How to ensure people feel connected and part of a team: Strategy #2.3 – Work on the team – build a sense of ‘we’

We have previously published a series of people leadership strategies around the themes of people feeling supported, valued and safe; creating a ‘team environment’; supporting learning and growth; empowering staff and building autonomy; ensuring clarity of roles and expectations; and creating meaning and purpose.

Practical Ideas Guides

We are now going to explore the actionable steps that you can take to enable the suggested strategies and actions.  This is one in a series of 31 posts providing specific descriptions of the actions in practice. (There is one practical idea guide for each people leadership strategy)

So, this post focuses on the theme of helping people feel connected and part of a team.  In a previous post we have talked through 6 overarching strategies to support people feel supported, valued, and safe:

2.1 Open up decision-making and information in the team

2.2 Create opportunities for team members to work on projects and problems together

2.3 Work on the ‘team’ to build a sense of ‘we’

2.4 Proactively manage conflict within the team

2.5 Cultivate personal connectedness within the team

In this post we take a deep dive into the specific strategy of:

2.3 Work on the team to create a sense of ‘we’..

Ensuring that the team owns a collective purpose and ethos, while respecting individual differences and reinforcing the valuable contribution of everyone in the team, drives a shared responsibility for success. So, here are some of the actions that can be taken to put this leadership strategy into practice:

1. Engage the team to develop shared purpose and objectives for the team. 

A strong sense of shared purpose helps your team understand why they exist, what they contribute, and how they create value. It builds alignment, motivation, and ownership – particularly when everyone has a voice in shaping it. In a workshop setting you could work through the following steps:

1. Start with the ‘why‘

Before jumping into wordsmithing a purpose statement, explore with your team:

  • What’s the value of having a shared purpose?
  • What question are we really answering by creating one?
  • What would make a “good” purpose statement for our team?

This helps create clarity and buy-in before you start crafting anything.

2. Explore and gather input

Facilitate a team discussion or short workshop to surface ideas about your team’s purpose. You might ask:

  • What value do we create – and for whom?
  • What would be missing if our team didn’t exist?
  • What is the point of all our work?

Encourage everyone to contribute – this inclusivity is what builds commitment later. (For example, to support the more introverted team members, consider sharing the questions in advance so they can do some thinking before they come in the room and the workshop environment suits all styles.)

3. Craft the purpose statement

Once you’ve gathered everyone’s ideas, a smaller group (perhaps 2–3 team members) can draft a concise statement that captures the essence of the discussion. A good purpose statement is:

  • Clear and memorable (avoids jargon)
  • Authentic to the team’s role and impact
  • Inspiring enough to guide decisions and behaviour

4. Define shared objectives

Once your purpose is clear, work with the team to identify 3–5 key objectives for the next few years. You could use a prompt such as this:

“If we were highly successful three years from now, what would we have achieved or what would success look like?”

Group ideas into themes and turn them into clear, motivating objectives that connect directly to your purpose.

2. Develop a shared set of team behaviours aligned to the organisational values. 

Many organisations have a set of values (typically three to five). These describe what the organisation stands for – but they often need to be translated into specific, observable behaviours at the team level. Doing this together helps everyone understand what the values look like in action and creates collective ownership and accountability. You might work through these steps:

1. Start with the organisational values

Bring the organisation’s values to the team and ask:

  • What does this value mean in the context of our work?
  • How would someone demonstrate this value in our team?
  • What would it look like if this value wasn’t being lived?

These questions help move from abstract ideas to practical examples.

2. Co-create the team behaviours

Facilitate a short workshop or team discussion where everyone contributes.

  • Brainstorm behaviours for each value – aim for 3 specific, positive ‘we’ behaviours per value.
  • Keep behaviours action-oriented (start with verbs such as share, support, challenge, listen, deliver).
  • Ensure they are observable and measurable – others should be able to see or hear the behaviour in action.

3. Test for clarity and commitment

Review the list together and ask:

  • Do these behaviours describe what “good looks like” for us?
  • Would we all be comfortable being held accountable for them?
  • Are they realistic and meaningful in our work environment?

This ensures the behaviours feel authentic and owned by the team – not imposed.

3. Undertake regular team building activities as part of regular planning workshops. 

Strong teams don’t just work well together – they feel connected, understand each other, and share a sense of trust. Regular team-building activities, woven into your planning sessions, can strengthen relationships and collaboration while making work more enjoyable. Things to consider include:

1. Make team building a regular habit

Incorporate short, engaging activities into your regular planning workshops or team offsites. This keeps relationships fresh and builds trust over time, rather than relying on one-off “bonding” events.

2. Choose the right type of activity

Aim for a balance between personal connection, collaboration, and reflection on how the team works. Examples include:

  • Personal connection:
    Help team members learn more about each other as people. Try questions like:
    • What’s the story behind your full name?
    • Where did you grow up, and what do you remember most about it?
    • What’s something that excites you outside of work?
    • What’s one experience that shaped how you work today?
  • Understanding roles and connections:
    After short presentations on each person’s key tasks, ask:
    • Where do our roles connect?
    • Where do we need to work more closely together?
    • What can each of us do to make that collaboration smoother?
  • Designing your ideal workplace:
    As a team, explore:
    • What would a great workplace feel like for us?
    • What actions can we each take — individually and collectively — to create that environment?
  • Team games or challenges:
    Short, interactive activities (e.g., problem-solving games or simple collaborative challenges) that highlight the value of teamwork in a fun, low-stakes way.

3. Link back to purpose and behaviours

After each activity, take a few minutes to reflect:

  • What did we learn about ourselves as a team?
  • How can we apply this learning in how we work together?

Connecting the activity to your team purpose, values, and behaviours ensures the benefits carry over into daily work.

4. Keep it light but intentional

You don’t need to overcomplicate it – even 15–20 minutes of well-facilitated conversation can make a big difference. What matters most is consistency, inclusion, and linking the activity to how the team functions.

4. Develop a high-level map of roles across the team that ensures understanding of the respective roles of team members. 

Clear roles are critical to high team performance. When people understand their own responsibilities – and how they connect with others – the team works more efficiently and cohesively. Conversely, a lack of clarity can lead to frustration, duplication, or work falling through the cracks. Activities you could undertake include:

1. Explain why role clarity matters

Start the conversation by linking it to team success. You might say:

“In high-performing sports teams, everyone knows their role and plays their role. I’d like us to make sure we have that same clarity so we can work more effectively together.”

This helps the team see this as an opportunity for alignment, not a critique of current performance.

2. Map team roles together

Create a simple visual map or matrix that shows the main work areas and who is responsible for each.

  • List major activities or processes down one side (e.g., client liaison, reporting, stakeholder engagement, quality assurance).
  • List team members or roles across the top.
  • Fill in the matrix together, identifying who leads, supports, or contributes to each area.

This can be done in a whiteboard session or a shared online document. The conversation itself is often more valuable than the final matrix – it surfaces assumptions, overlaps, and hidden workloads.

3. Clarify deeper responsibilities

For more complex areas, use a RASCI framework to define roles more precisely:

  • R – Responsible (the doer)
  • A – Accountable (owns the outcome)
  • S – Support (provides assistance or resources)
  • C – Consulted (offers advice or input)
  • I – Informed (kept updated on progress)

This helps clarify boundaries and ensures shared understanding of who does what.

4. Identify and resolve gaps or overlaps

Once the team map is drafted, explore questions like:

  • Where might responsibilities be unclear or overlapping?
  • Is anyone carrying too much or too little?
  • Where do we need to coordinate more closely?

Agree on adjustments together to ensure balance and fairness.

5. Keep the map current

Review and update the role map every few months, or when the team’s work changes. Share it in your team’s shared drive or workspace so everyone can refer to it.

5. Regularly reflect as a team on performance, behaviours and mood. 

Strong teams take time to pause, step back, and reflect on how they’re working – not just what they’re doing. Regular reflection helps build self-awareness, strengthen relationships, and create a culture of continuous learning. Think of it as getting off the dance floor and onto the balcony – observing how things are going from a higher perspective. Things to consider include:

1. Schedule reflection time

Make reflection a regular part of how your team operates. You might:

  • Set aside 15–20 minutes at the end of monthly planning meetings.
  • Hold a quarterly team reflection session focused on both results and relationships.

The key is consistency – regular reflection prevents small issues from growing unnoticed.

2. Structure the conversation

Use a few simple prompts to keep discussions focused and productive. You might explore:

Performance:

  • What have we achieved recently that we’re proud of?
  • What’s working well in how we’re delivering our work?
  • Where have we hit challenges or setbacks? What can we learn from them?

Behaviours:

  • Which of our agreed team behaviours are we living most consistently?
  • Which ones have slipped or need more focus in the coming months?

Mood and climate:

  • How are people feeling about our workload, collaboration, or progress?
  • What’s one thing that could lift our team’s energy or morale right now?

Keep the tone open and constructive – the goal is shared learning, not blame.

3. Use quick tools for feedback

If time is short or you want to check in anonymously, try:

  • A simple pulse survey (e.g., rating “team energy” or “collaboration” on a 1–5 scale).
  • Live polling tools in workshops (e.g., Mentimeter, Slido, or MS Forms) to capture team sentiment.
  • A quick “temperature check” round where everyone shares one word for how they’re feeling about the team right now.

These tools make it easier to track shifts in team climate over time.

4. Capture insights and agree on next steps

Summarise what’s been discussed and identify one or two improvement actions. Examples:

  • We’ll be clearer about priorities at the start of each week.
  • We’ll make more time to recognise small wins.

Follow up in your next meeting to show progress and maintain momentum.

6. Create opportunities for team members to share and value different work styles. 

Every team is made up of people who think, communicate, and work differently. These differences are a source of strength – but when they’re misunderstood, they can also cause tension. Helping your team understand and appreciate one another’s work styles creates trust, improves collaboration, and reduces unnecessary friction. You may want to work through the following steps:

1. Normalise the conversation

Start by explaining why understanding work styles matters:

“We all approach work differently – and that’s a good thing. The more we understand these differences, the better we can collaborate and play to our strengths.”

This sets the tone for openness and psychological safety, signalling that the goal is appreciation, not criticism.

2. Explore work style preferences

There are two good ways to do this:

Option A – Use a structured tool
Introduce a simple and well-known profiling tool such as DiSC, HBDI, Belbin Team Roles, or Team Management Systems.

  • Use it in conjunction with a facilitated debrief (either self-facilitated or guided by HR/a coach).
  • Focus the discussion on what each style brings to the team and where misunderstandings might arise.

Option B – Create ‘personal user manuals’
If a formal tool isn’t available, ask each person to prepare a short “How I like to work” profile using prompts such as:

  • What energises me at work?
  • What drains me?
  • How do I prefer to receive feedback or updates?
  • What do I need from others to do my best work?

Share and discuss these in a relaxed team forum

3. Build a shared language

Encourage the team to talk openly about their differences using neutral, positive language. For example:

  • “I tend to think out loud – so please challenge me if I jump ahead.”
  • “I like time to process information – can I come back with thoughts tomorrow?”

Developing a shared vocabulary helps make previously “undiscussable” topics safe to talk about.

4. Apply the insights

Use what you’ve learned to:

  • Match people’s strengths to tasks.
  • Adjust communication approaches (e.g., some prefer email summaries, others short check-ins).
  • Manage meetings better – ensuring everyone has space to contribute in their own way.

5. Revisit periodically

Revisit these discussions once or twice a year, especially when new members join. Over time, this keeps awareness fresh and deepens mutual respect.

What Next?

Having read this practical guidance, some questions you may want to ask yourself might be:

  • Are there one or two ideas emerging for me that I might want to put into practice?
  • What is the smallest thing I could do that might have a positive impact?
  • How will I hold myself accountable for following through on my actions?

Good luck!

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