One of the challenges leaders often find themselves confronted with, is that they only see the individuals they are leading, not the team.

For leaders this quickly becomes a complex problem as they find themselves trying to solve the problem, they experience by solving all the individual problems they hear about. Maybe it’s the result of their desire as an individual to be able to control what is happening. And yet, any time we are with others, there is interdependence. In a team, interdependence becomes visible through the relationships members of the team have with one another. The way individuals relate with others gives a good sense of the existing dynamics. It is a process that is not entirely rational, it is based on the human ability to figure out how they belong to a team and a consequence of their experience of others.

One can also describe this process as resulting from the way an individual reacts to the culture he is confronted with. It’s a reaction that gives feedback into the culture and thus impacts it. It’s a system that is constantly updating itself.

Taking this systemic view of the situation, the way team members experience the others, may it be by trusting them or feeling safe to stretch themselves in their midst, also describes how much attention the individuals can give to the work they seek to do.

It’s how we can belong to something bigger than ourselves.

While there will always be individual errors, there is value in the ability to accept that an individual error may be the symptom of a bigger problem.

It is a perspective that allows enhancing the team’s ability to perform.