We all want to come to work, enjoy what do and feel that we’ve made a difference. Since the pandemic, we have found new ways to work together, share thoughts and ideas and engage as teams. People are now looking for connection with their workplace and as a leader of an organisation, it is time to make this connection count. Collaborate are passionate in supporting business leaders to developing engaging workplaces, where people feel valued and inspired every day.

Life is made up of so many elements; work, home, family, friends, pets – the list goes on. We balance each daily, sometimes well and at other times, it all feels just a bit too hard. When we come to work, we want to bring our whole selves, not feeling that we need to be someone we are not. This does not mean we have to reveal everything to everyone, but feeling happy to share and safe to engage should be encouraged in organisations.

The leaders of the businesses that Collaborate work with, want to ensure that their teams feel valued and inspired to come to work, to bring everything that they have to offer and enjoy the connections

they make along the way. Leaders need to set the tone, led by example and challenge when things aren’t going the way they would like.

So, what ingredients do you need to make this happen successfully in your organisation?

Firstly, psychological safety. Encouraging people to share their mistakes without fear, challenging the status quo without being seen as difficult and raise their head when they see an issue without fear of being criticised. Psychological safety is not an excuse for poor performance or recklessness but is the bedrock in enabling an organisation and teams within it to move challenges forward in a positive way.

Then, it is all about understanding the people that you work with and the teams around you. How do you work best, what makes you tick and how can I share this with others so that we can work effectively together? Leaders can enable teams to learn more about each other using psychometrics (we use the amazing Lumina Spark) or set time aside for a day where you bring the team together. These don’t need to be flashy, big bang experiences which we see on LinkedIn and across social media. It must fit you, your culture and what the team want. The best experiences that we have seen have been a simple lunchtime walk.

Finally, what does emotion have to do with work? We all have emotions, and we bring them with us everywhere we go. We don’t leave them at the door when we come into the office. As leaders in organisations, it is important to understand how you want people to feel. If your success relies on people feeling a certain way, what would that look like? And how would you not want them to feel (this is just as important). Many people don’t want to talk about emotions but at Collaborate we work with the Emotion Culture Deck which enables teams to come together to discuss emotions, highlighting, as a team / organisation what good would look like.

How we feel at work says a great deal about the culture that we develop as leaders for our organisation. We are the custodians of that culture and therefore we need to pay attention to it (its just as important as the numbers – in my opinion!)