Working Across Gaps: Strengths-Based Ways to Build Trust and Team Flow

Connection isn’t automatic, but it can be rebuilt with intention.

When pressure’s high and workloads are rising, teams tend to retreat into familiar territory - their own priorities, processes and pressures. That’s when collaboration starts to unravel. But rebuilding connection isn’t about rewriting structures or launching new systems. It’s about seeing your people differently and helping them see each other more clearly.

When Collaboration Breaks Down, It Feels Like This…

• You’re stuck in endless email chains with little clarity

• Work gets duplicated or dropped between teams

• Everyone’s busy, but no one’s moving forward

• Conversations feel tense, or don’t happen at all

This is the quiet cost of disconnection. It’s rarely loud. But it drains energy, slows progress, and fuels frustration, especially in complex systems like the NHS, higher education or local government.

And often, it’s not about people unwilling to collaborate. It’s about people not feeling seen or unsure how their strengths contribute across the wider system.

Related blog: Creating a Space Where Your Team Feels Safe to Speak Up

Why Strengths Help Reconnect Teams

When people are reminded of what they do best and how it supports others — it reignites trust, clarity and flow.

A strengths-based approach works because:

• It brings attention to what’s working, not just what’s missing
• It offers a shared language that cuts through team boundaries
• It builds trust by creating appreciation and psychological safety
• It energises teams by aligning people with the work that motivates them

This matters in high-pressure, functionally aligned environments where people often feel like cogs in a machine. Strengths bring the humanity back — and help people collaborate beyond their boxes.

From Disconnect to Trust: A Real-World Story

At one univeristy, one Faculty restructured its teams into functional workstreams aiming to improve delivery and clarity. But as roles shifted, new tensions emerged. People were unclear on responsibilities. Managers were juggling demands without connection. Friction replaced flow.

What helped?
A team-wide Discovery Workshop where people could step back, share their strengths, and explore how they work best. This opened up new conversations, energised managers, and led to small, practical rituals like peer reflection over coffee that helped restore connection and rebuild team flow.

3 Strengths-Based Moves to Build Connection Across Teams

1. Map Team Energy, Not Just Job Roles

Hold a session to explore:

• What gives you energy in your work?
• What kind of tasks drain you?
• When do you feel most useful and seen?

This helps surface invisible value and opens new channels of collaboration.

Try this as part of our Team Development Workshops.

2. Start Meetings with Strengths Spotting

Open with:

• “What’s something you noticed someone do well this week?”
• “What made collaboration easier recently?”

This builds a habit of recognition, not just reporting, and strengthens team identity.

Also see: How to Make Feedback Work.

3. Use Appreciative Inquiry for Cross-Function Reviews

Instead of focusing on what failed, ask:

• “What worked well between teams?”
• “What behaviour or communication helped us progress?”
• “What strengths helped us solve that challenge?”

This moves teams from defensiveness to discovery.

Learn more: Appreciative Inquiry Workshops.

What Makes This Different from Traditional Team Building?

It’s not about away days or blanket training. It’s about meaningful, in-the-flow conversations that help people:

• Feel heard
• Be recognised for their contributions
• Build trust with others who work differently

In a system where disconnection is often systemic, this approach builds emotional infrastructure - the kind that makes collaboration sustainable, not just expected.

How Strengthify Can Help

We help teams build real connection in complex environments through:

• Discovery Workshops that open dialogue

• Team Development Workshops that shift habits

• Manager training that supports ongoing collaboration

All designed for the realities of the UK public sector.

What we do.

Final Thought

You don’t need to break down silos with big strategies.
Start with one conversation. One strength. One moment of trust.
That’s where flow begins again.