Cultivating a Regenerative Team
The definition of a team is that they have a shared vision and are interdependent in their knowledge, capability, and roles to achieve the desired outcome. According to Carol Sanford, a regenerative team is focused on and can grow continuously in its power to serve external stakeholders. In this way, they are similar to ecosystems we see all over the natural world, from forests to oceans, which possess the natural ability of continuous regeneration.
The current standard for healthy teamwork is defined mainly by the absence of team dysfunctions, as defined by Patrick Lencioni in The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. We go about measuring and addressing the dysfunctions to 'fix' the team. While this approach can improve some aspects of team function, I argue that this objective is flawed because it comes from a limited definition of the problem. Anytime we intend to 'fix' something we perceive as dysfunctional, we are in danger of falling into a narrow mindset. We try to measure a team according to a pre-determined standard of behavior, the way we might estimate a machine's performance. How do we avoid this trap and create the conditions for a team to thrive?
We need to shift our definition of the problem and look at it through a broader lens, a 'human potential' lens, in which we seek to nourish the ‘relational ecosystem’ of the team itself. If we look at the team through this lens, we see that the team members have the power to share their experiences openly and listen to each other; to share appreciations, frustrations, and unfulfilled longings. As coaches, we can guide them to discover what limits trust in each other and weave a vital connective tissue to bring them together. We would see that the level of trust in the team is a symptom of an emerging pattern, a signal for change, and explore that together, making meaning through explorative exercises, not designed to solve a problem but to enhance understanding, trust, and alignment, and unleash co-creative capacities.
In guiding a team in this way, the team will accomplish two essential aspects of top team performance. By listening to and valuing every voice on the team, each member gains a higher internal locus of control, and as a result, becomes more independent of external conditions. In the process of listening to the whole team, the team as a whole system develops an understanding of the experience of their team members, which forms a vital ground for caring and belonging. Collectively, the team grows in their power to create the external impact they exist to create.
These conditions create fertile soil for ongoing team innovation and the team coaching experience gives them the skills to navigate team growth edges in the future.