Psychological resilience, “the human ability to adapt in the face of tragedy, trauma, adversity, hardship, and ongoing significant life stressors,”[1] is thought to be a state of internal balance where “we are at our best, able to learn, solve problems, and work effectively with others”, resulting in better patient outcomes, and less employee burnout and turnover.[2]

Leadership techniques for team resilience training have been researched. One study found that managers addressed difficult situations by “facilitating teamwork through goalsetting, problem-solving and circumventing the technical systems’ limitations”, noting that increased team collaboration is supported by “team members’ abilities to predict the behavior of each other.”[3] Other strategies include “those that: a) foster connections within the team; b) provide education and training to develop behaviors that assist in controlling or limiting the intensity of stress, or aiding recovery; and c) assist in processing emotion and learning from experiences.”[4]

Additionally, in workshops, medical residents found greater personal strength from the group experience when they reflected on difficult cases and discussed them as a group, along with reviewing the “4 S’s” of resilience (Supports, Strategies, Sagacity [what wisdom did they gain], and Solutions to the problem).[5]

Resiliency is a factor for team success outside of healthcare as well. A Harvard Business Review survey[6] of 2,000 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) basketball coaches found that,

The “characteristics of a resilient team are:

• They believe they can effectively complete tasks together.
• They share a common mental model of teamwork.
• They are able to improvise.
• They trust one another and feel safe.”

Stoverink[7] (above) confirmed that “training members together enhances transactive memory,” including “knowledge stock (i.e., combination of member knowledge), consensus (i.e., agreement about who knows what), specialization of expertise, and accuracy (i.e., correctly knowing who knows what). Thus, leaders should build teams with the right expertise and ensure members know and agree about who knows what.

References

1. Resilience, Psychological (2009) Medical Subject Heading Thesaurus. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/?term=68055500

2. Grabbe L, Higgins MK, Baird M, Craven PA, San Fratello S. The Community Resiliency Model® to promote nurse well-being. Nurs Outlook. 2020 May-Jun;68(3):324-336. doi: 10.1016/j.outlook.2019.11.002. Epub 2019 Dec 30. PMID: 31894015.
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3. Hybinette K, Pukk Härenstam K, Ekstedt M. A First-line management team’s strategies for sustaining resilience in a specialised intensive care unit-a qualitative observational study. BMJ Open. 2021 Mar 15;11(3):e040358. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2020-040358. PMID: 33722863.
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4. Gillman L, Adams J, Kovac R, Kilcullen A, House A, Doyle C. Strategies to promote coping and resilience in oncology and palliative care nurses caring for adult patients with malignancy: a comprehensive systematic review. JBI Database System Rev Implement Rep. 2015 Jun 12;13(5):131-204. doi: 10.11124/jbisrir-2015-1898. PMID: 26455609.
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5. Martinchek M, Bird A, Pincavage AT. Building Team Resilience and Debriefing
After Difficult Clinical Events: A Resilience Curriculum for Team Leaders.
MedEdPORTAL. 2017 Jul 12;13:10601. doi: 10.15766/mep_2374-8265.10601. PMID:
30800803; PMCID: PMC6338182.
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6. Kirkman B, Stoverink AC, Mistry S, Rosen B. The 4 Things Resilient Teams Do. Harvard Business Review Digital Articles. July 2019:2-5.
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7. Stoverink AC, Kirkman BL, Mistry S, Rosen B. Bouncing Back Together: Toward a Theoretical Model of Work Team Resilience. Academy of Management Review. 2020;45(2):395-422. doi:10.5465/amr.2017.0005
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Additional Reading

Bennett JB, Neeper M, Linde BD, Lucas GM, Simone L. Team Resilience Training in the Workplace: E-Learning Adaptation, Measurement Model, and Two Pilot Studies. JMIR Ment Health. 2018 May 2;5(2):e35. doi: 10.2196/mental.8955. PMID:
29720362; PMCID: PMC5956157.
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Chapman MT, Lines RLJ, Crane M, et al. Team resilience: A scoping review of conceptual and empirical work. Work & Stress. 2020;34(1):57-81. doi:10.1080/02678373.2018.1529064
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Dimas ID, Rebelo T, Lourenço PR, Pessoa CIP. Bouncing Back from Setbacks: On the Mediating Role of Team Resilience in the Relationship Between Transformational Leadership and Team Effectiveness. J Psychol. 2018 Aug 18;152(6):358-372. doi: 10.1080/00223980.2018.1465022. PMID: 30089085.
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Wei H, Roberts P, Strickler J, Corbett RW. Nurse leaders’ strategies to foster nurse resilience. J Nurs Manag. 2019 May;27(4):681-687. doi:10.1111/jonm.12736. Epub 2019 Jan 21. PMID: 30449038.
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(“Resilience, Psychological”[Mesh] OR resilienc*[tw]) AND (training[tw] OR intervention[tw] OR study[tw])
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