Marking moments: belonging is made of the things someone bothered to mark.
The Engage item is “I am proud to work for the organisation”. Pride in the organisation starts with belonging in the team, and belonging is built in five-minute moments.
On this page
One moment a month, five minutes; three things the team stands for, argued over each quarter; two questions for everyone once a year.
People join, people leave, someone has a first anniversary, a result lands, a hard month ends. In most teams none of it is marked, and the team never quite becomes a team. The fix is small, monthly and deliberate.
Once a month, mark one thing
- Pick one: an arrival, a leaving, a first year, a result, a hard month survived.
- Five minutes, everyone, in the room or on the call. Say why it matters, in one or two sentences. No speeches.
- Some months, let someone else do the marking.
Once a quarter, say what the team stands for
Three things, in your own words. Ask the team to argue with them, and change the words if the argument is good. Write the three things where people can see them. Values people have argued over are values they hold; values handed down are wallpaper.
Once a year, two questions for everyone
What makes you proud to work here, and what gets in the way of that? In writing or in person. Share the themes with the team, unattributed, and act on one thing in the next quarter. Say which.
Write it down
What you marked, month by month. If three months pass with nothing marked, that is the finding.
The clearest thirty minutes in your week.
Send us your last engagement survey and we’ll show you what it’s missing – no charge, no deck, no obligation. Or start with a pilot or a 30-minute conversation.