There are powerful Leadership and Team Building trends to explore in this post. Grab the refreshing insight below on How teams interact, communicate, work best together, and transform their work style and work-life culture.

Team Dynamics 101: Do you understand the unconscious forces that are at work behind a healthy team dynamic?

A recent online survey by Gusto, an award-winning payroll software company, states that 78% of people seek a more supportive work culture. Over 80% of workers and owners believe creating a sense of community at work - team spirit - is essential.

Teams interact based on two essential conditions:

Building a world-class team is helpful by remembering human nature and the spontaneous factors involved. Each team person is created with individual personality preferences. You, along with every team member, take in information and makes decisions about that information uniquely creatively.
Each team personality has a natural inclination toward a working type and style. When you understand the essential characteristics of those types and tendencies, you’ll better appreciate your team member’s natural strengths. Becoming humble to lean in and support them proactively will give you the leadership wisdom to reduce engagement blindspots or weaknesses.

2023 Playbook for Team Dynamics, Personality & Leadership Growth

Q: What instruments and tools do you use to survey individual and team strengths, interpersonal behaviors and personalities?

There are approximately 24 great ones in the marketplace.

The Big Five Inventory, The Jackson Personality Inventory, NEO Personality Inventory, The California Personality Inventory and VIA Character Strengths surveys help individuals, teams and leaders assess themselves and how their respective team members take in and present information when communicating and working together. I advise individuals and teams on improving engagement using combo assessments like these to navigate the dynamics of everyday situations and collaborative gatherings with varying views. Some question the test retest reliability of MBTI, but it’s a highly popular and widely used tool that measures personality. The team activities developed by Meyer-Briggs are very helpful to kickstart dialogue about how to improve collaboration.

According to Gusto, the top reason, beyond salary, employees said they stay at their company is working with a great team.

Q: Is there a significant negative trend that needs to be addressed by leaders in 2023?

Many end-of-year 2022 and early 2023 surveys statistically describe Lack of Engagement as one of the top reasons for present-day toxic organizational and work cultures.

“The stagnation of employee engagement is one of the biggest threats to organizations and entire economies as we transition to 2023 and beyond.” Gallup Workplace, January 31, 2023.

How can you use your personality and leadership growth to avoid this negative workplace trend?

Deciding how you will show up is vital to building a solid work culture.

First things first…

Are you clear on what your strengths are?
How have you assessed them?
Are you comfortable using them?
Are you empowering others on your team to see success by doing what they do best?

Living your BEST Life is determined by knowing and using your strengths even when uncertainties exist.

Especially when those unknowns exist, you must decide how to mentally and outwardly show up. Mindset blocks and confidence trials will try to slow down the transformative changes that must take place for you to become a resilient leader.

Will your leadership actions ultimately build a strong work culture?

Your growth ability to embrace resilience while prioritizing team engagement will showcase how well you handle a traditional versus dynamic plan.

Work style improves when you recognize the best approach to managing peer-to-peer communication.

The 2023 Team Dynamics, Personality, and Leadership Growth trends detailed throughout this post will help You move your Work and life space forward.

Whenever I begin a team dynamics journey, I implement two processes:

First, I introduce the Myers Brigg Parker Team Player assessment to uncover the individual team player’s style. This survey helps them gauge how to interact for job efficiency and holistic workflow.

Then we look at engagement templates and personality typing results. It’s fun (sometimes hilarious!,) but equally important, it helps to evaluate their mindset for “how they will show up.”

A recent December 2022 research study by Gallup revealed that 40% of US workers report that their job has had a negative impact on their mental health. Employee engagement is the foundation for improving mental health.

Once there is a bridge for you to see the pathway to creating impact with meaningful conversations, you can use it to play with different communication modalities and types of engagement that can pay off BIG outcomes!

Gallup research also mentioned that a top pillar for boosting well-being is by encouraging employees to share their own ideas about how to improve work-life balance.

Whether you’re using a hybrid or remote work environment, beginning a healthy dialogue on the most productive way to work and live is a positive trend in improving work style and work-life balance.

People are reimagining what strong leadership looks like in 2023.

What’s the trending example of strong leadership and leadership growth?

Trending: Level-up with Inclusive leadership. Yep, this is how you do it in ‘23!

Do you have the characteristic traits needed to be an inclusive leader?

Inclusive leadership helps to improve peer-to-peer communications. Learning your team's systems of behaviors and psychological processes will make you better aware of the tools needed to dissolve toxic company culture.

Once you experiment and reinvent how to make others feel they are valued and belong, you improve your concept of how to gather and work.

Inclusive leaders expand and grow in compassion to deescalate tensions when workflow gets clogged. Read this great article on inclusive leadership by HBR that def shows they saw around the corner!

You dig deeper to explore whether your personal or organizational biases are getting in the way of the optimal growth needed to get you closer to your fullest potential.

Instead of being passive-aggressive or backbiting with other team members, you hunker down and have direct conversations within the group.

Using member type helps guide the discussions away from unhealthy conflict and toward the right solution that brings your goals and strategies in context with the correct values.

When teams practice inclusive leadership, I notice they recognize a better approach to improving their gathering time. It’s vital to allow everyone to give brief feedback in the meetings instead of having the usual people speak.

Considering different perspectives increase the team members’ morale and focus. The opportunity for each person to openly reflect on “what’s working and what’s not” improves the team’s self-reflection and self-awareness skills.

I remember when a company CEO attended one of our regular briefing meetings. He commented that each member had a high-level focus displaying the connectedness of the group.

Yeah, baby! That’s growth.

I noticed how the team’s fuller, circumspect view of one another allowed them to understand workflow and progress from different perspectives. Their multidimensional circular view enabled them individually to become stronger and collectively to inform their decision-making better. I see the gradual growth presently making them a more effective tribe.

Let’s move on to other trending conversations to motivate your work style and work-life balance and inspire your transformation!

It’s time to return to being a “people-first” organization and business.

Trending: Be purpose-driven.

Your purpose is the life philosophy you take everywhere you place your foot. It’s the most central component of your core identity. And since you probably spend 1/3 of your life at work, it should be integrated into the meaning of your work and work culture.

When they struggle with where God has them in a particular season, I ask clients, “Are you motivated and inspired to do your work? Tell me more about your “Why.”

Your purpose is the bow wrapped around your core values, character, priorities, and identity (also the identity of your organization or the one you work for and your partners and stakeholders.)

Yes, it’s just that integrated! That’s why commitment to your purpose is HUGE.

Review my Stillness post to dig deeper and scribble out your priorities/non-negotiables. You’ll need those in this defining season, especially as you decide who you will connect with this year.

Trending: Know your role and its connection to the mission of your org and business.

This reasoning process is where it can get a bit sticky…

Your role encompasses the truth behind your Blended Self.

I am constantly seeking and learning how to bring my whole self into what I am called to do. For example, as an executive leader, it’s important to sharpen my servant leadership skills regularly. The top ten skills, further explained in a great Mindtools article on Servant Leadership are Listening, Empathy, Healing, Awareness, Persuasion, Conceptualization, Foresight, Stewardship, Commitment to the growth of people, and Building Community.

For most of my 25+ years in leadership, I’ve passed on the many lessons I’ve learned using these skills. I can now say that I’m skilled in using these characteristics, and I happily proclaim that they define my character and the character of the organization I am blessed to be a part of.

My role is to express these attributes in whatever work I do in the unique way I do what I do.

My mission is to do what matters and journey on a delightful path with those aligned with God's purpose for my life.

Is Your role allowing you to express the Blend of who you are?

Is your spiritual, emotional, and physical self developing well and helping you gain insight on how to move forward with what you’re called to do in the unique way you’re called to do it?

Are your recent experiences bringing your role into fuller perspective?

Do you see how your role connects your purpose with your impact on others' lives?

Are you okay with org’s mission and business you’re presently planted in?

Are you confident with the work structure that houses your path?

I call this a sticky process because you must examine your role circumspectively. You have to acknowledge your life is a continuum, always moving forward.

Your role is God’s vision of you in action.

Trending: Engage in dialogue.

If you want to help others make quick, impactful choices, it’s time to boss up your communication skills.

Communication is essential this year. As work models shift, it’s crucial to continue weighing the benefits and challenges for those you work with, your organization, and your business, and uncover any personal barriers toward effective communication.

What are the key modalities of communication in 2023?

🗝️Optimizing and automating the internal process to improve team workflow and work-life balance.

🗝️Constructive and concise feedback for high-level impact, individually and collectively.

🗝️Continual collaboration with digital tools (i.e., instant messaging, chat apps, social media, video conferencing).

🗝️Knowledge-sharing for high-performing team project management + execution.

A 2022 Adobe study stated that “70-75% of all audiences report they rely on digital tools for peace-of-mind at work, for staying productive when they have trouble focusing, and to ease the stress of completing work when a coworker needs to take time off to process unexpected events.”

How are you using them (and do you know how to use them correctly?) to keep engagement with others joyful, comforting, motivating, enlightening, and invigorating?

How will you breathe new life into society this year?

Learn how to centralize communication best to avoid communication overload. When you ask your team and don’t assume all is well, you’re helping them feel connected and comforting them with a joyful spirit of belonging.

Whether my team meets in person or virtually, we continuously work to ensure everyone feels connected. If there’s an in-the-office “taco Wednesday,” send a coupon to the remote team and further the mission to comfort and celebrate one another.

Minimize Burnout

Stay culturally, socially, and emotionally aware to prevent cumulative stress that’s not being appropriately managed.

Watch out for this negative trend!

Trending: Isolation and Burnout.

Because of the new feelings of isolation and disconnectedness that can bubble up when working remotely, I do more one-on-one calls or in-person convos with team members. Their feelings of isolation and burnout have increased due to the freedom they’ve been given to work remotely or in a hybrid capacity.

Remain calm: This will continue as everyone explores behavioral relationships between team members, psychological processes and safety, and how to achieve a work-life balance best.

I’ve seen my 1:1 coaching time increase to help the team improve their communication when experiencing internal and external customer-related frustrations.

The key to minimizing isolation and disconnectedness among the team is increasing team building and connection activities.

For example, regularly ask your team, “How might we…” and ask yourself, “How might I….”. This divergent thought process will help enlighten, invigorate, and shake the rigidity dust out of your creative environment.

Another building and connection activity is to spark joy with a dose of GIFs. Sometimes, I’m brought to laughter over a GIF from a coworker, which is great for breaking the strain of workflow woes.

Heck, personally, I’ve started encouraging continual text threads between my husband and all of my grown kids to stay in touch and on top of what’s going on in everyone's lives. Taking time to send a pic, GIF, or Tic Tok skit keeps me in the loop and helps avoid missing birthdays and grandkids’ victories. I’m learning how to have a good laugh at life!

The key to minimizing Burnout is to stay culturally, socially, and emotionally aware to prevent cumulative stress that’s not being appropriately managed.

Take this quick Burnout Self-Test and uncover any signs before your leadership growth gets stuck.

What’s Your IDP?

This is an important part of growing your personality strengths and leadership skills.

Trending: Learning and Development.

Do you and your team have an IDP?

Individual Development Plans are an important part of growing your personality strengths and leadership skills and addressing team dynamics issues. They will absolutely help you with your personal and career development. IDPs should encourage your leadership goals and maximize personality strengths by incorporating your interests in future positions and career moves.

Working on a plan with a trusted manager or leadership /performance coach will help keep you accountable and committed to tracking your development. Pulling the thread on having impactful dialogue, how can you transform a conversation into an action plan today?

What’s your plan? Think about your mental, social, spiritual, emotional, and physical goals, and work with a coach to assemble your blueprint.

Gotta have one.

Yep, the Blended Self (Mental, Social, Spiritual, Emotional, Physical) needs a plan. Think of all the new skills you’ll learn to improve your work and life competencies. More skills and more strengths to leverage when you want or need to pivot.

What areas would you like to improve and transform? Create a short-term (6 months) and long-term (one year) goal, which will allow you to create shorter actionable objectives and boost your confidence along the way!

How would you like to structure your personal development goals?

Email me today, and let’s assemble your Individual Development Plan.

Set up a 1:1 coaching session with ej to learn more about your personality and leadership style and develop the skills required to get you closer to your fullest potential and true destiny.

Whether improving your time management, developing your emotional intelligence, cultivating resilience, or brainstorming your long-term career vision ~I'm here to help!

I’ll show you how to use your life-changing journey to help your team reevaluate their work style, work-life balance, and career objectives (at any age!)

Chart your course for 2023 and beyond!