How to Make Your Team Members Feel Unique and Included
We all want to feel unique and that our opinions are valued, especially at work. Making your team members feel unique and included in your organization can improve morale, productivity, and the culture of your company. Here are some tips on how to do just that!
An easy way to make sure people feel included is by asking them questions. That’s why I love talking to my team—I love asking them questions about their lives, work, hobbies, goals, dreams and ambitions. By asking these kinds of questions you show that you care about your employees as human beings. You’re not just their boss or their employer; you’re a person who genuinely wants to learn more about how they are unique individuals in an organization full of unique individuals.
Encourage employees to share their unique ideas with others. If they’re concerned that what they have in mind won’t be well received, set up a forum where people can propose ideas or ask questions anonymously. You might even consider setting up an idea bank where you collect all of your team members’ best suggestions for how to improve your company’s culture. Then, when someone comes forward with an idea you really like, you’ll know exactly who came up with it—and why it’s so great!
While every member of your team brings their own flair to a company, there are plenty of opportunities to highlight team members’ individual achievements. For example, give each employee their own page on your website where they can discuss their professional interests, list their accomplishments, share a photo and more. Providing each employee with an outlet like this helps them feel more unique as an individual within your organization. It also makes it easier for visitors who are familiar with your business to understand what each person in your organization contributes.
To encourage individuality on your team, it’s essential that you create a safe environment for people to express themselves. This means finding ways to identify each person’s strengths as well as opportunities for personal growth. Allowing people time during meetings in which they can share things about themselves will show your team members that they’re valued and their opinions matter. Encourage honest dialogue—and remember, not everyone will be forthcoming with their ideas at first, so put some thought into how you’ll encourage creativity among your employees.
In order to make your team members feel included, you need to know who they are. One of my favorite books on creating a culture of belonging is Bob Chapman’s 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader. If you haven’t read it, check it out—it’s an invaluable resource. In one chapter Chapman discusses how important it is for leaders to regularly collect feedback from their teams so that they can understand how people like and dislike being managed. At the end of the day we need to know how to make our team feel unique and included.
Check out this article about What To Do With Toxic Employees
check out Forbes’ article on how to help Remote Employees Feel Included