3 Simple Ways to Get Your Team Happy and Connected Going Into 2026
The new year is just around the corner, and if you're like most leaders, you're thinking about fresh starts, new goals, and how to make 2026 better than the year before.
But here's what most planning sessions miss: before your team can execute on any strategy, they need to feel connected to each other.
Not in a forced, trust-fall kind of way. In the small, everyday moments that make work feel more human.
When people feel disconnected, burned out, or just going through the motions, no amount of goal-setting will change that. But when they feel seen, supported, and genuinely glad to show up? That's when everything else becomes possible.
The good news: you don't need a massive culture overhaul to make this happen.
You just need a few joyful, simple, and fun practices that fit into the workday you already have.
Here are three tips from FISH!—inspired by the world-famous Pike Place Fish Market and trusted by teams for over two decades—to help you start 2026 with a team that feels more alive, connected, and ready for what's ahead.
Tip 1: Start the Year With Honest Conversations, Not Just Goal Cascades
Why This Matters
Most teams kick off the new year with objectives, targets, and action plans. Those things are important.
But if you skip over the human check-in—how people are really feeling, what drained them last year, what they're hoping for this year—you're building a plan on a shaky foundation.
People don't show up energized for work because of a well-designed slide deck. They show up energized when they feel heard, understood, and part of something real.
What to Do
Before you dive into the goals and metrics, create space for a simple, honest conversation:
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At your first team meeting or kickoff: Ask one grounding question and give people time to respond. Try something like:
- "What's one thing you want to leave behind from last year?"
- "What's one word for how you want this year to feel?"
- "What's something you need from this team to do your best work?"
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Make it safe: Acknowledge that honesty requires trust. Set the tone by being vulnerable yourself. Share something real, not just polished.
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Listen without fixing: The goal isn't to solve every concern on the spot. It's to let people know their experience matters and that you're paying attention.
The FISH! Connection
This practice connects to the FISH! principle of Be There—being fully present and making people feel seen in the moment. When leaders create space for honest conversation, they signal that culture isn't just a poster on the wall. It's something you actively do.
Starting the year this way helps your team reconnect to each other and to the why behind the work—not just the what.
Tip 2: Build in Small Rituals That Reset the Tone
Why This Matters
Work can feel like a series of back-to-back obligations: meetings, emails, deadlines, fires to put out. When there's no pause button, stress compounds and people start running on fumes.
Small rituals—short, repeatable practices that signal "we're shifting gears now"—give teams a moment to breathe, reset, and reconnect. They're not about adding more to the schedule. They're about changing how the time you already spend together feels.
What to Do
Pick one or two small rituals to anchor your team's rhythm in 2026:
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Start meetings with a quick check-in: Before diving into the agenda, go around and have everyone share one word for how they're feeling or one thing that's on their mind. Takes two minutes, shifts the energy in the room.
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End the week with appreciation: On Friday afternoon (or whenever your week wraps), invite team members to share a quick shout-out—someone who helped them, a small win, or just something that made them smile. You can do this in Slack, in a huddle, or even on a shared board.
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Mark transitions with intention: When your team is moving from a hard conversation to the next topic, or wrapping up a tough project, pause and acknowledge it. "That was heavy. Let's take a breath before we move on." It sounds simple, but it matters.
The FISH! Connection
This practice taps into Play and Make Their Day—bringing lightness into work and creating moments where people feel appreciated and connected. Rituals don't have to be elaborate. They just need to be consistent enough that your team starts to count on them.
When people know there's a moment in the week where they'll be seen, heard, or appreciated, it changes how they show up for everything else.
Tip 3: Give Your Team Permission to Bring Joy Back Into Work
Why This Matters
Somewhere along the way, a lot of workplaces got the message that "professional" means serious, buttoned-up, and a little bit joyless.
But joy isn't a distraction from the work. It's what makes the work sustainable.
When people can laugh together, be a little playful, or just let their guard down for a moment, they build trust faster. They handle stress better. They show up more fully.
The challenge is, most teams won't give themselves permission to have fun unless leadership makes it clear that it's not only okay—it's encouraged.
What to Do
Look for low-lift ways to invite more joy and play into your team's daily work:
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Model it yourself: Share a funny story in a meeting. Celebrate a weird small win. Show your team that it's okay to be human, not just polished.
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Create micro-moments of play: Start a meeting with a silly question ("What's your most unpopular food opinion?"). Let people share memes in Slack. Have a team lunch where the only rule is no shop talk for the first 20 minutes.
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Normalize laughter, even when things are hard: You don't have to fake positivity when times are tough. But you can still find moments of levity. A little humor in the middle of a stressful situation can remind people they're not alone.
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Ask your team what would make work feel more alive: You don't have to come up with all the ideas. Invite people to suggest small ways to bring more energy, connection, or fun into the day. You might be surprised by what they come up with.
The FISH! Connection
This is the heart of the FISH! philosophy: Play and Choose Your Attitude. Play isn't about being silly for the sake of it. It's about creating space for people to relax, connect, and remember that work doesn't have to feel like a slog.
And choosing your attitude means recognizing that even when you can't control the circumstances, you can control how you show up. Joy is a choice—and it's one that's easier to make when your team culture supports it.
The Bigger Picture: Small Moments Add Up
None of these practices will single-handedly transform your workplace overnight.
But that's the point.
Culture isn't built in a big, dramatic moment. It's built in the accumulation of small, everyday choices:
- How you greet people in the morning
- How you respond when someone is struggling
- Whether there's space for honesty, appreciation, and a little bit of joy in the middle of the hard stuff
When you start 2026 with these practices, you're not just setting goals. You're setting the tone for how your team will treat each other all year long.
And that's what makes the difference between a team that's going through the motions and a team that feels genuinely alive.
Ready to Make 2026 Your Team's Best Year Yet?
FISH! has helped teams around the world reconnect, rebuild culture, and bring more joy into daily work—not through big initiatives, but through simple, repeatable practices that anyone can use.
If you're looking for tools, films, and experiences that make it easier to create a more human, connected workplace, we'd love to help.
Explore the FISH! Philosophy →
About FISH!
Inspired by the world-famous Pike Place Fish Market, FISH! offers a joyful, simple, and fun way of working together that helps teams reconnect, support each other, and create lasting culture change. Through films, books, tools, and facilitated experiences, FISH! gives you everyday practices that make work feel more alive—and can be quietly life-changing.