Yesterday, I reported the results of a very well designed study on trust and team performance. That study found that team trust helped team members give better effort and hold each other accountable for accomplishing team objectives on time. That study also examined another variable the author’s called team reflexivity. Here is their explanation of reflexivity:
Part of the reason why trust promotes team performance is that it enhances a team’s ability to reflect upon previous accomplishments and prepare for future actions during transition phases. Trust enhances reflexivity by affecting its underlying processes: reflection and action. …trust encourages teams to reflect on potential or actual performance problems by creating a safe atmosphere in which team members feel comfortable talking about their own or others’ performance problems, without fear of being seen as incompetent or damaging their relationship with others. (p. 538)
This study confirmed that reflection does indeed require team trust. The study also found that team reflexivity had a significant and positive correlation with team performance. But when team reflexivity, effort, and monitoring were examined simultaneously for their effect on team performance, reflection was not a significant predictor of team performance.
Let’s be clear about the value of reflection. Reflection and the learning it produces is an important team function, but it will not help a team achieve its current performance objectives. Trust, effort and accountability are the engines that drive a team to address the problems of today.
Reflection and learning equip a team with the potential to address the problems of tomorrow. Herein lays the paradox of performance. The future is irrelevant if your team can’t accomplish its current performance objectives. But there is a way your team can perform today that will ensure is obsolescence in the future. Make sure your team understands clearly the roles that trust, effort, accountability and reflection play in delivering sustainable success.
Related Posts:
Ten Most Important Leadership Functions
Positively Unable And Unwilling To Learn
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