What are the most effective team building models and frameworks for building resilience in your team?

1 The 5 Cs Model

One of the most widely used models for building resilience in teams is the 5 Cs model, developed by psychologist Martin Seligman and his colleagues. The 5 Cs stand for confidence, cohesion, coordination, communication, and control. These are the key elements that enable teams to cope with stress, perform well, and support each other. To apply this model, you need to assess your team's strengths and weaknesses in each of the 5 Cs, and design interventions and activities that enhance them. For example, you can boost confidence by providing feedback and recognition, cohesion by fostering trust and collaboration, coordination by clarifying roles and responsibilities, communication by encouraging openness and feedback, and control by empowering team members to make decisions and solve problems.

2 The Resilience Doughnut

Another useful framework for building resilience in teams is the Resilience Doughnut, created by psychologist Lyn Worsley. The Resilience Doughnut is a visual tool that helps teams identify and leverage their internal and external resources that support their resilience. The Resilience Doughnut consists of seven segments, each representing a factor that contributes to resilience: personal skills, family, education, community, peers, money, and hobbies. To use this framework, you need to help your team members reflect on their individual and collective resources in each segment, and how they can use them to overcome challenges and achieve goals. For example, you can help them develop personal skills such as optimism, self-efficacy, and emotional regulation, strengthen family and peer relationships, access educational and community opportunities, manage money wisely, and pursue hobbies that provide enjoyment and relaxation.

3 The Team Resilience Canvas

A third effective framework for building resilience in teams is the Team Resilience Canvas, developed by consultant and coach Amina Aitsi-Selmi. The Team Resilience Canvas is a visual tool that helps teams create a shared vision of resilience, identify their strengths and gaps, and plan actions to improve their resilience. The Team Resilience Canvas consists of nine blocks, each representing a dimension of resilience: purpose, values, vision, roles, skills, relationships, processes, resources, and feedback. To use this framework, you need to facilitate a workshop with your team, where you guide them through each block, asking questions, collecting ideas, and generating solutions. For example, you can help them define their purpose, align their values, articulate their vision, clarify their roles, enhance their skills, build their relationships, streamline their processes, optimize their resources, and solicit and provide feedback.

4 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?