What is it?

A workshop inspired by Simon Sinek's book Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don't.

Why is it useful?

This simple three-step workshop is designed to foster a sense of trust, collaboration, and effective leadership within teams.

Objectives

• Introduce the concept of the "Circle of Safety" and its importance in building trust and cooperation.
• Demonstrate how vulnerability from leaders can build trust within a team.
• Reinforce the importance of prioritizing team members' well-being and development.

Resources Required

• PowerPoint slides or a whiteboard for the presentation
• Discussion prompts for Step 1
• Prepared prompts for story sharing for Step 2
• Flip charts or large paper sheets for brainstorming.
• Marker pens
• Handouts with a template for the action plan
• Summary notes
• Index cards or small sheets of paper for commitments

Process

Step 1: Understanding the Circle of Safety

1. Presentation (15 minutes): Start with a brief presentation explaining the "Circle of Safety" concept from Simon Sinek's book. Highlight how leaders create a safe environment where team members feel secure and valued, encouraging them to collaborate and take risks without fear of repercussions.
2. Discussion (15 minutes): Engage the participants in an open discussion about their experiences with feeling safe or unsafe in a team environment. Ask them to share examples of positive and negative experiences and how they impacted their performance and well-being.

Step 2: Building Trust Through Vulnerability

1. Exercise (20 minutes): Pair participants and have them share a personal story revealing some level of vulnerability. This could be a challenge they’ve faced or a mistake they’ve made and what they learned from it.
2. Group Reflection (10 minutes): Bring everyone back together and discuss how sharing these stories made them feel. Highlight that leaders showing vulnerability can strengthen trust and openness within the team.

Step 3: Putting People First

1. Workshop (20 minutes): Divide participants into groups of 3-4 and have them brainstorm specific ways to put their team members first in their daily work. This could include actions like providing regular feedback, recognizing achievements, or supporting professional development.
2. Action Plan (10 minutes): Each group presents their ideas, and the participants create a consolidated action plan they can implement in their teams.

Summary and Closing

1. Summary (5 minutes): Recap the main points from each workshop step.
2. Commitment (5 minutes): Ask each participant to write down one specific action they will take to implement the insights from the workshop in their team.