As the nation works its way out of the pandemic and associated economic troubles, some business leaders might fret about their company’s strength going forward.

Perhaps it’s time for those businesses to assess just how well their teams are performing.

Here’s a hint: A company’s strengths ultimately come down to its people and how well leaders are able to communicate goals and strategies to them.

That’s why it’s useful for leaders to ask themselves a few questions about how well their business is doing in relation to their teams. Here are a few areas to consider in giving your organization a self-assessment:

Strategy

Does your team have a clearly articulated strategy or plan? Many leaders don’t communicate the organization’s larger vision and strategy because they believe employees won’t understand it or will get derailed by the minutiae of revenue projections, profit goals and the like. If someone is familiar with strategy and its envisaged implementation, they’ll possess the vision and clarity to guide themselves through obstacles or small misunderstandings that inevitably arise.

Team building

Does your team participate in regular team building and trust building activities? There are many such exercises on the market that can help team members connect with each other.

One activity is 3-2-1. People in a group are asked to share three events they’ve experienced, how they responded to them and how those events impacted them. Then, they share two childhood stories or coming-of-age adolescent memories. Finally, they share one of their biggest fears.

Contribution

Is it evident that each team member is contributing their best version of themselves to the team? It’s important to acknowledge the human psyche’s need to contribute and reward it. Contribution allows each person to move from withdrawal, or passive contribution, and to level up to the team – a rising tide lifting all boats. That means that everyone expends their maximal effort instead of doing the bare minimum.

Reaction to failure

Do team leaders embrace failure as a growth and learning opportunity? Make failure and learning from failure something to embrace. Team members shrouded in fear, apprehension and doubt run from failure. But admitting failure and learning from it helps create a growth mindset – it opens space for trust and courage in teams and organizations, as people know they can learn and improve in a climate of trust.