Building and Leading Resilient Teams Certification Program

When morale is low, performance suffers. When morale is high, performance can soar. Climate is about the shared perceptions and attitudes of teammates. Your team’s climate can change quickly, for better or worse, based on your actions and the actions of your teammates. You can raise your team’s morale by creating a positive climate for people to work in. The result is more flexibility, creativity, and openness to new ideas. Positive emotions help people cope with stress. Teams that work in a positive climate are better able to overcome adversity, and then adapt and grow together because of that adversity.

Create a Positive Climate Leader Tasks:

• Analyze team climate
• Earn trust
• Treat people with respect
• Enforce accountability
• Encourage people to have fun
• Demonstrate character.
• Keep the team informed.

The best measure of a team is how well it performs under pressure. When the going gets tough, the tough get going… by working together as a team. This maxim holds true for front-line teams, executive teams, and all other teams in between, including yours. You can boost teamwork by developing the cohesion of your team. The result will be more supportive and dependable relationships.

Developing cohesion enhances well-being, reduces stress, and enables your team’s creativity and collective decision-making. Cohesive teams in the workplace are better able to overcome adversity, and then adapt and grow together because of that adversity.

Develop Cohesion Competency Leader Tasks:

• Analyze team cohesion
• Organize people to work in teams
• Promote trust between team members
• Ensure mutual respect between team members
• Train the team

When people have a sense of purpose for the work that they do, they are more motivated and committed. You can provide purpose in the workplace by challenging people to be their best. Most people are looking to grow personally and professionally. You should challenge each person on your team to learn new skills. You should challenge the team to learn new collective skills together. You can also provide purpose by helping your team understand how their work supports the organization’s mission. When people have a sense of purpose at work, they are better able to overcome adversity, and then adapt and grow together because of that adversity.

Provide Purpose Leader Tasks:

• Analyze individual purpose
• Show genuine concern for people
• Encourage individual learning
• Delegate responsibility
• Empower decision-making
• Keep people focused on the mission
• Be there when the going gets tough

When people work together as a team, they create shared experiences that they can learn from. As a leader, you are expected to facilitate this experiential learning process. Learning is how teams solve problems and overcome challenges. You can lead the learning process by ensuring that your team is constantly reflecting on its past and present experiences to assess performance and find ways to improve.

As your team develops new ideas for improvement and change, you will need to approve and prioritize those ideas. Most importantly, it’s your responsibility to make sure these ideas get put into action, tested, and validated. Some ideas will work; some will not. Either way, team learning has occurred.

Facilitate Team Learning Leader Tasks:

• Analyze team learning capacity
• Orient on team goals
• Encourage constructive dialogue
• Build new mental models

Organizations that cannot learn are doomed to repeat the same mistakes. Gaining a competitive advantage is hard. Maintaining a competitive advantage is even harder. To survive and compete over time, organizations must be willing and able to learn and change. In fact, without learning, there can be no change.

This is true for individuals, teams, and organizations of all types. And just like individuals and teams, when an organization bounces back from adversity, learning is how it adapts and grows. Resilient organizations are learning organizations. In learning organizations, leaders at all levels build and lead resilient teams.

Support Organizational Learning Leader Tasks:

• Analyze organizational learning capacity
• Promote a shared vision
• Foster knowledge emergence
• Ensure knowledge diffusion

Experience Requirement

RBLP applicants must be currently serving in a front-line supervisor role. Front-line supervisors provide guidance and direction to workers. They set priorities for workers and oversee their activities. Front-line supervisors organize people to work in teams and may work alongside subordinates as a member of the team.

They monitor performance and enforce policies, rules, and regulations. Front-line supervisors have applicable technical expertise and can provide on-the-job training to workers. People aspiring to a supervisor role with three years of work or college experience may also participate in the RBLP Training and sit for this exam.

Education/Training Requirement

A Building and Leading Resilient Teams front-line managers program consists of 6 hours of student preparation per module (total of 18 hours) and 9 contact hours of instructor-led group discussion, or 3 contact hours of one-on-one coaching.

Certification Exam Requirement

During the 1.5-hour oral 1:1 RBLP certification exam, the applicant is required to show competence of factual (what), conceptual (why), and procedural knowledge (how) in each of the following competency domains:

RBLP Recertification Requirement

Recertification is required every three years to maintain the RBLP level of certification. Certification holders are required to complete a recertification application and professional development exercise detailing how they have implemented applicable leader tasks in the workplace during the previous three years. The RBLP recertification fee is currently $55.

Experience Requirement

Applicants for RBLP-C certification must be currently serving in a middle manager role or have previously served in a middle manager role. Middle managers are responsible for objectives and results in a functional department. They may provide guidance and direction to one or more front-line supervisors.

Middle managers facilitate team learning and problem-solving. They establish goals for their teams and monitor progress. Middle managers have significant relevant expertise and experience. An organization may have multiple layers of middle management.

Education/Training Requirement

A Building and Leading Resilient Teams front-line managers program consists of 6 hours of student preparation per module (total of 30 hours) and 15 contact hours of instructor-led group discussion.

Certification Exam Requirement

During the 2.5-hour oral 1:1 RBLP-C certification exam, the applicant is required to show competence of factual (what), conceptual (why), and procedural knowledge (how) in each of the following competency domains:

RBLP Recertification Requirement

Recertification is required every three years to maintain the RBLP-C level of certification. Certification holders are required to complete a recertification application and professional development exercise detailing how they have implemented applicable leader tasks in the workplace during the previous three years. The RBLP-C recertification fee is currently $75.

Experience Requirement

Applicants for RBLP-T certification must be currently serving in a senior leader role or have previously served in a senior leader role. Senior leaders are responsible for cross-functional objectives and results. They may provide guidance and direction to one or more middle managers.

Senior leaders support organizational learning and change. They develop and implement strategies to achieve the organization’s vision. Senior leaders have substantial relevant expertise and experience. An organization may have multiple layers of senior leadership.

Education/Training Requirement

A Building and Leading Resilient Teams certificate, coaching, training, or development program consists of 42 hours of student preparation and 21 contact hours of instructor-led group discussion or 7 contact hours of one-on-one coaching.

Certification Exam Requirement

During the 3.5-hour oral 1:1 RBLP-T certification exam, the applicant is required to show competence of factual (what), conceptual (why), and procedural knowledge (how) in each of the following competency domains:

RBLP Recertification Requirement

Recertification is required every three years to maintain the RBLP-T level of certification. Certification holders are required to complete a recertification application and professional development exercise detailing how they have implemented applicable leader tasks in the workplace during the previous three years. The RBLP-T recertification fee is currently $95.