Takeaways from the Elevate Team Impact Roundtable: Empowering Teams to Flourish, featuring Rachel Llanes
In LEAD3R’s recent roundtable, “Empowering Teams to Flourish,” Rachel Llanes, founder of The Gardin Group and creator of the Science of Flourishing Training (S.O.F.T.) program, led a rich discussion on cultivating team resilience and empowerment. Hosted by LEAD3R’s Chief Customer Officer, Kurt Landon, the session provided both practical insights and real-life examples shared by participants, offering a deeper understanding of how to create empowered and resilient teams.
Leadership Formula
Rachel introduced her leadership formula built on five key components that she believes are essential for any successful team:
- Clear Vision, Mission, and Values: Leaders must paint a compelling, visceral image of the future to energize their teams. Clarity on the mission and values helps align everyone toward common goals.
- Clear Roles and Goals: Without well-defined job descriptions and KPIs, team members may become confused and burned out. Establishing clear roles eliminates unnecessary guesswork and promotes accountability.
- Clear Project Guidelines: By creating detailed project guidelines and defining responsibility through a RACI matrix (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed), teams can avoid inefficiency and frustration.
- Opportunities for Choice and Voice: A culture of empowerment thrives when team members have the freedom to make decisions within clear guidelines and are encouraged to voice their ideas and perspectives. Leaders must actively elicit input, creating psychological safety where individuals feel they can contribute without fear of punishment.
- Personal Passion: Finally, leaders must radiate energy and enthusiasm for their work. Passion is contagious, and a leader’s attitude sets the tone for the team’s motivation and engagement.
Conflict As a Sign of a Healthy Team
Conflict was another major theme of the roundtable. Participants discussed how unresolved conflicts can fester and become larger issues. An example that was shared was about taking over a team where previous leadership had not fostered a culture of trust or openness. The participant recounted how, despite asking for feedback, team members would remain silent. It wasn’t until they consistently encouraged disagreement and showed there were no negative consequences for speaking up that the team began to share their true thoughts. This shift led to healthier dynamics and, ultimately, better decision-making. Rachel concluded with a reflection on how conflict, much like leadership, is a skill that must be developed. She drew from her own experience growing up in an environment of conflict, sharing how it taught her the importance of constructive conflict resolution. She challenged leaders to provide a framework for their teams to engage in healthy disagreements, pointing out that without this guidance, teams might avoid conflict altogether, missing out on valuable opportunities for growth.
LEAD3R can equip leaders with the skills and frameworks to navigate conflict constructively, turning moments of tension into opportunities for deeper trust, collaboration, and stronger team dynamics. By embracing conflict as a necessary component of a thriving team, LEAD3R helps leaders build resilient, empowered teams that are better prepared to overcome challenges and drive success.
Click below to find out how we can help!
Humanizing Leadership
Participants left the session not only with Rachel’s leadership framework but also with a renewed understanding of how to humanize their leadership approach and foster open communication. Ultimately, empowering team members and providing psychological safety doesn’t excuse leaders from leading. Leadership requires balance—setting direction while creating space for voices to be heard.
This session was a powerful reminder that leadership is about more than just managing tasks; it’s about cultivating an environment where people can thrive. By applying Rachel’s leadership formula and embracing conflict as a natural part of growth, leaders can create teams that are empowered, resilient, and ready to flourish.
Additional Resources
The podcast, The Future of Teamwork, hosted by LEAD3R CEO, Dane Groeneveld, is all about empowering teams to flourish and thrive – here are some very relevant episodes, including one featuring Rachel. We invite you to listen and subscribe!
