Start the New Year by Building Team Engagement

You need your team to perform well. High productivity only comes with team members who are engaged. What’s the one thing you must do before anything else?

According to the CEO Benchmarking Report of 2021 by The Predictive Index, 56% say they are most concerned about employee productivity. Yet at the same time, these same leaders recognize their people lack cohesion that is essential for effective teamwork.

Dan Coyle, in his book The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups, reveals the one thing that teams must have as a foundation in order to reach their full potential – TRUST.

What is the most simple and direct action-step a leader can take to grow trust on their team? Lead with your own vulnerability. Coyle states,

“When we share who we are, warts and all, we create vulnerability loops. Openness, on top of safety, opens people to be vulnerable. People often hide or fail to share weaknesses on teams. We think we need trust to be vulnerable. Rather, If you are vulnerable, then you build trust.”

If you are a leader who desires to have a highly productive team in 2022, then you must invest in them to build engagement and cohesion. And the key to unlocking both is trust.

To help you lead with vulnerability, check out the free resource – “Personal User’s Manual” – based on the book How to be Less Annoyed and Annoying at Work, by Abby Falik. This simple and fun tool uses four question to help team members share what makes them tick in the workplace.

ULEAD is committed to helping individuals and teams discover their “why,” grow their skills, and inspire others. For more information on virtual and in-person teambuilding sessions, go to uleadinc.org/all-programs.

Ritch Hochstetler, Chief Ideation Trailblazer at ULEAD