Sparked Vol. 080 – Engage your Team by Showing your Care

This edition of Sparked was published and delivered on January 16, 2026.

We deliver Sparked every other week, written for leaders who are ready to get intentional about bringing their team together, building engagement, earning buy-in, and driving motivation to build high-performing teams that drive remarkable results.

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Engage your Team by Showing your Care

How do you show your care for your team members?

If I were to ask your team members how you show your care for them, what would they say?

I’ll generalize for a moment: most leaders care about their people. We assume our team knows and feels that care. If you don’t, it might be best for everyone (including yourself) to find an individual contributor role.

I’m also willing to bet that you care more about your collective team and individual team members than they feel. There’s an opportunity in that.

And while most people leaders I come across do genuinely care about their team members, many of them struggle to show it consistently.

Showing your care isn’t just about recognizing people for a job well done.

It’s about the consistent feeling that your team members hold based on how you choose to show up, engage, and care each day.

This edition of Sparked isn’t about endlessly sharing appreciation for your team for every single thing they do. It’s about identifying the importance of and finding your approach to show your care for them, beyond the day-in, day-out work that gets done.

In busy work environments, care can become implicit and can easily get put on the back burner.

We’re laser-focused on results, our newly polished annual goals, deadlines, and the next hurdle in front of us. We care about our people, but we don’t necessarily demonstrate it. It becomes implicit. And when it’s implicit, it’s not felt.

Looking for ways to fire up your team members and build a high-performing team?

Show your care.

Why Showing your Care Builds Engagement

Team members will engage more deeply when they feel genuinely valued, not just professionally useful.

Engagement grows when people feel like they matter beyond what they produce.

That sense of security frees people to fully invest in their work. Instead of holding back, they lean in.

Genuine care also builds trust.

When leaders show up with curiosity, follow through on concerns, and stay attentive even when things are busy, team members learn that support is not conditional. It does not disappear when pressure rises or priorities shift. That consistency creates an immense amount of trust.

Showing care also reduces emotional friction. In environments where care is visible, people spend less energy protecting themselves and more energy collaborating, problem-solving, and contributing ideas. They are more willing to speak honestly, ask for help, and challenge thinking because they trust how their leader will respond.

Engagement, motivation, and performance from individual team members and collective teams build when team members feel like there is genuine care for them as a human, not just as a professional.

Start Taking Action and Show your Care

Ready to drive change? Here’s how to take action on showing your care:

• Reflect: How do you show your care? Really think about it. How do others feel the care you have for them? I don’t doubt it’s in there, but leaders often struggle to outwardly show and share it. When we can recognize that gap, we can be intentional to close it. 

 

• Be Present: Presence doesn’t just have to come from 1:1 in-person meetings. Finding opportunity to proactively check in via chat, email, or text builds presence. Aim for consistency in your presence, especially if your calendar looks like a game of Tetris.

 

• Create Space: Dedicated and recurring 1:1 connection time is likely very important to many of your team members. If they are not getting that with some regularity, start here. Aim for 30 minutes every-other-week at the least. That time may not be as important for you, but I can guarantee it’s important to them. Your proactivity here shows your care. 

 

• Check In Beyond the Sphere of Work: Your people have lives that are big and important to them outside of work. Get curious about them! Should all of your 1:1 time be dedicated to that? No. Should some of every 1:1 time venture outside the scope of the job? Yes. 

 

• Share About Yourself: Genuine connection requires a two-way street. Share your perspective. Share about your life. Develop a real relationship that transcends work. You don’t need to (and probably shouldn’t) be great friends with all of your team members, but pushing past the transactional builds your care for them as a human. 

Further Exploration on Showing your Care

• The Importance of Feeling Respected, Appreciated, and Liked at Work
• Why It’s Critical for Organizations To Care for Employees
• Why Caring as a Manager is Key to Building a Strong Workforce