Team health

In this final episode of season two of The Imperfect Clinician, we talk about team health
and how we should treat it as physical health and physical fitness. And we'll talk about
why and what qualities are we looking out for, what tools can we use to make sure that
the team is in tip-top condition.
In the last episode, we were discussing culture in a team because we
believe it's quite an important part of team dynamics of forming the team and what underpins
the work in the team. Today, we want to turn it up a notch and we want to focus on team
health. So what is it?
I would say that we need to treat team health as if it's physical health and fitness. So
the reason why I'm saying it because if it's physical health, we need to be checking in
and if it's fitness, we need to build it like a muscle. So what do you think? How do we
ensure that we add the right people to the health of the team? So before assessing the
team, let's assess the people. When you're recruiting, what are you looking out for?
I think, yeah, it's essential to understand that the team building starts at recruitment.
And in this department, I think we need to really focus on the qualities and the character
of individual person and not necessarily on the skills or knowledge. I mean, skills
and knowledge are something that we can develop and that of course they are very important
for the work of the team and we don't want to teach people from scratch. So they need
to have some basis for discussion about what we are going to do. But the individual traits,
individual qualities of each team member is good to take into consideration when you,
when we are creating the teams. So what qualities would I look for? I would like to see people
who are able to be kind, people who can demonstrate a bit of empathy, who can demonstrate empathy
and to make sure that they can thrive in the environment where others are valued and matter
because teams, as much as they are about individuals, they are also about the dynamics
between everybody else and having people who are self-centered, who are more focused on
themselves and are unable to cooperate with others because they are loners. I don't know,
people who should really be doing something else and that is going to create some problems
and tensions later on. Okay. What about people who brings negative energy to the team or
it's the zap energy of others? Well, is it always easy to tell during the interview?
Yeah, it might be tricky to tell. I think that it's important to demonstrate the values
of the team and see what reaction that's going to provide. I mean, you say, right, in our
team, we want to look out for each other. We want to, and if somebody thinks, looks
at you and just, you know, the expression is going to say, Oh, this is wishy washy.
And I don't really feel like that's an important thing. If you present yourself and your team
and what, what is the purpose, where is the, where are the strengths of the team? I think
this will also provide a good opportunity for people who are applying for the job to
reconsider it. If they don't feel that this is the area where they would fit in. If you
stress out, right, I'm looking for strong individuals and somebody is not that, then
the only natural consequence for them is why I'm not going to be a right fit for the team.
So I think that there should be both where you should present the team, how the team
works, what is important for the team, as well as the person recruited should tell you
about themselves. You always should consider asking them for scenarios, for example, that
would give you an idea of how they approach certain situation or how they, what they experience
in the past and see where the values lie. You know, what stories they're going to bring
up, what significance. And if people are telling you the stories about how they, I don't know,
solved the problem or looked out for another person, not necessarily from work, but also
from the family, you can see how engaged they are. You can see, cause these are the, this
is a talk about the feelings. This is a talk about how you approach others. And it's very
hard to fake it. You can convince people about, you know, your skills in selling, right, us
all that much and all that, but it doesn't really tell us what you've been saying, how
you've been selling, how you've been talking to people. If you've been delivering amazing
services and all that, we don't know how, what impact it had on the others. So using
those, again, going back to our very first episode about analog skills, we can gauge
how people are with those, how people approach others, how people react to kindness, what
you can ask them, what's their idea of diversity, how have they encountered racism and what
they've done about it. Have they encountered any problem with inequalities? I mean, we
all talk about, you know, inequalities being all around us, but what do we actually do
about it? Do we just listen about it? We, we all have got some sort of stories about
that, whether it's a, I don't know, elderly lady in the supermarket that somebody pushed
in in front of her. That's the level of, you know, of empathy you can come across that
will warrant you a, not necessarily interesting, but valuable story. Yeah. And reaction to
those situations are very important to me.
I think it's important to think of recruiting like Lego set instead of a jigsaw puzzle.
So we get varying qualities and different inputs because we don't want everyone to have
very similar personalities. We want people to see from different perspective, not just
diversity on the table, but also diversity in skills and what they can bring to the table
and what are their strengths and perhaps their areas of improvement is somebody else's strength.
So you create a more well-rounded team, I guess, instead of a imbalanced team. Agreed.
We talked about checking in. So team health checks, I think is really important because
I would much prefer to use the approach of proactive. So the same old saying of prevention
is better than cure. I think we need to approach it the same way when we are looking at team
health. So how do we recognize problems? So this stands in a position to, if it's not
broken, don't fix it because you need to make sure that you take proactive steps. I agree
that prevention is better than cure because we always say, Oh, if it's not broken, don't
fix it. But I think when it comes to talking to people, to responding to team problems
or team issues in general, it's important to be proactive and see things coming your
way. So those subtle signs. So how do you recognize that things are going not in the
right direction?
I think being a leader, depending on how big the team is and not a lot of, not a lot of
the times you can hear what's happening. So keeping an ear on the ground is a good idea.
Keeping an eye out or I should say an ear out for rumors. But I feel those are quite
reactive approach. So it would be a good idea to create systems where managers or leaders
are able to have regular communication with everyone in the team. So then it creates a
space for people to talk about what's puzzling them instead of letting it fester and ruminate
because usually then that snowballs into something much bigger. Would you agree?
I think that you're absolutely right when it comes to reaching out for the feedback
and this goes back to our episode when we're talking about feedback, when we're talking
about communication, all of this now has got direct translation to the use of it within
the team. And if you haven't had a chance to listen to those episodes about communication,
about feedback, about assuming best intentions, I think it's good to have a little listen
to them again.
Communication is the key in any team and proactive communication is very important. So we need
to, in my opinion, reach out to individuals, check up on them, whether it's less or more
casual, that depends on the style of the leader. But I believe that a quick checkup
now and again, how's it been, what people are working on, where are they, what support
they might need is quite an idea to pursue on a regular basis.
And even though I'm sure time is scarce for a lot of you, but make sure when you do have
that conversation, make sure that you're able to give your team member full on attention.
Because imagine if you're asking that question and you're in a process of walking away, or
you are asking the question and then looking at your screen or asking that question and
then typing something or moving on to something else, you don't show that you are present.
It's important to show care. Yeah. And it might be that you care. You just don't feel
that you're present. It's about showing, making sure that people understand that they have
got your attention. Yeah. And so create space for that. So come, let's go to the room and
talk about it or let's schedule a time and actually schedule it in and talk about it.
So I think having something like this is really important. It's not something that you are
doing. Check whether it is your role, whether it's the manager's role, whose role is it.
Someone has to take responsibility for it. And also it creates different dynamic when
it's done, when you are investing in relationship. And this is something that doesn't necessarily
only apply to the team. It's like you would ask your loved one, but it's not like, all
right, how are you doing? You know, you can't peel your eyes off the phone or you are busy
cooking or doing whatever else. You just need to just sit down, look in the eyes, how's
things for you? Something a bit more honest and caring. It's not the routine. It shouldn't
be felt like one of the, you know, hundred, how are you doing? We say to everybody else
all around us because we do that, but that doesn't always mean that we have got this
undivided time. It doesn't have to be a very long time, but showing care always comes back.
Yeah. So imagine the difference between someone that you care about or your other half saying
to you, how are you doing? And then that person being on the phone against, how are
you doing? That person putting the phone aside and then facing you, body language wise saying,
I'm ready, I'm available to listen. So that's different as a leader.
Follow your feeling, follow your feelings. How relationships are formed is through the
feelings. You can't, you know, just tick the box, oh yeah, I did ask six people today how
they were. That's not how it works.
Okay. So we talked about in our previous episode, establishing purpose, aligning goals and value.
So I think that's really important. So I just want to break it down to perhaps a summary of
what we discussed and then add a little bit more context to a few points. The other one, we
talked about cohesion. So we wanted for the team to have trust and respect and that has to come
from communication. So by that, we talked about creating psychological safety, a sense of
belonging at work as in season one of our episode, we talked about vulnerability and being
authentic. And then I think that leads to collaboration, which is what we would like to see
teamwork going on. So in our last episode, we talked about changing from competitiveness to
collaboration. And I want to add in another point. So we talked about encouraging differences in
opinions and diversity, but also I think it's, I feel it's quite positive to be able to hear a team
member challenging anyone, whether challenging the team leader, challenging each other in a very
constructive manner. What do you think?
Conflict is very hard to manage in most circumstances because usually it involves interests
of different people and the area of competence, depending on what is being questioned is usually
about.
So I wouldn't go to conflict first because conflict resolution is something else, but this is more
challenging thoughts. So if you say something and I say, hold on, I disagree. I think it should be,
or help me understand whichever it is.
That comes to, it all comes down to the psychological safety of people around you in a
team and the approachability of people in a team, how they know each other, how much they can allow
each other to question what they're saying. And it should be a safe space for talking. I think it's
quite important to understand the team that if we're all adults and we agree to work in team, all
the opinions that we express are not personal and it's got to do with the work that we're working
on. I know it's very hard very often to distinguish personal opinions from opinion about the work
that we're doing, but it is quite important to switch to that thinking that we have to focus on
work and nothing that we say is against somebody else, but it's for the benefit of the whole team.
Yes. And I think it's a sign that if you see this in your team and the disagreement or challenging
a thought or an opinion, it's being used, it's like synergy and that friction in a way actually
builds the whole team up. Everyone understands each other's perspective. They feel that they are
safe to raise their concerns or identify their own learning needs. You talked about conflict
resolution. So when it gets to conflict, to the point of conflict, like you said, it's a very
difficult conversation, but we mentioned this in our Assume Best intention. So I think it's
important to be clear and taking all perspective, set boundaries and be curious instead of being
judgmental. Anything else that I've missed on there?
I think that being curious is always things that should be tattooed on the back of our eyelids when
we are talking to others, because it's the only way that can move things forward in my opinion.
It's very hard to change your judgments if you are, especially if you get into the heated
discussion with someone.
Absolutely agree. And I think that brings us to the next point, which is ownership. As a leader, I
want to feel that if I'm delegating, my team members taking on either the project or the topic
and make it their own. So there is accountability attached to it. And if they struggle, they know
how to reach out for help with me providing the, what do you call it? Safe railings on the side.
And then the next point brings us to a balanced team. So identifying skill mix, a varied set of
skills, talents, like you said, work experiences and problem solving styles, personal experiences
as well. I would like to have a team that embraces creativity and innovation. So doing things
differently, trial error, learning from it, happy to learn from mistakes instead of a perfectionist
that is afraid of making mistakes. What else do you think is important?
I think it's also important to look for continuous development and improvement. It's quite a skill
to ensure that we grow not only individually, but as a team, because we have to accept the fact
that things change, the world around us changes, we change. So if we become complacent, that risks
generating not only decreased results or not only falling into bad practices, but also creates
dissatisfaction. And, you know, sometimes people just wake up and say, oh, it's not like it used
to be. And things we have to accept that we can always, you know, go back to the old times in our
memories, but life moves on and the targets change, the team structure change, people in the
team change, leaders change as well. And by understanding that life moves on, it gives us
slightly better skill of adaptability to the situation. So I think it's important to learn
through constructive feedback and also look into progression planning, how to future-proof the
team, how to ensure that people are focused on how everybody is involved in that growth.
I agree. I think one of the roles as a leader is to keep an eye on the present and also to look
forward to the future. And progression planning is one of them. And having clear progression plans
with the people in the team so they are involved in it because I want to take into account their
interests, their strengths, and aligning it to what the practices need.
And a desire to step up potentially.
Yeah, exactly. The other point, we talked about this briefly already, is how agile the team is.
So I think one of the traits of having a team that is quite resilient is having a team that is
very adaptable. By doing that, you'll see it results in a high-performing team because they
embrace change. They're not afraid to bounce back. And I think in order to have an agile team, you
need to have all the relevant points that we've already talked about before. Because what we've
mentioned before are the building blocks to an agile team. I think it's important to minimize
hierarchy because it can create a lot of blocks to communication.
And it adds complexity to the interaction. So you're talking about the flatter structure of
hierarchy. Are we all equal?
So I would say, I wouldn't say I don't think hierarchy shouldn't exist, but I think communication
should be able to flow even in a hierarchical organization quickly, swiftly, and you get leaders
who are responsive and not selectively choosing what messages go through.
I agree that I don't think we're talking about the flat structure where everybody's equal and
everybody's doing exactly the same thing or contributes because that does not work. But I think
that hierarchy shouldn't take priority over communication. And I think that this is important.
The shortening the distance to people that can make a difference is more important than going
through the right channels of who is important than everybody else. I think we should step away
from people who are attached to what they have written on the badge or in the job title. You need
to focus on the team, on the health of the team, and not necessarily on who is more important than
everybody else just because they've been longer in the team, for example.
Yeah. And I think perhaps having some distance from the badge, like you say, the status or the
title, because one way or another, it's a torch that you hold for however long that you're holding,
and then you're passing it on to something else. And when you're holding the torch, you have a
vision, you have a purpose, and mainly you are serving other people. So your priority should not
be the first thing on the agenda. It should be how to serve the people around me, whether that is
patient population, whether it's my team, whether it's addressing health inequalities, for example.
So the self shouldn't be a bigger priority than the community. What else do you think is important
in the team?
In the team, I think we've mentioned before, even in the previous episode, you were talking about
fun. That's why fun is so important, not only in the team culture, but also for the team health in
this context.
I've heard an old saying that says, if you learn more about a person in an hour of play, then in a
year of conversation. And actually, that is brilliant because how you build relationship, you
build connection, is when you're relaxed, when you are having a laugh, when you're playing, when you
are joking, when you are trying to understand each other, when you are relaxed, instead of in a...
What do you need for a fun environment? You need some authenticity because this is one of those
feelings that is very hard to, I think with, in that respect, we have to understand that through
play, through fun, we get to understand other people's authentic self. And that's what enables,
better speeds up the connection, increases the communication channels, and also reduces the
barriers. I'm not saying that it's very important for everybody to go absolutely, you know, only
live on that level. Yeah. That we are constantly, I don't know, telling jokes, but being a little
bit lighthearted allows to connect better. You know, we spent a lot of time at work and why do we
have to always be a hundred percent super focused on everything. We need a bit of a breather now and
again. And who else would you want to do it rather than in a team with people you feel comfortable
in, people you feel you belong to. I believe that it's not only play or telling jokes. That's where
we are our authentic and focusing on the work is absolute priority. And we have to make sure that
we, we do some work actually, but in a team, it's like in the family, you need to do some work. You
need to do things that are important. You need to do things that some people may not like to do. I
mean, try to get your little kids to brush their teeth. That's one thing that has to be done, but
it's still with a bit of fun, probably gets done a little bit easier and it can be embraced as a
fun activity as well.
I like this. So if we summarize, we talked about maybe 11 points in terms of checking in for team
health. And I got this, it was broken down to four categories. This is in a book called Partnering
by Jean Olwang. So four categories of magnetic moment in a book called Partnering by Jean Olwang.
So first one, joy and play. Second, curiosity and wonder. Third, space for honest communication. And
finally, time with supportive community. We spend more than half of our day at work. I think it's
crucial to have, to create a sense of community and family to the people at work and the people that
we serve, because if we feel safe at home and at work, that's most of our day, which is equivalent to
most of our lives.
Spend as long at work as we spend sleeping in a lot of circumstances.
Exactly.
Okay. So we've gone through all the things that you feel are important in a team, but how do we, is
there a way of quantifying it? Is there a way of finding a structure for this assessment of team
health?
There are lots of team health tools that are available online. So please do have a look. There are
always new ones that are coming out. If you want to pay for them, go ahead. But there are quite a few
that are free and accessible for you to check in on your team. It might be a good idea to do it as a team
building exercise and make it quite fun and light.
Yeah. So basically what they do, they consider certain values or certain qualities in a team. Like, for
example, what's the example?
A lot of what we discussed today, all the points that we talked about are usually included in a team health
check. So I would suggest go and have a look, find one that works for you, maybe try a few, get feedback
from the team and then go from there. I think any tool that starts communication and starts opening
hearts is a good place to be.
Absolutely. Yeah. So just to give you an idea of how it works, if you have, for example, establishing
purpose or aligning goals, you can ragdoll system it. So you provide red, amber or green onto those
values and you say, right, do we have a purpose? If we have a purpose, that's green. If we are still
working on a purpose or it's a little bit uncertain, you might consider it amber. And if you're still, you
know, not considered a purpose, you may look for it, you know, in the future, still put it as a red. And then
you can do it in a function of time to see how those values and how feelings about those values change
within the team.
An understanding of the values because some can be a way that Mike mentioned, some can be from a scoring
system. So there are lots of different ways where the tool is, are available, but also perhaps this can be a
direct, just like patient's responses or patient's questionnaire. You can do that for the team, get them to
fill it in anonymously, and then you gather data as a team or an organization and then identify any areas of
improvement. Okay. We move on to you and read afterwards, and we will see you in our new season.
Yeah, we'd like to thank you all for sticking with us during the second season. It was an absolute pleasure and
honor that you decided to spend some time with us and hope we're going to all meet after a short break. As
soon as we start releasing episodes from season three, we are looking forward to that and we hope you do too.
Look out on our socials for exact date when we're going to release next season. And we're looking forward to
meeting you sometime around mid-May. Thank you. Until next time.
Welcome to Yuen Reads. This book is called Butterfly by Yusra Mardini. This was a really inspiring story. I
find it was a story about how a woman who was a young Syrian refugee and how was her journey when traveling
from Syria to Greece and all the hardship that she felt in between the journey that she had with all the other
refugees. And when she arrived in Greece, believe it or not, she wanted to compete in the Olympics and she did.
She joined the 2016 Refugee Olympic team in Rio and her story just shows how much human spirit and grace she
has. And the survival throughout that journey and her bravery and her resilience is like never, never give up.
And she was swimming in a pool and then swimming in the sea to fight for her life and now swimming in the
Olympics and then using her story now to work with the UN as a goodwill ambassador. And how she uses
her story to remind us all that refugees are ordinary people in horrible, extraordinary circumstances.
It really inspired me. I actually had a chat with my six-year-old because we were talking about
war in Ukraine and she had some books about refugees and she said it made her really sad.
I shared my story with her and it made the refugee or made Yuzura feel like a person because you can
attach a story to it. You've got background. If not, it can become very 2D, I guess.
When you listen to stories about the war, it's completely different when you hear
what do they actually like doing. And it was, yeah, it took my breath away.
It's, yeah, just for me, just unforgettable memoir and I'm glad. I don't know how it came
to me, actually, this book. I need some reminding. Probably came up on my reading list in terms of
recommended to read this type of book or maybe I was searching for some refugee books because of
our conversation. Nevertheless, it's an exciting true story about amazing resilience
and the example that she sets for just humans, children everywhere.
It's, yeah, in awe, completely bow down.
Thank you for joining. Till next time.
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