Do I matter? No one cares how I do my job, and I don’t trust people around here to have my best interest at heart. Unhealthy team dynamics often create a sense of loneliness, helplessness, and exhaustion.
Creating an environment where people feel safe, connect, and grow is not easy. When we are faced with unexpected changes or conflicts, we instinctively react in ways that often cause a disconnect. Our automatic thoughts arise when we are triggered, often resulting in harmful exchanges such as arguing or shutting down.
When a disconnect occurs, our initial reactions are to either withdraw from the issue and become distant or to attack the issue and respond in a way that appears demanding or judgemental. These behaviors result in feeling isolated, exhausted, and stuck, which in turn feeds further disengagement, and results in a lack of motivation and low productivity. The cycle will continue unless steps are taken toward nurturing relationships through emotional connection.
The Emotional Connection Roadmap teaches us to create interactions that meet our attachment needs, generating positive feelings of restored safety and re-engagement. This roadmap consists of three steps:
1. De-escalate by expressing our emotions and fears and normalizing reactions
2. Restructure interactions through bonding conversations to meet attachment needs, and
3. Integrate by engaging in a positive cycle of interactions and emotions
Rather than indulge in our automatic actions, the Emotional Connection Roadmap helps to make space for emotions, repair connections, and reignite motivation.
Learning to adapt to this new cycle results in emotional safety and secure connection with peers, creating personal growth, engagement, and a sense of belonging. We at EmC Leaders utilize our proven Emotional Connection Roadmap to build compassion and empathy, creating a sense of ownership throughout the organization for nurturing healthy teams.