Is Your Team Workshop a Tick-Box or a Turning Point?

Transform one-off team workshops into lasting change with strengths-based development and manager support.

In the public sector, team workshops are commonplace. Yet, many sessions become mere formalities—flipcharts filled, feedback forms completed, and then forgotten.

The pressing question is: Is your team workshop a genuine catalyst for change or just another checkbox on the agenda?

At Strengthify, we believe that when team development is rooted in behavioural insights, focuses on individual strengths, and is reinforced with meaningful support, it evolves from a routine event into a transformative experience.

The Pitfalls of One-Off Workshops

Workshops often start with good intentions but falter due to:

• Lack of shared language: Teams revert to old habits.
• Absence of behavioural grounding: Insights remain superficial.
• No follow-up: Day-to-day practices remain unchanged.

In high-pressure public sector environments, where burnout and resource constraints are prevalent, it's essential that workshops lead to tangible outcomes.

What Constitutes Effective Team Development?

Research underscores the pivotal role of managers in team engagement. According to Gallup, managers influence 70% of the variance in employee engagement (Gallup, 2024).

Furthermore, Strengthify’s Public Sector Engagement Insights Report highlights:

• A strong correlation exists between employees feeling valued and their likelihood to remain in their roles.
• Recognition, inclusion, and purpose as key drivers of engagement.
• A significant portion of managers lack formal training to lead effectively.

Without addressing these behavioural drivers, workshops may uplift temporarily but fail to instigate lasting cultural shifts.

Strengthify’s Distinct Approach

Strengthify’s Discovery Workshops are tailored, evidence-informed sessions that delve deep into team dynamics. They are designed to:

• Uncover and leverage individual and collective strengths.
• Foster trust, inclusion, and clarity.
• Provide actionable strategies for real-world application.

Post-workshop, we offer ongoing support to ensure that insights translate into sustained behavioural change.

A Real-World Turning Point: University Faculty Leadership Team

In early 2024, a faculty leadership team at a UK university approached us. Following a restructure that brought together academic and professional services leaders, they were facing:

• Misaligned priorities and communication breakdowns
• Uneven workload distribution across departments
• A growing sense of disconnect between teams

We facilitated a Team Discovery Workshop tailored to uncover how each individual naturally contributed, where collaboration was breaking down, and how the team’s collective strengths could better align with their shared goals.

Key shifts emerged:

• Senior academics began to recognise and value the operational insight of their professional services colleagues
• Previously underutilised strengths (such as strategic thinking, relationship-building and adaptability) were matched with clearer responsibilities
• The team established a shared language around feedback, decision-making and recognition

Six weeks later, we hosted a short follow-up session.

“It helped us step back from the day-to-day and actually listen. We’re now leading more as a team—not just in parallel.”
– Associate Dean

Since then, the faculty team has reported:

• Clearer role ownership and better delegation
• A more inclusive and psychologically safe leadership culture
• Improved progress on joint initiatives, from student experience to staff development

Evaluating Your Workshop's Impact

Before your next team development session, consider:

• Does it deepen understanding of team collaboration?
• Will it establish a shared language around strengths and feedback?
• Is it grounded in behavioural science with practical applications?
• Is there a plan for follow-up to embed changes?

If the answer is no, it might be time to rethink your approach.

Strengthify’s Approach to Lasting Development

We offer more than just a workshop. We help teams build lasting momentum with a pathway designed for real change:

1. Discovery Workshops
   Identify individual and team strengths. Address key engagement themes like inclusion, recognition, and communication. Ideal for new, hybrid or restructured teams.
2. Management Development Programme (MDP)
   Equip team leads and managers with the tools to lead through strengths. Our cohort-based training helps managers build confidence, improve engagement, and create the conditions for high performance.
3. Team Sessions
   Collaboratively align team goals and roles. Build cohesion, strengthen trust, and embed shared language into the team’s ways of working.
4. Ongoing Support
   Provide follow-up tools and coaching to embed strengths-based leadership in everyday practice. Support includes facilitated check-ins, strengths-based 1:1s and feedback loops for continuous progress.

Making Every Workshop Count

In the demanding landscape of the public sector, every team interaction should be purposeful. By grounding workshops in behavioural insights and providing continuous support, you ensure that they serve as turning points rather than tick-box exercises.

Ready to Transform Your Team Workshops?

If you're aiming for workshops that lead to real change, Strengthify is here to assist.

Explore Strengthify’s Discovery and Team Workshops
Contact our team to design impactful sessions.

Because effective team development is not a one-time event—it’s an ongoing journey.