Lead with Purpose: How to Leverage Gallup Results for Success

As a university leader, you understand the importance of fostering a motivated, high-performing team. By now, you should have shared your team’s UNM Employee Engagement Survey results and initiated a State of the Team conversation. This is more than just a discussion about survey scores – It’s a chance to align your team, uncover valuable insights, and build a stronger sense of shared purpose.

Why State of the Team Conversation Matters

These conversations aren’t just about fixing problems – they’re about celebrating what’s working and leveraging those strengths to boost preperformance. By involving your team both the “why” and the “how” of engagement, you create a culture where everyone contributes to making meaningful improvements.

When teams take ownership of the conversation, they feel empowered, and their commitment to actionable goals increases. Remember: The objective isn't to raise every score to a 5, but to identify one priority area that the team can focus on improving together. Small, focused efforts can lead to big wins in engagement.

Make the Conversation Count: Key Strategies for Leaders

• Lead with curiosity – use this as an opportunity to understand your team’s experience. As open-ended questions like:
• “What’s one thing that would make your work experience better?”
• “ What’s a recent success we can build on?”
  
  
• Let the team take the reins – Encourage employees to lead discussions. Teams are more likely to buy into solutions when they are actively involved in identifying and planning them.
  
  
• Focus on Strengths and small wins - Recognizing positive behaviors that are already working helps maintain momentum. Discuss how you can reinforce these behaviors moving forward.
  
  
• Use meaningful data - If your team’s survey report lacks enough data, explore UNM’s 2024 Institutional Results or your division’s Level 3 insights to inform the conversation.

From Insights to Action: What’s Next?

After your State of the Team Conversation it’s time to choose one key area of focus for your department to improve on or maintain. Whether it’s improving communication, recognition, or workload balance, the goal is to make meaningful progress where it matters most.

Explore the Gallup Access platform (a global analytics and data gathering company, who administers UNM’s Employee Engagement Survey) for tools and templates to support you in developing an Action Plan. The platform provides resources designed to help transform conversations into outcomes that inspire long-term engagement.

Keep the Momentum Going

When your team sees tangible outcomes from these conversations, it reinforces the value of engagement and builds trust. Small, continuous improvements lead to sustainable success—and the ripple effect can influence other areas of the university.

Need Support?

If you have any questions or want additional resources, visit Engage.unm.edu or email us at Engage@unm.edu. We’re here to help you and your team succeed.