Improve Employee Engagement Through the Application of Systems Thinking to Develop Team Chemistry

Research suggests that high employee engagement has a strong positive impact on organizational performance. When employees work in teams and actively contribute to organizational purpose, employee engagement improves and performance outcomes benefit. To realize an employee’s potential in a team, managers must craft deliberate work relationships. The focus on the whole, or systems thinking, allows managers to capitalize on and appreciate differences in work behaviors. This study examines team chemistry, in which Deloitte’s preferred work styles known as Pioneers, Drivers, Integrators, and Guardians, are examined for ideal fit to increase organizational performance. Addressing the organization’s system, and the team’s ideal structure, drives higher rates of employee engagement. This study includes an examination of two different work teams inside one organization. The study compares performance outcomes from one team applying a systems-thinking approach, versus a team void of these considerations. This research adds to the body of work that investigates effective employee engagement strategies for improved organizational performance.