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There are no wishy-washy astronauts. You don't get up there by being uncaring and blase. And whatever gave you the sense of tenacity and purpose to get that far in life is absolutely reaffirmed and deepened by the experience itself.
- Chris Hadfield
Commander of the International Space Station
Reaching ambitious goals demands tenacity—the grit and resilience to persevere through challenges. While often seen as an individual trait, tenacity can be significantly enhanced through team collaboration. The collective support, motivation, and diversity of insights that come from working in a group setting have been shown to boost mental stamina, focus, and determination. Of course, some teams are more cohesive and supportive than others!
So, how can we deliberately build teams that help to generate tenacity, rather than tear it down? Understanding the cognitive factors behind this phenomenon equips us to intentionally create team environments that foster productive tenacity.
The Brain Science of Tenacity
Functional MRI scans reveal that tenacity corresponds to increased activation in the brain's executive function network, including areas like the anterior cingulate cortex that regulate attention control and resolve conflicting thoughts. Essentially, tenacious subjects demonstrate a heightened ability to focus deeply and screen out distractions.
Additionally, tests show greater activation in the brain's salience network, including the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex. This drives awareness of potential rewards and consequences, linking actions to motivation. Tenacious individuals stay focused on the "why" behind their efforts. Amplifying the “why” of your combined efforts literally rewires team members’ thought processes and keeps the entire team on task.
Teams Augment These Cognitive Capacities
When facing challenging difficulties alone, our willpower can quickly become distracted or depleted. But high-functioning teams provide powerful and renewable cognitive resources that strengthen attention, motivation, and follow-through. Here are five key ways groups can enhance tenacity:
1. Expanded Focus Through Shared Alertness
Teams act as multiple attentional spotters, keeping focus aligned on priorities. This distributed vigilance safeguards group tenacity and ensures progress is moving steadily in the right direction. Shared alertness also helps to detect both dangers and opportunities more quickly. For shared alertness to work, teams need to have high levels of trust and respect to really listen to and evaluate these “weak signals” that flow in from various team members.
2. Diversity Breeds Cognitive Flexibility
Varying perspectives weed out mental blind spots. By sparking creative solutions, diverse teams adapt and push forward. What might have confused or frustrated an individual can be solved together by the diversity of team insights. If everyone has the same background, same training, same school, etc., then it’s unlikely that any new ideas will emerge—and there will also be a shared lack of tenacity on given topics or challenges. Groupthink is real!
3. Social Cohesion and Accountability
Fear of letting teammates down instills commitment. Shared identity and trust bind groups together, build an environment for tenacity to thrive, and help them to see efforts through. This is an essential component of almost every athletic and military unit around the world and throughout history—as team members are taught to be there for their brother or sister in arms and to understand their role on the team. UCLA Coach John Wooden would often recruit average shooters, but then design plays to make sure that they were in places on the court to take their personal best shot.
4. Knowledge Sharing For Navigating Unknowns
Team wisdom helps navigate uncertain terrain, especially in rapidly changing environments or high creative endeavors. New challenges feel surmountable when faced together. Creative designers at Pixar Studios famously work as a team on their award-winning movies, iterating over and over again as they move the story concept from “it sucks” to “it sucks less”—until they finally emerge with greatness.
5. Mutual Motivation and Energy
Teammates re-energize each other during low points. Shared purpose renews collective resolve and spreads tenacity. There is a saying that “enthusiasm is contagious” and you may have experienced that type of energy yourself. It turns out there is a scientific basis for this kind of shared energy! Extensive research at Harvard by Professor Nicholas Christakis has found that many types of social phenomena are literally contagious and scientifically measurable, including happiness, obesity, and smoking cessation.
Putting It All Together
Cultivating these cognitive and social ingredients enables teams to build tenacity together:
- Fostering diverse mixes of skills and thinking styles
- Creating a shared identity and values, where “I’ve got your back” thrives
- Maintaining awareness of progress and purpose, “Remember the Why”
- Sharing knowledge and experience freely in a non-judgmental environment
- Generating contagious energy and tenacity through collaboration
By intentionally cultivating the above factors, high-functioning teams can conquer challenges far greater than any individual. Shared tenacity is forged in the fire of collective effort. Leaning on this renews individual motivation and focus when it feels easiest to give up.
By leveraging group dynamics, teams can transform tenacity into an unlimited renewable resource.
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