Are you a good captain? Do you know what your team needs to succeed? According to Guarding Minds at Work and the Centre for Applied Research in Mental Health and Addiction (CARMHA), there are 13 MAJOR psychosocial factors that impact your team’s performance. Each factor is listed below along with an adapted explanation.
- Psychological Support: Listen. Really listen. Gain an understanding of each member’s needs. You must practice empathy and show compassion.
- Organizational Culture: What is the working environment like? The mission of each member should parallel the overarching organization’s mission. Does the work environment reflect value alignment between the members and the organization?
- Clear Leadership & Expectations: Don’t play mind games. Be transparent and communicate effectively. Be clear on your expectations and have individual meetings with each member to discuss role responsibilities.
- Civility & Respect: Show care and consideration for others. Avoid hostilities and belligerent behavior. Treat others how you want to be treated.
- Psychological Competencies & Requirements: Does each member have both the tactical skill set and emotional intelligence for their position? The latter is often taken for granted. A team member might possess the skills for more responsibility, but lack the emotional maturity for the position.
- Growth & Development: Team members need opportunities to add items to their toolbox. This could mean both professional and personal development.
- Recognition & Reward: Appropriate and TIMELY acknowledgment of accomplishments goes a long way. Examples might include regular bonuses, awards, and team celebrations.
- Involvement & Influence: Input matters. Team members need to feel valued and heard. Team members should be included in influential discussions.
- Workload Management: Too much to do and not enough time to do it. Do you set realistic goals for your team members? Members need the appropriate resources to accomplish goals, including time.
- Engagement: Are your team members truly present at work? Or are they checked out and distracted. When members feel they are truly contributing to something greater than themselves, they are more likely to engage physically, cognitively, and emotionally.
- Balance: Work-life balance boils down to leaders acknowledging that their team members have multiple parts to their identities. These different parts need nourishment. If you cut off oxygen to these parts, there’s only so much time before your members leave.
- Psychological Protection: Can your team members show vulnerability? In order to grow, each of us has to step outside of our comfort zones. Do you provide protection so your team members can ask questions, seek feedback, and try something new?
- Protection of Physical Safety: Are there policies and trainings in place to ensure the safety of your members? Sense of security is a foundational need that shows you value and care for your team members.
Fine tune your leadership skills by optimizing these psychosocial factors!
