Have you ever joined a new team, shared your favorite ice cream flavor, and still walked away feeling like no one really knew you? Becoming part of a new team isn’t just about learning names and playing a quick icebreaker game. Icebreakers can get people talking, but they don’t create rapport that sustains teamwork over time. Unfortunately, programs that foster connection are often the first to be cut when budgets are tight. Healthcare resources are stretched and burnout is a reality for many professionals. Still, building belonging is not a luxury. It is a practical skill that allows teams to work efficiently, communicate clearly, and support one another under pressure.
Icebreakers may help people share fun facts, but lasting connection on a healthcare team comes from shared purpose, psychological safety, and mutual trust. The following strategies offer practical ways to replace surface-level icebreakers with habits that build genuine belonging.
Start with Clarity
Rapport often begins with something as simple as clarity. When roles are unclear, tension builds quickly. Brené Brown reminds us that “clear is kind, unclear is unkind” (Dare to Lead, 2018). As healthcare professionals, it’s crucial to create space for real, substantive conversations with our teammates from the beginning in order to understand where people are coming from.
Create Safety Through Small Risks
Belonging deepens when people feel safe to be honest. Students can model this by admitting uncertainty or asking for help. Even a statement like, I haven’t seen this before. Can you walk me through your thought process? signals humility and makes space for others to contribute. In healthcare, admitting uncertainty is central to patient safety. It also creates space for you to learn and grow.
Read the Room
In NASA’s astronaut selection process, psychologist Terrence McGuire observed that the most successful candidates were the ones who could mirror the interviewers’ emotional tone and laughter during interviews (Duhigg, 2024). This ability demonstrated emotional intelligence and predicted stronger teamwork under pressure. Rapport is about picking up on cues and showing you are tuned in to the people around you. As healthcare professionals, we are expected to consistently read the room. It’s important to pick up on non-verbal cues from teammates and understand when someone wants to joke around, or whether they are emotionally drained and need to take a step back.
Practice Cultural Reciprocity
Belonging also requires acknowledging teammates or patients may not share your cultural expectations. Research with Somali patients in Minnesota highlights the importance of “cultural reciprocity” – the idea that providers should not simply treat patients as they themselves would want to be treated, but instead ask what matters most to the patient and adapt care accordingly (Scholl, 2015). Within diverse healthcare teams, this means sharing your perspective openly: Here’s how I usually approach this problem – and inviting theirs – How does this align with your experiences? Such exchanges foster respect and mutual learning across diverse disciplines and cultures.
Conclusion
True belonging in healthcare doesn’t come from the games we play, but from the trust we build through clarity, safety, empathy, and cultural humility within our teams. Icebreakers may break the silence, but they rarely build trust. In a system already stretched thin, belonging is what sustains collaboration and resilience.
This week, try putting belonging into practice. In your next huddle or shift, skip the favorite-movie question and instead clarify one uncertainty out loud, notice who hasn’t had a chance to speak, or ask a teammate how they’d approach a situation differently. Those simple actions turn connection from something we talk about into something we build every day.
References
- Brown, B. (2018). Dare to Lead. New York: Random House
- Duhigg, C. (2024). Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection. Random House Publishing Group.
- Scholl, J. (2015). Providing Culturally Appropriate Physical Therapy to Somali Refugees in Minnesota (Master’s thesis, St. Catherine University).