Individual team members will Invest, at least initially, and in doing so will make themselves vulnerable to how other team members “keep score” or perceive the value of those investments. Creating Psychological Safety (a safe environment to be vulnerable) is critical to team health and individual performance.
How an individual’s investments and contributions are treated by these other team members, as well as by you, the leader, will greatly influence future investments by that individual. It may also affect whether they choose to unsubscribe entirely and go invest somewhere else.
This, in part, deals not only with the elements of Investment and Score, as in the way you and others keep score of that individual’s investment, but also the elements of Value and Perspective (both elements of the Achievement Pillar).
If a team member ultimately doesn’t feel valued or that they’re making a difference (the element of Impact), then they will disengage and either quit and leave; or worse, they’ll simply quit and stay.
As a leader, one of the main ways you can keep your team members engaged can be guided by many of the 16 Elements.
Identity — Make sure you know what the team member is both good at and enjoys doing.
Objective and Alignment — Make sure they’re given work that both Aligns to who they are and what they’re good at, and what the team both needs and has Value for.
Impact — Make sure that the work they do does actually make a meaningful difference. If someone is given work that doesn’t ultimately make a difference, they will feel that they don’t matter and will disengage.
Score — Make sure that the way you keep score measures that Impact and Value.
Perspective — Make sure both you and the rest of the team both see and understand the Value and Impact of their Investment.
