culture, thriving teams establish a "we" culture. They are in it together—no matter the trials and tribulations on the journey.

Psychological Safety: Simply put, thriving team ecosystems prioritise psychological safety. They understand that teams that aren’t psychologically safe cause workers to enter self-protection mode. By contrast, a psychologically safe environment puts employees at ease. They can perform their best work without fear of punishment or browbeating.

A Learning Culture: Thriving team ecosystems prioritise learning. They don’t punish failure; in fact, they encourage reflection about those times we don't achieve our intended outcomes. They understand that when we each feel safe to learn, our services reach their potential, employees thrive and the clients we serve get the best from our employees.

These three traits alone can go a long way in helping your teams thrive.

Respect, kindness, trust, and compassion are much more valuable than criticism, negativity, and undermining behaviours. Incorporating these values into your team can lead to many extraordinary things.

To unlock those exciting things, you and your colleagues must deliberately promote these ingredients within your ecosystem. Whether you are a leader, practice owner or a new employee, we all have a role to play and can influence the workplace eco-system.

Further insight

Click the buttons below to learn more about Psychologically Safe and Thriving Teams and to listen to my webinar.