One thing I have learned through working with many different businesses is that the quality of your team conversations directly predicts the quality of your business outcomes!

So often the conversations that really matter are the ones being avoided – why? 

Fear, misunderstanding and often simply a lack of a practical solution to make these discussions productive rather than painful.

And it’s costing you – in missed opportunities, slow decision-making and talent walking out the door.

So what can you do about it – what is really driving your team’s conversations?

We all know that people are motivated by different things, I’ve read Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and even Tony Robbins “Human Needs” but I struggled to find a way to use that information to help me and those I work with improve team performance.

Then I started to work with the Harrison Assessments!

Within Harrison there are 8 fundamental areas that drive engagement in conversations:

1. Development – Learning opportunities, advancement, challenges
2. Appreciation – Recognition, having opinions valued
3. Authority – Independence and decision-making responsibility
4. Social – Interaction with others
5. Communication – How ideas and information are exchanged
6. Personal – Individual preferences and work style
7. Remuneration – Compensation considerations
8. Work/Life Balance – Flexibility and work arrangements

When people’s primary engagement factors aren’t being met, team conversations become defensive, unproductive and often hostile. Understanding these factors gives you a practical roadmap for creating better discussions.

For example; I worked with a small business where the operations manager would shut down in meetings. He’d sit quietly, barely contributing, and then complain afterwards about the decisions made.

When using Harrison we dug into what motivated him, we found he needed two things: some control over his work (Authority) and problems to solve that stretched his skills (Development).

The business owner simply changed the meeting format. Instead of presenting ready-made solutions, she started bringing the problems to the table and asking, “How would you approach this?” She also gave him ownership of implementing the solutions they agreed on.

Within a month, he went from being the quietest person in meetings to one of the most engaged contributors.

What can I do now?

Here’s an approach you can implement immediately even without using a formal assessment like Harrison: 

1. Start with observation

Pay attention to when team members seem most engaged versus disengaged. Ask yourself:

• Does Sarah contribute more when given freedom to make decisions? (Authority)
• Does Mark perk up when discussing challenging new projects? (Development)
• Does Jamie need acknowledgment before feeling confident? (Appreciation)

2. Create psychological safety

Use your observations to create safety for honest discussion:

• “I’d like to give you space to approach this your own way” (for those who value Authority)
• “This conversation will stretch your skills” (for those who value Development)
• “I really valued your contribution to the last project” (for those who value Appreciation)

3. Create shared agreements

End each significant conversation with clear agreements that respect what motivates each person.

• “Sarah, you’ll take ownership of redesigning the process and have freedom to implement it your way, but will update us by Friday” (respecting her need for Authority)
• “Mark, you’ll work with the client to gather requirements, which will give you the chance to develop those new skills we discussed” (addressing his Development needs)
• “Jamie, we’ll schedule a review session where the team can provide feedback on your work before it goes to the client” (supporting his need for Appreciation)

1 simple exercise for you to try at your next team meeting:

1. Share the list of 8 engagement areas 
2. Ask each person to identify what they think are their top two 
3. Start a conversation around how this influences how they prefer to communicate
4. Make a note of how the discussion develops and revisit another time to discuss again

This quick activity often reveals surprising insights and immediately improves team dynamics.

Why use Harrison then?

While the exercise above is valuable, I’ve seen how formal Harrison Assessments take this understanding to another level. After all we are not always confident in expressing what truly motivates us and sometimes we are not fully aware either.

Harrison Engagement and Retention Analysis provides:

• Precise measurement of engagement factors (not just which ones matter, but how much)
• A common language for discussing preferences without personality clashes
• Clear guidance for tailored engagement strategies
• Team-level insights that help prioritise culture initiatives

As Harrison’s research shows, employees who enjoy at least 75% of their job are approximately 3 times more likely to succeed than those who enjoy less than 75%. This isn’t fuzzy theory – it’s practical business psychology that leads to measurable results.

What’s the point?

Small businesses can’t afford the cost of poor team conversations. Understanding what truly drives each team member is essential infrastructure for scaling successfully.

Start with the simple framework above, and consider formal assessments when you’re ready to take your team’s performance to the next level.

Want a no-nonsense conversation about how these frameworks might help your business? Get in touch to discuss how team coaching using Harrison’s insights could transform your team conversations.