How to Unite Around a Project and Sustainably Engage Your Teams

Uniting a team around a project is not just about presenting a numerical goal. It's about transforming a roadmap into a true collective adventure. It's about creating shared momentum, an energy that gives meaning to everyone's work and drives everyone in the same direction. The key? Putting people at the heart of the strategy to generate lasting engagement.

Why Uniting is a True Performance Lever

Animating and uniting a team is not just a matter of well-being at work. It's a deeply strategic approach that transforms individual energy into a collective force, capable of moving mountains and stimulating innovation.

A project that unites is not just a performance objective. It's a vision that inspires. Daniel Kahneman's work on decision-making clearly shows this: our actions are massively guided by our emotions. A project that speaks to both the heart and the mind has a multiplied mobilization power.

This infographic perfectly summarizes the process of moving from a vision to concrete results.

It's clear that performance is never the starting point. It's the logical consequence of a clear, shared vision put into action by a united team.

The Concrete Impact on the Company

When employees truly feel connected to a common goal, the benefits are immediate. We observe very direct effects:

• Breaking down silos between departments by creating opportunities to collaborate on neutral and stimulating ground.
• Aligning personal objectives with the company's overall mission, which naturally strengthens cohesion.
• Injecting a good dose of shared meaning, which motivates far beyond simple daily tasks.
• Boosting productivity and creativity through a climate of trust and healthy competition.

A common project is not a measurable future; it's a desirable future. It's the whole difference between saying "we will achieve +20% growth" and "we will become the benchmark in our sector thanks to our team spirit."

Understanding what truly motivates people is essential for the success of any project. To delve deeper into the topic, this article on how to effectively motivate a sales team is full of good ideas that actually apply to any team.

Platforms like ccup.io are real catalysts for engagement. By using sports as a universal language, they allow you to transform a simple idea into a memorable collective adventure. Moreover, if you want to go further, learning how to measure employee engagement is an excellent way to check the impact of your actions.

Listening to Your Organization to Build a Relevant Project

Launching an initiative to unite around a project without having taken the pulse of your organization is a bit like organizing a surprise party without knowing the tastes of the guest of honor. The risk? Completely missing the mark. The very first step, well before thinking about engagement mechanics and rewards, is therefore a phase of active and structured listening.

It's about understanding what's really happening internally: what motivates the teams? What are their daily frustrations? What topics naturally create bonds? Ignoring these questions quickly leads to a project perceived as just another gadget imposed by management.

Identifying Stakeholders and Their Expectations

For a project to come to life, it needs allies. A true coalition. Your diagnosis must therefore seek opinions at all levels, as each group has different expectations and motivation levers.

• Operational teams: They are the ones on the ground. Most often, they seek solutions that simplify their daily lives, improve communication between services, or simply bring a breath of fresh air into the routine.
• Middle managers: Often caught in a vice, they need concrete tools to bond their team, animate their rituals, and achieve their objectives. A well-thought-out unifying project can be a direct response to these challenges.
• The executive committee (CODIR): Naturally, their concerns are more strategic. They want to see an impact on performance, the attractiveness of the company, or culture. To engage them, you will need to talk about return on investment (ROI) and alignment with the company's major objectives.

Understanding these different perspectives is key to building a narrative that speaks to everyone.

Conducting an Effective Field Diagnosis

Rather than relying on your intuition, it's time to pull out some simple tools to collect valuable information. The goal is to transform a unilateral idea into a co-constructed project.

1. Anonymous surveys: Tools like Google Forms or Typeform are perfect for asking direct questions about the atmosphere, collaboration challenges, or the types of events that would be appreciated. Anonymity is essential for obtaining candid responses.
2. Small group discussions: Nothing beats a coffee or lunch with groups of 5 to 7 people from different departments. The idea is not to present your project but to ask open-ended questions. For example: "If you had a magic wand, what would you change to improve the work atmosphere?" You will be surprised by the gems that come out.
3. Analysis of communication channels: What is being said on Slack or Teams? What topics keep coming up in internal newsletters? These channels are a goldmine for sensing current concerns.

Spending time listening beforehand ensures that your project will not just be accepted, but that it will be anticipated. It's no longer