Have you looked up at the sky and marveled at flocks of birds flying overhead in a “V” formation? When you come to think of it, migrating long distances for food, water and breeding purposes represents a huge challenge. Birds accomplish this by using the “V” formation for efficiency and performance. All the birds (except the lead bird) fly in the “upwash” – the rising air – of the bird in front of them. Each bird flies in partnership with the others, maintaining a specific distance and angle behind the bird it is following, and flapping its wings at the right time in synch with the rest of the flock. By doing so, the air updraft is maximized and the energy expended is minimized. The bird at the front of the “V” formation does the hardest job, and when he/she is tired, a different bird takes over. What an amazing example of teamwork, shared leadership, and optimization!

As a leader, a critical component of your success is to be able to engage individuals and teams. The ability to develop and sustain engaged and high-performing teams, whose members share the same vision, understand that they are all in it together, communicate and collaborate with trust and openness, and bring their best to work every day, is what separates an average leader from a great one. Fortunately, these skills can be learned and honed through self-awareness, feedback, coaching, training, and team and organization development.

Based on our extensive review of psychological theory and business/consulting research, we believe there are seven interconnecting components to leading, motivating and engaging individual employees and teams. These components form our INSPIRE model – Ignite with positive communication and Meaningful Work, Nurture career development and growth, leverage Strengths, utilize Performance Management, be Inclusive, Relate with authenticity and emotional intelligence, and Empower employees. For each of these components, we offer self- and team-assessments, tips and tools for employees and teams, and organizational best practices.  

While several of these recommendations and tools are described in our book, each manager, team and organization is unique. Ultimately, it is up to you figure out what specific strategies and actions will work effectively with your own people. What are you already doing right, and what can you leverage to have the highest impact on your team’s engagement and performance?