Like many organisations, the ADF relies on teams to complete required tasks. However, unlike most organisations, ADF teams not only work, but at times also eat, socialise, and sleep in close proximity while maintaining a high level of performance under arduous circumstances. Their capacity to do this in a healthy manner has ramifications for their output – as anyone who has been a part of (or managed) a ‘toxic team’ can attest. People who have been members of high performing teams will often look back on this time favourably long after the team has disbanded. So why does the environment in which we work carry such impact on our performance?
Humans are hardwired for teams
Humans are physiologically wired to function in teams. It has been theorised that the capacity for productive socialisation – that is, sharing knowledge, with an end state of being able to trust one another to complete separate aspects of the same task – is why Homo sapiens ended up dominant rather than Homo erectus. Homo erectus were technically stronger and more physically robust, and evidence reflects that some individuals knew how to use tools and start and maintain fire. The theorised difference is that Homo sapiens had the brain chemistry to trust and communicate with one another. This trust facilitated a team being able to complete separate tasks together to produce one larger output, for example building a shelter. This level of trust, along with productive socialisation, also allowed the sharing of knowledge. This resulted in a community who ‘knew how to fish’ rather than one individual. In comparison, Homo erectus had individuals who may have learnt how to make tools, but who had no capacity to collaborate and share this knowledge.
Intuitively, this makes sense. Consider the successful people in your life. In general, the capacity to work well with others is often a strong predictor of success. There will of course be outliers who don’t help others or don’t seek help from others, but these are not as common as those who are successful in part due to their capacity to collaborate, to trust others, and to be seen as trustworthy by others.
The following link contains more information about this concept: Cooperation and the evolution of intelligence | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (royalsocietypublishing.org)
Teamwork in Arduous Circumstances
Emerging work on the functioning of teams in Isolated, Confined and Extreme (ICE) environments is highly applicable to military settings, due to the nature of military work – often cramped, hot or cold, while hungry, at short notice, or under various other difficult circumstances. Working in such circumstances requires many attributes, but paramount is trust in one’s team and motivation to complete tasks even when difficult. Studies using ICE environments reflect just how relevant social processes are to team performance.
Many people are aware of Oxytocin as a ‘happy hormone’ you get from being with loved ones. This is only part of the picture. Oxytocin is produced by all humans but only in certain circumstances – relevant to teams is that spending time talking with others and being physically close to trusted others (not necessarily touching, but within close proximity) can increase oxytocin production. Oxytocin is known as a ‘feel good’ chemical due to the ties it has to other positive chemicals; however, it is relevant to teams as it increases trust, enhances stress reduction, and increases motivation for unpleasant tasks. As such, there is some objective benefit to being with a team under arduous circumstances rather than on your own.
High performing, cohesive teams are better at managing arduous circumstances for long periods than individuals. This is because motivation is a subjective experience that inevitably ebbs and flows, but with appropriate leadership, should rarely reduce for everyone all at once. This allows the connection to the team to provide motivation to perform even when an individual may have lost motivation for the task itself – at least for a period of time. This is because helping the team perform provides the individual with motivation even when the task does not.
Further information about how Oxytocin impacts social dynamics in both arduous environments and in same-sex friendship pairs can be found here:
Increasing Competitive Drive within Team
The same chemical processes that can strengthen team bonds can also increase antagonism against those perceived as “others” (social out-group), including increasing the risk of desire to harm the “others”. As much of the research is civilian in nature (or at least, non-combat related), this outcome is often reported as a negative. However, in warfare the capacity to see one’s team as better than the enemy – and having a willingness to harm the enemy – has obvious benefits. That our brain chemistry strengthens these drives supports the belief that there is something inherent in humans that being in a ‘team’ is positive. It also helps us to reflect on how ‘ethnocentrism’ can be a natural process, but one that we must be aware of in order to 1) not carry unhelpful bias and 2) ensure we make ethical decisions, especially when under pressure. More on this concept here: Oxytocin promotes human ethnocentrism | PNAS
Rewarding Teamwork = Increased Oxytocin
As identified above, the neurochemical processes associated with working in a productive and healthy team contribute to:
- Building team trust
- Improved motivation for tasks, including potentially dull tasks
- Increased likelihood of competitive drive (due to increasing belief that your team is better than the other team)
- Improved individual capacity to cope with stress
High Performing Team, Higher Performing Individual?
Many ADF members have been part of a high performing team and felt the unique fulfilment that comes with this. Many veterans report that this absence is felt acutely after separation, particularly if they do not fill this void with something else. This is not just anecdotal: there is extensive neurological data to support this.
When we (humans) ‘win’ (achieve a goal, beat an opponent, etc), there is a large release of testosterone and dopamine into the brain. Though more commonly associated with physical traits, testosterone is a critical hormone for learning, concentration, and memory – this is why people with reduced natural testosterone (e.g. women going through menopause, patients undergoing chemotherapy) often describe a ‘brain fog’. So, when we win – by completing a task or achieving our mission – we get these two hormones. Testosterone makes us faster learners who are better able to apply what we learnt in this problem to the next one. Dopamine increases our mood and motivation. Both also tie in with oxytocin and its impact on team bonding.
What this means is that we can observe a fascinating circle when it comes to high performing teams. They form, bond, perform well, and then the ensuing neurochemistry makes them more likely to perform better in the future and increase their social bonds, which makes them more likely to trust one another, convey knowledge rapidly, and increase motivation – which makes them more likely to win, and so on and so forth.
Interestingly, the level of meaning the person finds in the task can moderate the level of testosterone and dopamine produced. This is likely something you have experienced yourself – if we win but didn't care about the outcome, we get less from the experience. Additionally, the challenge associated with the task moderates hormone levels. Harder to succeed = more positive hormones when successful.
The So What?
At a team level, what we have learnt is that we should not discount the “human” element of our experiences. Attempting to streamline processes or reduce time spent together is not always a positive, particularly if it removes the kinds of social interactions that contribute directly to the neurochemical processes outlined above. Importantly, this applies not only to complex or high-tempo operations, but also to the ordinary structure of our workday. In practical terms, this means intentionally cultivating the kinds of interactions that strengthen team trust and motivation. For example:
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Combat and field training contexts:
During field training, it can be tempting to treat every spare moment as an opportunity to prepare for the next task or to rest. However, brief social interactions during natural pauses – conversations over ration packs, small jokes while waiting for orders, or simply spending time together during evening routine – increase oxytocin and reduce stress. These seemingly minor moments make teams more willing to rely on one another in subsequent high-stress tasks, leading to safer and more effective performance.
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High-stress training environments:
In activities like live-fire ranges, urban operations drills, or battle inoculation, teams experience challenge and acute stress. When leaders frame each successful serial as a shared win rather than focusing solely on individual errors or success, they enhance the team’s dopamine and testosterone response. This supports sharper learning, improved motivation, and an increased sense of cohesion heading into the next serial – reinforcing the virtuous cycle of high-performance teamwork.
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Deployable health and surge environments:
Teams working in settings that resemble ICE environments such as Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities (SCIFs), Joint Operations Rooms (JORs), or surge tempo in garrison can benefit from short, consistent rituals like morning huddles or structured shift handovers. These practices are more than administrative; they provide social regulation of stress, reinforce trust, and sustain performance across extended demanding periods.
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Garrison office environments:
Even in administrative or non-kinetic settings, the science remains relevant. Tasks such as readiness reviews, data entry, or report drafting are often more tolerable and completed more efficiently when done in shared workspaces rather than in isolation. Being physically near trusted teammates increases oxytocin, boosts motivation, and reduces the sense of fatigue associated with repetitive tasks.
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Everyday leadership approaches:
Leaders can further enhance team motivation by clearly articulating both the meaning and challenge associated with tasks. When individuals understand why a task matters – and when its difficulty is acknowledged – the subsequent success produces a stronger dopamine and testosterone response. This reinforces learning, increases motivation, and strengthens the team’s identity as a high-performing group.
Summary
From the above, it’s clear that ensuring morale in a team (and addressing toxic relationships or environments as soon as they arise) is not simply a “nice to have”; it is a critical component of sustaining high performance over the medium and long term. Keeping teams engaged with meaningful and appropriately challenging tasks will not only improve attitudes at an individual level but also increase the team’s capacity to engage effectively with future difficulties.
At the individual level, this information reminds us that military life may be providing a specific source of reward, motivation, and connection of which we are not always consciously aware. When our roles change – perhaps becoming more isolated, less operational, or following transition from service – it is worth considering how we continue to meet these needs. This may be through professional development, peer connection, joining civilian organisations, or taking up engaging and challenging hobbies. In short, the sense of belonging and shared purpose does not need to end when a particular team does; it simply needs to be intentionally rebuilt elsewhere.
