Productivity and team wellbeing need each other.
Back in July, Franklin Street partnered with Elemental Impact to design a convening focused on a critical issue in climate finance. "The Missing Middle” refers to that precarious stage when companies are too big for seed funding but too small for growth capital. Hundreds of companies are developing technologies to slash carbon emissions, so addressing this funding gap is crucial to scaling their innovations. Failure to act could be disastrous—climate scientists warn we must reduce atmospheric CO2 to below 350 ppm to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, yet we're currently around 420 ppm1.
To tackle such a vexing challenge, we gathered 22 leaders from climate finance, climate tech, and philanthropy, along with two visionary entrepreneurs to pool our expertise, leverage the opportunities in the Inflation Reduction Act, and explore how to create a new type of investment fund that blends private capital and philanthropy to keep these “missing middle” companies growing.
One of the most critical conditions for success at this convening was the trust and rapport that developed quickly among the participants. Many of the attendees knew each other circumstantially but weren’t closely connected. Yet, in this room, they were willing to open up to each other, share their ideas and even their past failings, and work collaboratively toward solutions.
When we advise teams on how to set the conditions for effective collaboration, clients often expect us to say they should start with an icebreaker like building spaghetti towers or silly check-in questions. These exercises can break the ice, get people laughing, and shake off the formality of typical meetings. But I’m not convinced they’re the key to unlocking the deep trust and camaraderie necessary for doing rigorous work.
In fact, at Elemental’s convening, we didn’t do any of those things—and yet, we left having accomplished an extraordinary amount and feeling bonded. This experience has led me to reflect on the reasons behind our success.
Productivity and team wellbeing need each other.
The idea that shared purpose strengthens teams isn’t new. Countless business authors, researchers, and practitioners have told us about the power of aligning around common goals. Harvard Law Professor Paola Cecchi-Dimeglio makes this point through an example I particularly like: “Much like a musician who follows the notes meticulously, a team member armed with a well-defined goal knows precisely what is expected of them. This clarity benefits the individual and contributes to the collective harmony of the team, ensuring that everyone plays their part with precision and purpose.”2
But knowing our shared purpose and acting on it together are two different things. And it’s no surprise that taking action in a rare team retreat or offsite can feel tricky.
As leaders, we often feel a tug-of-war between doubling down on productivity and investing in relationships. We hold off on pushing too hard because we don’t want to burn people out. And on the flip side, we pull back on fostering connection because we need to meet deadlines and hit targets. But we think choosing one or the other is a false choice.
At Franklin Street, we aim to avoid the trap of “manufacturing urgency”—that grind mode where we push ourselves simply because we feel we have to. It takes a toll on our well-being and, honestly, the quality of our work3. But we also know that working hard as a team is not incompatible with a healthy culture. In fact, we believe that creating meaningful work together is one of the most powerful ways to build trust and foster strong relationships. Sometimes that means debating nuanced ideas and working through tensions. Sometimes it also means experiencing the thrill of breakthroughs that lead to greater cohesion and accountability. And that process, while difficult or even tiring at times, is key to a strong team.
Outside our own team culture, we’ve been infusing ambitious work into recent projects to advance an organizations’ missions while also building trust and connection. Coming back to the convening with Elemental: We spent four days defining the future shape and size of a new “missing middle” fund, sharing ideas, debating their merits and drawbacks, and iterating an eventual proposal. On the heels of this convening, Elemental began the process of recruiting an advisory board to oversee the fund and plans to launch the fund early in 2025. Convening attendees continue to want to work together and deepen their relationships: our WhatsApp group is firing off and people are gathering for impromptu meet-ups to sustain their energy and conviction.
At its core, hard work on a shared project satisfies both the drive for productivity and the need for connection. It’s not about choosing between hitting goals and building strong relationships—it’s about leveraging one to strengthen the other.
How has your team sought to balance productivity and team well-being? Have there been times when the two felt in tension—like you were either pushing for results at the expense of relationships or holding back on productivity to prioritize connection? What strategies have you found for integrating both sides of this coin in a way that feels sustainable?
- Climate Science Basics. (2024). In 350.org. https://350.org/science/ ↩︎
- Cecchi-Dimeglio, Paola. (2023). How Leaders Use the Power of Goal Alignment. Forbes: Leadership Strategy. ↩︎
- Okun, Tema. (Updated 2023). PROGRESS IS BIGGER & MORE | QUANTITY OVER QUALITY. Divorcing White Supremacy Culture. ↩︎
