You know the old saying, “There is no “I” in team?” At Exos, we respectfully disagree.
Without individuals, there are no teams. And every single employee is different, so your leadership style can’t be one-size-fits-all.
By adapting your leadership to individual team members, you can powerfully foster productivity, engagement, and belonging.
Understanding Employees’ Unique Preferences
The best way to learn your team members’ preferences? Ask them.
Have your team members fill out a “how to work with me” document — a simple questionnaire about their preferences on each of the below categories. And of course, it’s best to fill out your own first to set an example.
As a leader, it’s your responsibility to discover how your team members feel about:
1. Social Interactions
People engage with others in varying ways.
Introverts may thrive in one-on-one or smaller group interactions, where deeper connections are more likely. Meanwhile, extroverts often draw energy from larger group settings.
It’s important to create opportunities for both, whether through team meetings, smaller breakout groups, or one-on-one check-ins.
Providing flexibility in how people interact helps everyone contribute in ways that feel most natural to them.
2. Work Environments
People naturally differ in how they think, learn, and work in a given environment.
While some team members require quiet spaces to concentrate, others may find energy and inspiration in a collaborative, open-office layout or listening to music.
The key is to offer choice.
If you have on-site work, provide quiet zones, allow noise-canceling headphones, or encourage flexible workspaces. This ensures everyone can tailor their surroundings to suit their productivity needs.
3. Communication Styles
Effective communication begins with understanding preferences.
Some individuals prefer detailed written updates, while others thrive on face-to-face discussions.
Also, think about the right level of formality. Some situations may call for structured, professional communication, while casual chats might be better for brainstorming or team bonding.
Advance notice is another critical factor. While some employees can pivot quickly, others perform better with ample time to prepare for meetings or project launches.
Tailoring communication to these needs fosters both belonging and efficiency.
4. Energy & Recovery Needs
Be aware of how each person naturally spends and recovers their energy. Recognizing these differences allows leaders to create spaces to recharge.
For example, an external processor may appreciate a brainstorming session, while an internal processor may need time to reflect and recharge before contributing their best ideas.
Respecting these needs helps everyone bring their best selves to work.
5. Processing Information
Everyone processes information at different speeds, in different ways.
While one team member might prefer concise bullet points, another may need detailed context or visual aids to fully understand a concept.
By presenting information in multiple formats, you can bring the best out of people’s diverse learning and working styles.
Think intentionally about how you’d like to present information to different team members to help them best understand.
Empowering Employees to Set Boundaries
One of the best ways to support the “I”s in your teams (and prevent employee burnout) is to help them set boundaries. This empowers them to take care of their well-being and tend to what’s important to them outside of work.
It isn't healthy to obsess over any one thing all the time, and work is no different. Yet modern technology has made it feel incredibly difficult to detach from work.
Helping individuals set work/non-work boundaries provides the opportunity for healthy psychological detachment.
The benefits to your organization go beyond recovery for productivity’s sake.
When an employer supports boundaries, employees start to believe that the organization actually cares about their well-being. This can work wonders for engagement, retention, and profitability.
And remember, it starts with leadership. When leaders model proper boundaries, employees follow suit.
You’ll have to decide what appropriate boundaries look like for your organization. But some simple boundaries include:
1. Expectations Around Email
Set the expectation that email only needs to be answered during standard business hours.
It can be challenging to control when someone gets an email, especially if your workforce is spread across different timezones.
But you can at least set the expectation that they don’t have to reply until they are back “on the clock.”
2. Ability to Say “No” to Meetings
It’s challenging to get any work done if your employees are stuck in back-to-back meetings.
And it’s even more demoralizing when they feel the meeting they’re in doesn’t need them or could’ve been summarized in an email.
Empower your employees to say “no” to meetings that won’t provide value to them, or are set outside of their work hours.
3. Allowing Employees to Log Off
Empowering your employees to determine when they are “on” or “off” goes a long way for recovery and productivity — whether they’re hybrid, remote, or in-person.
Time away to unplug helps employees feel more refreshed, engaged, and productive when they return.
A Layer Deeper: How Each Employee Finds Fulfillment
Consider any team or community you belong to outside of work.
Maybe it’s a recreational sports team or a networking club. Why did you want to join that group in the first place? What drew you in?
Whether or not you explicitly thought about the benefits of joining, you saw something in that organization that you believed would benefit you.
If you joined a recreational sports team, maybe it was for the chance to play a beloved sport as an adult or to get exercise and fresh air. If you joined a networking club, it was likely to make professional connections to help advance your career.
Beyond the sense of belonging you feel in these groups, you benefit from them in some way.
So how do you ensure that your employees feel that they benefit from going above and beyond at your organization?
Again, you have to ask each individual. What type of work helps them feel the most engaged? What type of work drains them? Where do they derive a sense of purpose and fulfillment?
By going to bat for your employees’ deeper fulfillment needs, you can increase engagement and productivity side by side.
The Next Step
Every individual on your team has unique needs. That’s why adaptability is one of the most important leadership soft skills to develop.
Yet no matter their background, identity, or personality traits, all humans share the biological need for psychological safety and belonging.
Even beyond adaptable leaders, employees need a work culture that supports their individual well-being.
If you’re serious about bringing out the best of every single “I” on your team, talk to us about our employer offerings.
