Simple Gestures, Big Impact: A Strategy to Engage Team Members

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how we show up when we introduce something new, whether it’s a shift in direction, a brand-new initiative, or even something exciting, like new organizational values.

It’s easy to assume people will be curious. That they’ll ask questions. That they’ll raise their hands and dive in.

But that’s not always what happens.

Sometimes when we roll out something new, specifically in a large group setting, the room goes quiet. Not because people don’t care - but because people do care. They care about not wanting to look silly. They care about not wanting to ask the wrong question in front of their peers. They care about not wanting to be the only one wondering, “Wait… how do I actually use this in my day-to-day?”

That silence isn’t resistance. Their silence could be protection. And as leaders, that’s our cue.

Thus, when I (alongside an epic team) recently helped launch a new set of organizational values, along with some implementation tools, we didn’t just stop at the big unveiling or the leadership meeting with 60 leaders in the room. We added something small, yet powerful: We offered 30-minute 1:1 conversations. Not to fix, correct, or coach. Just to connect.

And here’s the key, we didn’t call them “coaching sessions.”

Why? Because language matters. Because even the name of an offering can shape whether someone feels excited, safe, interested, or open to showing up or not.

Instead, we invited them to a place called the Leadership Lounge. Same 30-minute conversation as a coaching session. Same opportunity to talk like we would in a coaching session. But it felt different. Warmer. Safer. Human.

The shift wasn’t in the structure, it was in the invitation.

And you know what happened? People signed up......quickly. Not because they were “coached” into it, but because they were welcomed into it.

This is what intentional leadership looks like in action. It’s not always the big sweeping changes. Sometimes it’s the simple gestures, the ones that make people feel like they belong in the room.

So here’s a gentle nudge for all of us:

• What if we paid closer attention to how we invite people into conversations?

• What if we traded “office hours” for “coffee chats”?

• What if we titled team meetings as BIG IDEAS or CONNECTING WITH PURPOSE?

• What if we swapped “training sessions” for “jam sessions"?

• What if we stopped assuming silence automatically means disinterest, and start seeing it as a request for safety, connection, or simply more intentional conversation?

Remember default leadership will continue to lead us to thoughts that may not be true. Thus, continue to challenge your own set ideas and narratives that you create and continue to inspire growth by designing belonging.

And sometimes, that can happen with simply choosing a warmer word.