DFA’s Action Steps are designed to assist organizations with implementing practical strategies to humanize the workplace, empower people, and foster innovation. Members can access full versions the Action Steps in the Member Resource Center.
Why Connection, Why Now
People are carrying more than we can see. Burnout is at an all-time high, engagement is at 2014 levels, manager engagement is down, and what researchers are calling “quiet cracking” is often not quiet at all. It is visible. We are just not asking.
Connection is not a nice-to-have, it is the foundational work of organizational life. When people feel genuinely connected, to themselves, to the people they work with, and to the organization they are part of, everything works better: work feels more meaningful, teams function more effectively, and people stay. When connection is absent, everything is harder. And no initiative, program, or policy fills that gap.
At DFA, we believe culture lives at the intersection of intentions and interactions. Intentions are the values and commitments that define who an organization says it is. Interactions are the everyday behaviors that shape how people experience it. Every person in an organization is a culture carrier, every interaction adds to the culture that others experience, and connection is the thread that runs through all of it…..
The Inner Work of Connection
You cannot pour from an empty cup. It is very difficult to connect with others if you have lost connection with yourself. When people feel depleted or cut off from their own sense of purpose, it shows up in how they communicate, how they make decisions, and how they show up in relationships. The inner work of connection rests on three anchors:
Presence is about being honest with yourself about your current state,
DFA’s Action Steps are designed to assist organizations with implementing practical strategies to humanize the workplace, empower people, and foster innovation. Members can access full versions the Action Steps in the Member Resource Center.
Most affinity groups begin with genuine energy and care. People show up because they want to connect, support one another, and help create a more inclusive workplace. Over time, though, that early momentum can start to fade as leaders change, participation ebbs and flows, and expectations change. What once felt organic can begin to feel heavy or unclear.
The challenge is rarely a lack of commitment. More often, it’s a lack of shared clarity around purpose, planning, and implementation.
This Action Step offers a practical way to re-anchor affinity groups in what matters most. It also provides tools for clarifying roles at the individual, group, and organizational levels, while designing structure in a way that strengthens community rather than constraining it.
When affinity groups are built with purpose, they become spaces where people feel connected, supported, and empowered to contribute.
The 3 Points of Purpose Framework
Affinity groups thrive when they stay grounded in three core areas:
DFA’s Action Steps are designed to assist organizations with implementing practical strategies to humanize the workplace, empower people, and foster innovation. Members can access full versions the Action Steps in the Member Resource Center.
After years of disruption, organizations were ready to move forward, reclaim a sense of certainty, and return to what felt familiar. The urgency that once pushed us to experiment and rethink everything began to soften, and with it came a quiet risk. The lessons we learned during that intense period of change could start to fade.
This book was never meant to capture a moment and move on. It exists to help us carry forward what mattered most, especially the insights that emerged when change forced us to pay attention. When the pressure lifts, we get to choose what we keep. We get to decide which lessons become part of how we operate, not just how we respond in a crisis. What once felt necessary can become foundational.
…
This Action Step invites us to view flexibility with a wider lens and deeper intention. Flexibility opened the door to learning, experimentation, and more human-centered choices, and those lessons are still available to us now.
…
When organizations were forced to change, they learned something important about work, about people, and about what becomes possible when old defaults are questioned. Flexibility showed us that culture is something you design, practice, and renew over time. This Action Step is about stepping into that next phase, moving from implementation to stewardship, and carrying forward what we learned with intention.
Stewardship means recognizing that flexibility lives inside a broader human-centered culture.
Action Step – Choreographed Connections™
DFA’s Action Steps are designed to assist organizations with implementing practical strategies to humanize the workplace, empower people, and foster innovation. Members can access full versions the Action Steps in the Member Resource Center.
Why Connection, Why Now
People are carrying more than we can see. Burnout is at an all-time high, engagement is at 2014 levels, manager engagement is down, and what researchers are calling “quiet cracking” is often not quiet at all. It is visible. We are just not asking.
Connection is not a nice-to-have, it is the foundational work of organizational life. When people feel genuinely connected, to themselves, to the people they work with, and to the organization they are part of, everything works better: work feels more meaningful, teams function more effectively, and people stay. When connection is absent, everything is harder. And no initiative, program, or policy fills that gap.
At DFA, we believe culture lives at the intersection of intentions and interactions. Intentions are the values and commitments that define who an organization says it is. Interactions are the everyday behaviors that shape how people experience it. Every person in an organization is a culture carrier, every interaction adds to the culture that others experience, and connection is the thread that runs through all of it…..
The Inner Work of Connection
You cannot pour from an empty cup. It is very difficult to connect with others if you have lost connection with yourself. When people feel depleted or cut off from their own sense of purpose, it shows up in how they communicate, how they make decisions, and how they show up in relationships. The inner work of connection rests on three anchors:
Action Step – Purpose & Planning in Affinity Groups
DFA’s Action Steps are designed to assist organizations with implementing practical strategies to humanize the workplace, empower people, and foster innovation. Members can access full versions the Action Steps in the Member Resource Center.
Most affinity groups begin with genuine energy and care. People show up because they want to connect, support one another, and help create a more inclusive workplace. Over time, though, that early momentum can start to fade as leaders change, participation ebbs and flows, and expectations change. What once felt organic can begin to feel heavy or unclear.
The challenge is rarely a lack of commitment. More often, it’s a lack of shared clarity around purpose, planning, and implementation.
This Action Step offers a practical way to re-anchor affinity groups in what matters most. It also provides tools for clarifying roles at the individual, group, and organizational levels, while designing structure in a way that strengthens community rather than constraining it.
When affinity groups are built with purpose, they become spaces where people feel connected, supported, and empowered to contribute.
The 3 Points of Purpose Framework
Affinity groups thrive when they stay grounded in three core areas:
Members: Read the full version of this Action Step in the Member Resource Center.
To read this entire Action Step become a DFA member.
Action Step – Stewarding Flexibility Forward
DFA’s Action Steps are designed to assist organizations with implementing practical strategies to humanize the workplace, empower people, and foster innovation. Members can access full versions the Action Steps in the Member Resource Center.
One year ago, The Flexibility Paradigm was released into a world eager to regain its footing.
After years of disruption, organizations were ready to move forward, reclaim a sense of certainty, and return to what felt familiar. The urgency that once pushed us to experiment and rethink everything began to soften, and with it came a quiet risk. The lessons we learned during that intense period of change could start to fade.
This book was never meant to capture a moment and move on. It exists to help us carry forward what mattered most, especially the insights that emerged when change forced us to pay attention. When the pressure lifts, we get to choose what we keep. We get to decide which lessons become part of how we operate, not just how we respond in a crisis. What once felt necessary can become foundational.
…
This Action Step invites us to view flexibility with a wider lens and deeper intention. Flexibility opened the door to learning, experimentation, and more human-centered choices, and those lessons are still available to us now.
…
When organizations were forced to change, they learned something important about work, about people, and about what becomes possible when old defaults are questioned. Flexibility showed us that culture is something you design, practice, and renew over time. This Action Step is about stepping into that next phase, moving from implementation to stewardship, and carrying forward what we learned with intention.
Stewardship means recognizing that flexibility lives inside a broader human-centered culture.