Reflect, Breathe, and Thrive
After Kaer: Nurturing Your Growth Beyond the Experience
As your Kaer journey enters its next chapter, we extend our deepest gratitude for the trust and openness you have shared with us. To support you on this continued path, we’ve prepared a selection of reflective exercises and tools provided by your facilitator, Daphne Feller.
A HIGH PERFORMING TEAM: Goals
Goals in high-performing teams revolve around a shared sense of ownership, meaningfulness, and interdependence. Team members should collectively feel accountable, find purpose in their roles, and work together cohesively to achieve their tasks.
Reflective questions: 1. Do we all feel equally responsible for the success of our project? 2. How does each person’s role contribute to the bigger picture? 3. Are we clear on how our individual tasks rely on each other? Micro-habits: • Daily intentions: Start each day with a quick round where each team member shares their main focus or intention for the day. This keeps everyone aligned on immediate goals. • End-of-week reflection: Dedicate five minutes at the end of each week for team members to reflect on how their tasks contributed to team goals, reinforcing a sense of purpose. • Goal check-ins: Schedule a brief monthly check-in where the team discusses any changes or adjustments needed in goals, making sure everyone stays on track. Advice: • Foster ownership by setting clear expectations and responsibilities for each team member. • Create purpose by connecting team tasks to individual values and growth opportunities. • Highlight interdependence by regularly discussing how tasks align and depend on each other’s completion.
A HIGH PERFORMING TEAM: Composition
Composition ensures the team has the right mix of skills, diversity, and leadership flexibility. Optimal team size, cognitive diversity, and adaptable leadership roles are essential to maintain effective teamwork and adapt to challenges.
Reflective questions: 1. Is our team the right size to work efficiently without sacrificing personal connections? 2. Do we have a diverse set of perspectives and strengths? 3. Are we allowing the best-suited person to lead in different situations? Micro-habits: • Moments of sharing: Dedicate 10 minutes in team meetings for one member to share a quick skill or tool they find helpful, building collective capabilities. • Role rotation: Assign a small task in each project that rotates among team members, allowing them to experience different roles and responsibilities. • Personal growth: Once a month, pair team members to have a 15-minute conversation about a skill they’re working on or want to develop, fostering a growth-oriented team dynamic. Advice: • Keep team size manageable (around 7 members) to maintain cohesion and communication. • Encourage diversity by welcoming different perspectives, backgrounds, and skills. • Enable distributed leadership by empowering team members to take charge in areas of their strengths.
High-performing teams share ownership, embrace diverse strengths, and grow through trust and purpose.
A HIGH PERFORMING TEAM: Culture
Culture in high-performing teams promotes constructive conflict, psychological safety, and recognition. Team members should feel safe to express ideas, respect differences, and celebrate both individual and group achievements.
Reflective questions: 1. Are we comfortable openly discussing and debating different viewpoints? 2. Do team members feel safe to take risks and speak up without fear? 3. How well do we recognize each other's contributions and strengths? Micro-habits: • Positive acknowledgment: In every team meeting, encourage each member to acknowledge one contribution or achievement from a colleague. • Weekly “Mistake and Learn”: Set aside five minutes once a week where team members can share a small mistake they made and the lesson learned, normalizing learning from errors. • Silent listening: Implement a practice in discussions where each team member takes a turn speaking without interruptions for a minute. This builds active listening and respect for each other's perspectives. Advice: • Facilitate open communication to constructively address and resolve conflicts. • Build psychological safety by ensuring equal speaking time and respecting all opinions. • Regularly acknowledge and celebrate team and individual accomplishments.
