Should you build an antifragile, shatterproof team?

For high-performing teams, an antifragility method can be exactly what is required to meet personal and professional targets.

First coined by author, researcher and mathematician, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, antifragility refers not to the ability to stay strong amid disruption, but to actually thrive and grow within it. Unlike those who bear the burden of chaos well, antifragile people actually welcome it as an opportunity to evolve and often perform better under more difficult conditions. 

Adopting an antifragile mindset, while often challenging, enables employees to fully commit to their work, take pride in how they manage conflict and learn from their mistakes in a healthy and productive way. While there is no evidence to suggest that when you break a bone it grows back stronger, that is basically the premise of antifragility, that the events that impact you create a tougher, more resilient version of yourself. 

The global pandemic and the organisations that quickly adopted advanced communication models and developed permanent culture-focused flexible working arrangements are another great example of how companies used complete pandemonium to vastly improve how they operate, in the long term. 

So, if you think you would like to develop antifragile teams, here is how best to go about it.  

Carefully cultivate chaos

Because the majority of organisations can be chaotic on a good day, many strive to avoid any extra challenges, as not every workforce has the bandwidth to take on additional responsibilities. But this can often lead to missed opportunities. By encouraging employees to take calculated risks and experiment with their roles, without fear of reprimand, employers can create an environment that is open to continuous learning and self-development, in a personal and professional sense.

As the saying goes, “nothing ventured, nothing gained”, so by allowing the workforce to think creatively and to explore new opportunities, even when it does not have the desired outcome, knowledge and experience have been acquired. 

Reconsider hierarchies

Now this step may likely be a deal-breaker for a lot of organisations, as hierarchies can be the core of a company, which if lost, may result in reduced productivity, confusion and an inability to establish and achieve targets.

But contrary to how it sounds, it does not mean that you have to do away with all traditional systems. Rather, it is simply about decentralising the chain of command and giving everyone the confidence to share their insights. 

By training everyone within a philosophy of ‘anyone can achieve anything’, employers foster the idea that everyone is leadership material. This can empower people to be more vocal in the workplace, to take accountability and to strive for additional responsibilities and greater milestones.

Make mistakes the right way

A huge part of building an antifragile workforce is in accepting that mistakes will happen and there is a correct and incorrect way to manage them. Failure often teaches us as much as success does and because antifragile models are dependent on learning through experience and experimentation, to avoid the larger, more costly mistakes, organisations will have to be receptive to a wider degree of smaller errors than most other companies.

Unlike fragile things that shatter under duress, or robust things that remain intact, antifragile things are defined by their ability to take the knock and emerge stronger than ever before, much like your immune system after a cold. To achieve this mistakes need to be made, but more importantly addressed and analysed. 

Double down on diversity

When it comes to implementing an antifragile methodology into the workplace, diversity is a must-have across the board. Because this particular style has to stay afloat amid significant upheaval, having a surplus of employee thought processes, backgrounds, disciplines and skillsets, is not only of huge benefit, but an absolute requirement. 

Employers should prioritise cross-functional training, diverse hiring and sessions that encourage employees to think outside of the box, so when a new and exciting challenge does present itself, there are no stumbling blocks. It is far easier to adapt to a situation when you have a team of experts at your disposal. 

Ultimately, antifragile teams are not going to work for every company, as they are a challenge to set up. But, if you have the kind of organisation that thrives off of adversity then this is exactly the right move for you and your employees, so get going and good luck. 

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