Culture Pillar Activation Guide

Your pillar activation guide keeps you connected beyond your Groops sessions with key group connection concepts to review, discussions questions to continue to reflect on or talk about, and takeaways or things to try to apply new skills and knowledge together.

Session 1: Culture: A Set of Living Relationships

Or Session 1: Part 1 of Accelerated 3-Part Series

Group Connection Concept

Culture, from the Latin cultus, means care.

Culture is a set of living relationships working towards a shared goal. It isn’t something you have, it is something you do. High-performing groups make equal space and time for the functional (task) and relational (people) aspects of work because the better people work and feel together, the better the results. View more about task and people orientation here.

Group Discussion Questions

Continue the Conversation

  • Is our work group task-oriented or people-oriented? Why?

  • How are people in our group motivated?

  • Do we actively create a sense of safety? How?

  • Do we regularly build culture (belonging, vulnerability, purpose) in our group? How?

Takeaways or Things to Try

Take Action Together

  • Reflect on the shared goals of the group and discuss with your colleagues. Ask: “Why are we a group? For what purpose? How do we want to feel as a group? How can we achieve that?”

  • Discuss as a group how to make equal space and time for the functional (task) and relational (people) aspects of work.

  • Make belonging, vulnerability, and purpose goals of the group. Discuss what that looks like in your unique group.

  • Remember, high-performing teams revisit goals regularly. Make it a practice.

Session 2: Safety & Belonging: Hardwired at Work

Or Session 1: Part 2 of Accelerated 3-Part Series

Group Connection Concept

We are hardwired for safety and belonging.

At most moments, we are consciously or subconsciously scanning the environment asking ourselves: “Am I safe? Do I belong?” If we do not feel safe, we cannot connect and we are not free to be completely ourselves. Psychological safety is feeling one can speak up without risk of punishment or humiliation. We have to send active cues that we are safe and we belong.

Group Discussion Questions

Continue the Conversation

  • How safe do people feel in our work group?

  • How direct, honest, and respectful are we as a group?

  • Are belonging cues sent in our group? If so, how?

  • How is failure handled in our group? What is the messaging?

  • Do we create space for all voices and opinions? If so, how?

Takeaways or Things to Try

Take Action Together

  • Model fallibility.

  • Overcommunicate listening and care.

  • Practice radical candor (not brutal honesty) – say what you are thinking and feeling.

  • Ask your colleague something about their life outside of work.

  • Look to create space for other people’s voices.

  • Show appreciation including divergent voices.

Session 3: Vulnerability: Open (Enough) to Injury

Or Session 2: Part 1 of Accelerated 3-Part Series

Group Connection Concept

Vulnerability is the state of being open to injury.

Whether it is emotional, physical, economic, social, environmental, it is a potential exposure to being injured. But it is also deeper than that. It is a way of sending signals in a group. Vulnerability is the habit of taking mutual risk, which drives cooperation. Having an organization where people are willing to express their own individual vulnerability is important, but it’s not enough. The magic is in the second person whose response sets the tone and activates the vulnerability loop. View the vulnerability loop model here.

Group Discussion Questions

Continue the Conversation

  • What words first come to mind when I think about the word “vulnerability?”

  • What is your personal comfort with being vulnerable in general? At work?

  • How often does our work group express vulnerability?

  • How can we create opportunities to be vulnerable together?

  • What do you hope for in terms of vulnerability in our group?

  • What might get in the way of achieving that?

Takeaways or Things to Try

Take Action Together

  • Practice saying, “I screwed that up.”

  • Overcommunicate listening.

  • Look for micro-moments of vulnerability.

  • Catch and reflect when someone is vulnerable.

  • Share something that acknowledges a failure or shortcoming.

  • Practice radical candor (say what you are thinking and feeling).

Session 4: Purpose: Why Are We Doing This?

Or Session 2: Part 2 of Accelerated 3-Part Series

Group Connection Concept

Purpose is the reason something exists or is done.

People are purpose-driven by nature. By having a clear “why” we can face all the “how” questions of life (Viktor Frankl). Personal purpose refers to doing something larger than ourselves. Group purpose refers to the big picture reason your group exists. The intersection of personal and group purpose builds commitment to each other and to the group. View tips for defining purpose here.

Group Discussion Questions

Continue the Conversation

  • What comes to mind when you think about your personal purpose—what moves you today?

  • When you feel most energized, what are you doing? What purpose does it bring you?

  • What is the purpose of this group? Why does this group exist?

  • How does the purpose of this group intersect with your personal purpose and how not?

  • What would need to happen to make your work in this group more purpose-driven?

Takeaways or Things to Try

Take Action Together

  • Talk about personal purpose at work—build it into regular group meetings.

  • Articulate the purpose or story of this group. Talk about it often.

  • Notice and explore when, how, and why your personal purpose intersects with the purpose of the group—and not.

Session 5: The Power of Reflection to Strengthen Our Culture

Or Session 3: Part 1 of Accelerated 3-Part Series

Group Connection Concept

Reflection is conscious consideration of beliefs and behaviors. 

People who reflect are more productive and feel better. Yet, many people do not regularly make time for it. Reflecting on the personal and professional are both important. When we connect the two, magic happens.

Reflection gives the brain the chance to pause in chaos to sort through experiences, thoughts, feelings, and behaviors—to create meaning in action that is often subconscious or done quickly. This is crucial for growth.

Group Discussion Questions

Continue the Conversation

  • Without overthinking or judging, how do we foster a sense of safety and belonging?

  • Without overthinking or judging, how do we foster a sense of vulnerability?

  • Without overthinking or judging, how do we foster a sense of purpose?

  • How might we build a better ongoing practice of fostering safety, belonging, vulnerability, and purpose together?

Takeaways or Things to Try

Take Action Together

  • Build a regular practice of noticing and naming moments of safety, belonging, vulnerability, and purpose in the group.

  • Ask yourself daily: What moments of safety, belonging, vulnerability and purpose did I notice today and how did it serve me and the group?

  • Once a quarter, ask each member of the group to share the most memorable moments of safety, belonging, vulnerability and purpose.

  • Once a quarter, ask each member of the group to share how they would like to deepen safety, belonging, vulnerability and purpose.

Session 6: Looking Back at Our Culture to Move Forward as a Group

Or Session 3: Part 2 of Accelerated 3-Part Series

Group Connection Concept

Looking back on growth, looking forward with hope. 

Taking time to reflect on learnings, consolidate gains, and plan for the future helps groups make positive change and evolve together.

Doing this at regular intervals is how healthy culture is built. Remember, work relationships are like any relationship and require ongoing cultivation and care.

Self Reflection Questions

Continue the Conversation

  • What was the most memorable moment for you from this Groops experience?

  • What was most helpful about this Groops experience?

  • What do you wish we did or had more time for in this Groops experience?

  • What did you learn about yourself through this Groops experience?

  • What did you learn about your group through this Groops experience?

  • What do you hope for moving forward? What do you want to build into your group?

  • Is there anything you want to share that you have not yet had a chance to share?

Group Reflections & Intentions

Take Action Together

Capture your self reflection in 3 statements to share…

  • I feel… is a starting point for capturing how you feel about your connection to your group following this series.

  • I wish… is a starting point for what could be done differently to strengthen your group connection.

  • What if we… is a starting point for ideas or actions you all can take to feel better and do things differently as a group going forward.

Take Action Toolkits

The Groops experience helps your group uncover opportunities and pain points through expert-guided exploratory conversations. This toolkit helps you translate discussion into group-directed activation through prompts and frameworks designed to help your group further understand and apply key concepts from your program.