The Team Brain
When people work together in groups a Team Brain is formed.
The relational and emotional forces at work in the Team Brain create the group’s cultural atmosphere and influence every member’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviours.
Four core areas
Reflective of our own individual brain, the Team Brain has four core areas: React, Think, Feel and Connect. When each area is well-developed, and they are working together coherently, there is a positive relational culture, and the collective strengths of the group are harnessed to enable highly focused, creative, and effective, goal-orientated activity.
REACT
Team can identify challenges and problems
THINK
Team can engage in creative thinking and complex problem solving .
FEEL
Team expresses high motivation, strong team and individual engagement
CONNECT
Team welcomes diverse thinking; there is active collaboration, shared goals and successes
Team Brain performance is negatively affected by pressure.
Just like our own brain, a team whose Team Brain has been hijacked by stress is unable to function effectively.
Intense stress pushes the React area into overdrive. The Think, Feel and Connect areas ‘go offline’ and the integration of brain areas is lost.
The result? Team members become disengaged and conflictual, collaboration ceases, strategic thinking lessens and productivity stalls. If the pressure continues, then the cultural atmosphere will become increasingly toxic, leading to bullying and discrimination, plus increased staff turnover and sickness absence.
We need ‘systems thinking’
Without ‘systems thinking’ – which examines how the whole team operates as one – we do not recognise these problems as emanating from a reactive Team Brain. Instead, we see them as individual issues and try to resolve them independently, through well-being away days, communication training, staff retention schemes or leadership change. While such interventions can have some short-term benefit, they do not address the root cause of the problem so other negative symptoms will continue to appear.
What we do through the Team Brain Partnership
Integrating the fields of systems thinking and relational psychology we optimise your Team Brain performance. Developing strategic and innovative leadership, thriving and engaged leaders and collaborative and creative teams who continue to perform highly even amidst the pressures of today’s climate.
Work with us and focus your development priorities: