A good team Part 2- Confidence

As my good buddy David Rutherford talks about in his Froglogic seminars, Self-Confidence is paramount for living a high performance life.  Self Confidence is assessed early for Military recruits, and usually a given for Special Operations Candidates.  The kind of people that volunteer for SEAL and Green Beret Selection courses typically don't suffer from lack of confidence.  David breaks Self-Confidence down into easily understandable concepts that can be incorporated by individuals who are seeking to improve their performance and motivation levels for their personal lives.  His seminars are powerful and impactful in motivating individuals to achieve more out of life.

Elite teams, whether tactical or corporate, must also possess "team confidence" as well.  Again, team trust and team confidence are usually a given among Military and Special Operations Units, but can often be found lacking among Corporate teams.  You must trust in your command, have confidence in your mission, and have both trust and confidence in your teammates.  High achieving teams know this is true and constantly recalibrate to maintain trust and team confidence. Trust is currently suffering in America.  We are reeling from national scandals, uncertainty about the economy and our childrens' financial future.  Many companies are uncertain about their future, as new policies take hold that challenge long held assumptions in Corporate America.  Uncertainty and lack of confidence in our country is widespread, and has crept into many organizations manifesting itself as lackluster performance, apathy and poor behavior.  Lack of confidence can negatively affect companies and teams as easily as it can impact individuals.  If left unchecked, it will cripple your organization.  If you have a team that is suffering, if you have a collection of individuals instead of a cohesive unit, if performance is below average and a culture of apathy has taken hold, if morale is low, if your team lacks confidence, then you as a leader must take action.  Here are 5 things to remember to help your regain "team confidence" and improve performance.

• Spend more time communicating verbally- Leaders are too dependant on email. Take the time to speak to each member of your team individually and to the group at least once per week. 
• Remind the team why they exist- Missions are paramount for creating focused teams.
• Regularly remind your team how they accomplish their mission
• Assess team members understanding of the mission and solicit feedback on how to improve team performance and behavior
• It is your responsibility to train your team!  If your organization doesn't tell you how to do this, then figure it out as a leader, you are responsible for making sure it gets done.

Training and preparation is paramount for Team Confidence.  Elite Special Operations Units assess Self-Confidence in their individuals during Selection, and Special Operations Teams constantly reinforce team confidence through intense training, preparation and mission focus. 

How confident is your team?

Adventure Operations Group