Building Connection and Clarity in a Newly Formed Hybrid Team
Client: A top-tier, full-service corporate and commercial law firm based in South Africa with a national footprint, considered one of the “Big Five”
Industry: Legal Services
Focus: Team Development; Agile & Resilient Teams; Enneagram; Cloverleaf
What They Were Up Against
In 2024, the client was facing a challenge specifically with one of their critical teams. They were a newly formed, hybrid team, with members based across multiple locations. As a result, team members felt physically and emotionally disconnected, which affected collaboration, trust, and cohesion. The team needed to build stronger interpersonal connections and develop a shared understanding of how to work effectively together.
What Was At Stake If Nothing Changed?
Reduced collaboration and slower decision-making due to a lack of trust and alignment
Potential impact on overall team performance and productivity
Lower engagement and morale, particularly for team members who feel isolated
Leadership challenges in guiding and supporting a cohesive, high-performing team
Where We Chose to Focus
Through our discovery sessions with the stakeholders, we identified that the team’s hybrid structure, coupled with their recent formation, had created both practical and relational disconnections. Members were physically separated and had limited shared experiences, which made it difficult to build trust, understand one another’s working styles, and establish a shared sense of purpose. The core insight was that these challenges were not just about location; they reflected gaps in team collaboration and effectiveness, clarity of role interaction, and alignment around shared goals.
We chose to focus our energy on rebuilding connection, cultivating mutual understanding, and creating clarity around priorities for the next few months. Using the Enneagram as a central tool, along with the Yellow Seed High-Performing Team Diagnostic, which identifies eight key aspects of high-performing teams, we worked with the team to identify key priorities for the coming months. This helped separate superficial issues from deeper, structural challenges, ensuring the team focused on strategies that would have lasting value.
This focus area offered the greatest potential impact, not only in strengthening interpersonal relationships but also in building a sustainable framework for team performance. By prioritising connection, understanding, and clarity, the team was equipped to navigate hybrid working arrangements, align around shared goals, and function more effectively as a high-performing unit.
How We Partnered for Impact
To address the team’s challenges, we designed an immersive workshop that combined experiential learning, reflection, and structured exercises.
The workshop integrated the Enneagram as a central tool to guide both individual and team development:
Individual Awareness
Each member of the team completed the Enneagram assessment, exploring their type and gaining insight into their motivations, strengths, and potential blind spots. This helped them understand not only their own working style but also how they respond under stress or in high-pressure situations
Relational Understanding
Using Enneagram insights, the team examined how different types interact, communicate, and approach problem-solving. This deepened empathy and provided a shared language to discuss behaviours constructively
Storytelling and Narrative Exercises
Each member shared personal stories and reflections informed by their Enneagram type, which helped surface values, priorities, and perspectives that might otherwise have gone unnoticed in a hybrid team
Exercises aligning with the Yellow Seed high-performing teams framework were incorporated into the workshop. This comprehensive approach helped the team map specific challenges, brainstorm solutions, and co-create a strategy for what to focus on over the next few months.
To ensure continuity and embed learning, we provided follow-up support:
A second workshop allowed the team to reflect on progress, review the strategy, and address new or emerging challenges
A leadership coaching session with the team leader focused on interpreting workshop insights, strengthening team oversight, and identifying practical ways to support the team’s ongoing development
What Shifted
The combined effect of the workshops, coaching, and structured reflection created visible and felt shifts in how the team operated, both in their daily interactions and in the way they approached work collectively.
Clearer Focus and Accountability
By mapping their challenges against the high-performing teams’ framework, the group clarified where energy needed to be channelled
Greater Openness and Trust
The approaches used helped team members connect more and understand each other. This shifted the group dynamic from guarded exchanges to a more authentic connection
A Shared Language For Behaviour
The Enneagram assessment provided the team with a practical vocabulary to make sense of behaviours and stress patterns
Shift In Leadership Presence
The team leader, through coaching, adopted a more facilitative stance. Rather than carrying the responsibility alone, they leaned on the team to co-own solutions, which strengthened collective responsibility
Success Enablers
Enneagram As A Unifier
Its use across both individual and team layers gave coherence to the process. The team could see how personal tendencies translated into group dynamics, making the work more relatable and actionable
Experiential Design
The mix of assessment, narrative work, and structured frameworks meant that the team engaged both cognitively and emotionally. This increased retention and willingness to apply insights
Continuity Touchpoints
The second workshop and coaching session created reinforcement loops. Instead of a once-off event, the journey allowed space for application, reflection, and adaptation
