At Circle & Square, we believe that Connection x Task = Relationship. Connection is about becoming curious: about perspectives, about people, about the values that drive action. In today’s workplace, as newer generations bring a deeper connection to self and personal needs, leaders must navigate how to effectively engage and motivate their teams beyond traditional frameworks of performance and achievement.

Beyond Self-Actualization: The Case for Transcendence

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs has long been a guiding model in understanding motivation, yet his later addition of self-transcendence unlocks a deeper dimension of engagement. Self-actualization is about personal fulfilment: becoming the best version of oneself. Self-transcendence, however, moves beyond self-interest to a focus on contributing to a greater collective purpose.

In the workplace, this means fostering an environment where employees are not just focused on personal success but are driven by shared goals, meaningful impact, and the wellbeing of the team.

Creating a Culture for Transcendence

Organisations must be intentional about creating an environment where self-transcendence can emerge. However, leaders set the ceiling: employees cannot grow beyond the level of their leadership. If leaders remain stuck in transactional mindsets focused on short-term results, employees will struggle to engage with deeper purpose and connection.

So, how do we create this space?

1. Foster Psychological Safety

Self-transcendence cannot occur in an environment where employees feel unsafe to express themselves. Psychological safety, where individuals feel free to take risks, share ideas, and challenge norms without fear of reprisal, is the foundation of high-performing, engaged teams.

How to cultivate it:

• Encourage open dialogue and transparency.
• Normalise learning from failure.
• Recognise contributions beyond just outcomes.

1. Connect Work to a Greater Purpose

Employees must see the impact of their work beyond daily tasks. This is especially critical for younger generations who prioritise purpose and values in their careers.

How to do this:

• Align individual roles with the broader mission.
• Make purpose-driven storytelling a leadership habit.
• Celebrate contributions that enhance collective success.

1. Shift from Competition to Collaboration

Traditional performance models often pit employees against one another, reinforcing individual achievement over collective growth. Transcendent teams prioritise collaboration over competition.

How to facilitate this:

• Design incentives that reward team success, not just individual performance.
• Foster peer mentorship and knowledge sharing.
• Emphasise collective learning and problem-solving.

1. Develop Leaders Through Vertical Growth

To lead others toward transcendence, leaders themselves must develop beyond operational and achievement-based mindsets. Vertical development focuses on evolving how leaders think, not just what they know.

Key shifts for leaders:

• From transactional to transformational leadership.
• From directing to coaching.
• From performance-focused to purpose-driven.

Leading a Workforce That is More Connected to Self

Newer generations entering the workforce are already more connected to their personal values and wellbeing. Unlike previous generations, they are not simply looking for financial security or career advancement; they want alignment between their work and their identity.

What does this mean for leaders?

• Leaders must engage employees in conversations about values and how these align with business objectives.
• They must provide opportunities for self-expression and autonomy in work structures.
• Most importantly, they must model the very self-awareness and purpose they wish to instill in their teams.

Conclusion: The Future of Leadership is Transcendent

Maslow’s final tier of self-transcendence offers a new way of thinking about engagement, leadership, and motivation. The highest-performing teams are not just competent and goal-driven; they operate with a deep sense of shared purpose, psychological safety, and a culture that enables intrinsic motivation.

For leaders, the challenge is clear: you must develop beyond self-actualization if you want your teams to do the same. By embracing self-transcendence and fostering environments where connection, curiosity, and purpose thrive, organisations can unlock levels of engagement, innovation, and performance that go far beyond traditional models.

At Circle & Square, we help leaders and teams move beyond surface-level engagement to a place where connection drives performance, and purpose fuels results. The future of work is not just about what we achieve: but about what we create together.

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The Paradox of Productivity. The Paradox of Productivity

Hope is not just an emotion; it is a fundamental necessity in leadership. Recent research underscores that among the core needs of followers, hope emerges as the most vital component. Gallup’s Global Leadership Report highlights that 56% of leadership attributes associated with positive influence relate to hope. Similarly, the Scientific American article emphasises that hope has a more profound impact than even mindfulness in fostering resilience and engagement. In this context, Eric Berne’s Transactional Analysis (TA) offers a valuable lens through which to understand how leaders can provide hope through their ego states: particularly the Critical Parent, Nurturing Parent, and Adult ego states.

Gallup’s research identifies four key needs that followers seek from their leaders: hope, trust, compassion, and stability. Of these, hope stands out as the most critical, serving as the foundation for trust, engagement, and future-oriented action. Leaders who instil hope create environments where employees feel motivated and connected to a vision greater than themselves. Without hope, employees can become disengaged, cynical, and uncertain about the future, leading to diminished performance and well-being.

Scientific American further supports this notion, asserting that hope fosters proactive behaviours, problem-solving, and resilience in times of uncertainty. Hope is not just wishful thinking but an actionable belief that the future can be better and that one has the agency to influence outcomes. The study from Clemson University and North Carolina State University, in collaboration with MusiCares, found that musicians and performers who maintained hope during the COVID-19 pandemic displayed greater resilience, emotional well-being, and adaptability in the face of adversity.

Transactional Analysis and the Role of the Critical Parent

Eric Berne’s Transactional Analysis describes three primary ego states: the Parent, the Adult, and the Child. Within the Parent ego state, the Critical Parent and Nurturing Parent play crucial roles in shaping how leaders communicate hope.

• The Critical Parent as a Containing Force
• The Critical Parent is often seen as a disciplinarian, setting boundaries and ensuring accountability. While it can be perceived negatively, it provides structure, which is essential for employees seeking stability and direction.
• In leadership, an effective Critical Parent instils confidence by demonstrating that they have a plan, have thought about the future, and are capable of navigating challenges. When leaders articulate a vision backed by strategy and clear expectations, they offer the containment employees need to feel secure and hopeful about the future.
• The Nurturing Parent as an Encouraging Force
• The Nurturing Parent provides emotional support, fostering psychological safety and trust.
• A leader operating from this state reassures employees during crises, acknowledges their efforts, and reinforces their belief in their own abilities. This aligns with Gallup’s findings that trust and compassion are integral to effective leadership.
• Scientific American’s discussion on hope as a motivator aligns with the Nurturing Parent’s role in maintaining optimism and engagement, especially during adversity.
• The Adult Ego State as a Rational Balancer
• The Adult ego state processes information logically, making balanced decisions based on facts rather than emotions or past conditioning.
• When leaders integrate the Adult state, they assess reality accurately while still fostering hope. They provide measured, realistic optimism: offering not just motivation but also a path forward based on clear evidence and strategic thinking.

Integrating Hope into Leadership Practices

Given the significance of hope, leaders must intentionally cultivate it within their teams. Here’s how leaders can leverage Transactional Analysis to provide hope effectively:

• Balance the Critical and Nurturing Parent States: Leaders should set firm but fair expectations (Critical Parent) while also offering encouragement and empathy (Nurturing Parent).

• Use the Adult State to Communicate Realistic Optimism: Instead of offering false hope, leaders should use data, strategy, and thoughtful planning to provide a credible vision for the future.

• Foster Psychological Safety: Employees need to feel secure in order to remain hopeful. Creating environments where employees can express concerns, ask questions, and receive honest feedback strengthens their resilience and trust in leadership.

• Encourage Future-Oriented Thinking: Based on the findings of Clemson University’s research, hopefulness is a future-oriented state that helps people generate pathways around challenges. Leaders can cultivate this mindset by encouraging employees to visualize their goals, strategise solutions, and take proactive steps toward success.

Leadership as a ‘Dealer in Hope’

Napoleon Bonaparte once said, “A leader is a dealer in hope.” Today’s research and psychological insights affirm this wisdom. Leaders who provide hope through clear vision, emotional support, and rational guidance create the conditions for trust, engagement, and success. By leveraging Transactional Analysis, leaders can understand the interplay between their ego states and consciously adopt behaviours that instil hope in their teams. In an era of uncertainty, hope is not just an abstract ideal: it is the cornerstone of effective leadership. Transactional analysis forms the cornerstone of the Circle & Square offerings. Contact us for more information.

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The Paradox of Productivity. The Paradox of Productivity

Trust is the bedrock upon which effective teams are built. Its presence fosters collaboration, innovation, and accountability, while its absence can lead to dysfunction, disengagement, and failure. In today’s workplace, where many employees feel disconnected from leadership, re-engaging the workforce starts with rebuilding trust at the leadership level. Understanding the pivotal role of trust in senior leadership teams is essential for any organisation aiming for sustained success.

The Foundation of Teamwork: Patrick Lencioni’s Perspective

In his seminal work, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Patrick Lencioni identifies the absence of trust as the primary dysfunction that hampers team performance. He emphasises that foundational trust is lacking when team members are unwilling to be vulnerable with one another: hesitant to admit mistakes, share concerns, or ask for help. This reluctance prevents the establishment of a safe environment where open dialogue and genuine collaboration can thrive. Without trust, teams are ill-equipped to engage in constructive conflict, commit to decisions, hold each other accountable, or focus on collective results. Re-engaging employees starts with leadership teams demonstrating trust in one another and, in turn, extending that trust to the broader workforce.

The Economics of Trust: Insights from Stephen M.R. Covey

Stephen M.R. Covey, in his book The Speed of Trust, articulates that trust is not merely a social virtue but a critical economic driver. He is of the opinion that as trust increases within an organisation, so does the speed of operations, while costs decrease: a concept he encapsulates as the “trust dividend.” Conversely, low trust results in a “trust tax,” where every transaction is slower and more costly due to the need for checks, controls, and verification processes. Covey underscores that trust affects two measurable outcomes: speed and cost. When trust diminishes, in a relationship, on a team, or within an organisation, speed decreases, costs increase, and employees disengage. Leaders who prioritise trust as a strategic advantage will find that they can accelerate execution, re-engage employees, and foster a culture of high performance.

The Current Trust Deficit in Leadership

Recent studies highlight a concerning decline in trust in organisational leadership. A Gallup report reveals that only 21% of U.S. employees strongly agree that they trust the leadership of their organisation, marking a decline from previous years. This erosion of trust can lead to decreased employee engagement, lower productivity, and higher turnover rates: key indicators of a disengaged workforce.

Furthermore, a survey by PwC indicates a disparity in trust perceptions within organisational hierarchies. While 53% of business executives express a high level of trust in their senior leadership teams, only 38% extend that same trust to entry-level staff. This gap suggests a need for initiatives that build trust across all levels of the organisation, ensuring that employees feel aligned with leadership’s vision and strategic direction.

Building and Restoring Trust in Leadership Teams to Re-engage Employees

To re-engage the workforce and create a high-trust environment, senior leadership teams must:

1. Demonstrate Vulnerability: Leaders should model openness by acknowledging their own mistakes and uncertainties, setting a precedent for team members to do the same.
2. Foster Open Communication: Encouraging transparent dialogue ensures that concerns are addressed promptly and minimised misunderstandings, fostering employee trust.
3. Commit to Accountability: Holding oneself and others accountable reinforces a culture of reliability and integrity, ensuring employees feel supported and valued.
4. Recognise and Celebrate Contributions: Acknowledging individual and team achievements builds confidence and reinforces trust across all levels of the organisation.
5. Invest in Relationship Building: Regular team-building activities and opportunities for personal interaction strengthen interpersonal bonds and re-engage employees by making them feel part of a cohesive team.

Circle and Square’s Experience in Re-engaging the Workforce Through Trust

Circle and Square have worked with many leadership teams over the last 22 years and equip leaders with the psychological skills and insights to move to a space of vulnerability and integrity needed to build trust. Trust is about character and competence, and in our experience, it is often unintentional behaviour in character that breaks trust in a team. By helping leaders recognise and address these behaviours, we enable teams to foster a high-trust environment that drives sustainable success. When trust is present at the leadership level, it cascades down to employees, re-engaging them by creating a culture of psychological safety and alignment with organisational goals.

Conclusion

Trust is not a mere byproduct of effective teams; it is the catalyst that enables teams to function optimally and employees to stay engaged. By prioritising trust-building initiatives, senior leadership teams can enhance collaboration, drive innovation, and achieve sustained organisational success. When trust is present, teams move faster, work smarter, and deliver results more efficiently. Most importantly, trust enables leaders to re-engage their workforce, creating a thriving, high-performing organisational culture.

For a deeper understanding of the importance of trust in teams, you might find this talk by Patrick Lencioni insightful: The Importance of Trust by Patrick Lencioni.

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The Paradox of Productivity. The Paradox of Productivity

SCARF Yourself: Reflect, Grow, and Thrive in Life & Work

A couple of weeks ago I was having a conversation with one of my colleagues and she introduced me to the SCARF model.

This conversation sparked my interests in how the SCARF model can be used as a tool for reflection in both our personal and professional lives as it sheds light on the underlying drivers to our behaviours.
The SCARF model comes from modern neuroscience.

Developed by Dr. David Rock in 2008, model offers a fascinating perspective on how social threats and rewards impact our brain function. The SCARF model consists of five key domains Status, Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness, and Fairness.

Status:

Status speaks to the desire to feel valued and respected, it pertains to an individual’s relative importance or standing within a group. Inherently, as humans, we create hierarchies in society and our positions in these hierarchies can significantly impact our self-esteem and motivation.

Having a high status can lead to positive feelings and increased self-esteem, while a perceived threat to status can trigger feelings of defensiveness or stress. Consider situations where you felt a boost in confidence or a threat to your self-esteem.

What behaviours or actions triggered these feelings? How can you cultivate a stronger sense of inner worth?

Certainty:

Certainty involves the need to understand expectations and predict outcomes. The human brain craves predictability, and uncertainty can lead to stress and anxiety. Clear communication and transparency reduce uncertainty, as it provides a sense of security.

Think about times you felt secure and organised, versus moments of uncertainty or chaos. How can you create more structure and predictability in your life?

Autonomy:

Autonomy refers to the feeling of control over our work and decisions. A sense of autonomy is crucial for motivation and satisfaction. When people feel they have control over their work and lives they are more likely to take initiative and exhibit creativity. Micromanagement, on the other hand, can diminish autonomy, leading to disengagement and frustration. Reflect on instances where you felt empowered and in control, and situations where you felt restricted or micromanaged.

How can you advocate for more autonomy in different aspects of your life?

Relatedness:

Relatedness speaks to the sense of connection and belonging with others. Humans have an innate need to connect with others and feel part of a group. Fostering strong interpersonal relationships and a sense of community can enhance relatedness. Consider your social circles and activities.
Do you feel a strong sense of belonging and connection? How can you nurture these relationships and build new connections?

Fairness:

Fairness involves the perception of being treated justly and ethically. Perceived unfairness can trigger strong negative reactions, leading to conflict and a toxic environment. Ensuring transparency in decision-making, equitable distribution of resources, and fair treatment to everyone is crucial for maintaining a sense of fairness. Evaluate recent interactions.

Did you feel treated with fairness and respect? How can you ensure you’re acting fairly towards yourself and others?

In conclusion examining our experiences through the lens of Status, Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness, and Fairness, allows us as individuals and organisations to gain insights into behaviours, reactions, and social dynamics.

The SCARF model empowers leaders to cultivate secure work environments, fosters effective communication for stronger relationships, and guides us to navigate personal interactions with greater understanding.

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A Wise Teacher Once Posed A Challenge To His Students:

Each of them had a balloon with their name on it. All the balloons would fall from the ceiling and they would be given 5 minutes to find their own balloon. If everyone found the balloon with their name on it, they would all win. If not, then they would all lose.

Although everyone tried to find their own, once the time was up they were unable to do so. The teacher then put the balloons back and suggested they tried something different the second time around. He encouraged them this time to catch a balloon and then look for the person to whom the balloon belonged.

Within less than 3 minutes everyone had received their own balloon.

The lesson the teacher shared was life changing: “Finding happiness and fulfilment is just like finding our balloon. If we only look for our own, we will never find it. But if we all help each other, we will also find our own along the way”.

This lesson is such a powerful one and truly resonates with me. The beauty of the lesson is that it not only applies to our personal relationships but to the ones we build in our businesses too. If we are there to guide and help others to achieve whatever they are wanting, we will in turn find what we are after as well.

We Don’t Have To Make A Choice Between Self Or Other

We don’t have to make a choice between self or other but rather how can we integrate the two. In a self-focused 2024 world, I feel like I need to back this statement with some research. So even if this is not “your thing”, just take note that helping others can even be serving the self because it can contribute to your own happiness.

According to https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/social-instincts/202105/happiness-comes-making-others-feel-good, when we help others and lifting others up, we experience a boost in happiness. It may seem counterintuitive, but making someone else happy often brings more personal joy than self-focused pursuits. Feeling close to others also plays a role and it is through acts of kindness that inspire feelings of closeness which too can enhance our well-being.

Remember, as Martin Luther King Jr. wisely said, “The surest way to be happy is to seek happiness for others.” So, let’s spread joy by lifting others up!

*Thank you Peretz Segal for sharing this story

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