Leaders and managers can help their teams develop grit in four ways.
- Conduct a project post mortem or after-action check-in when projects are completed. This allows the team to identify where operations worked or failed. This is a positive, lessons-learned activity with concrete plans to resolve issues that could negatively affect future projects.
- Do hard tasks together; for example, consider a ropes course or other challenge that requires contribution from every team member.
- Clarify the overall goals and mission, including time for questions, so that team members have a thorough understanding of the ‘why’ of the organization.
- Train and keep the team together throughout a project to develop team cohesiveness and support.
Several of the ways to build grit in individuals, whether they are children, teens, or adults, are useful when working with a team.