Do Not Miss Out on "The Participant" in Your Company

Not everyone wants the spotlight, a corner office, the team-lead title, or the thunderous applause at the quarterly all-hands. And here’s the leadership insight that might surprise you: That person is essential to your team.

There are people on your team whose primary drive isn’t recognition, control, or advancement. Instead, they thrive by simply being a meaningful part of something bigger than themselves. These are your “Participants.” And if you don’t understand them, you might be mismanaging one of your most consistent, loyal, and quietly powerful contributors on your team that will have your back longer than anyone else.

Who Is the Participant?

The Participant is someone whose innate motivating factor (IMF) is to simply be a part of the whole. Collaboration, to the Participant, is the sign of success. This person doesn’t necessarily want to lead the charge or even steer the ship. They don’t need to impose their ideas or structure how the work gets done. But they deeply want to belong to the mission. And they're usually the best catalysts to help other feel like they belong.

They may contribute behind the scenes or in supportive roles, often preferring a flexible, informal working environment where they can come and go organically without rigid expectations.

To an outsider, this can look like disengagement or a lack of drive. But in reality, they are driven, just differently.

Connectedness, camaraderie, and common purpose motivate them. In the right environment, they can be magnetic, helping glue teams together with a spirit of cooperation and mutual respect.

Ideal Work Conditions for a Participant

Understanding the Participant’s sweet spot is the difference between frustration and flourishing. Here’s what it looks like in practice:

• Open-Office Environments / Shared Spaces - These setups provide the casual, low-pressure interactions that Participants crave. They like being able to pop in and out of conversations, ask quick questions, or just be around the action without being the center of it.

  
  

• Fluid Roles Over Rigid Responsibilities - Participants do best when they can move freely in and out of projects or tasks, lending support where needed without being locked into a narrow job description. They’ll struggle in roles where performance is judged solely by individual output or competition.

  
  

• A Job That Feels Shared Think of a stage crew member, not the actor under the spotlight. A Participant loves having a job to do but not in isolation. They want to feel like their work contributes meaningfully to a larger, collective effort.

What Not to Do

When managing someone with this giftedness pattern, avoid:

• Over-structuring their role with rigid processes or metrics that don’t reflect the collaborative nature of their work.
  

• Expecting them to “take charge” or enforce performance standards in others, especially if it forces them to face conflict.

  
  

• Forcing them into the spotlight for recognition they neither need nor want. This can feel like pressure, not praise.

These folks don’t need a trophy to feel valuable;

they need to see their work help the whole to feel valuable.

Leadership Hack: Empower the Participant to Build Your Culture

Participants often evolve into inclusive leaders. They’re approachable, warm, and naturally cooperative. But here’s your leadership hack: make sure they balance inclusion with innovation. Inclusion is good and beautiful, but it ought to be married with results.

Remind them regularly of the outcomes for which their teams are responsible. Your role as a manager is to reinforce the connection between their collaborative instinct and the forward motion of the mission.

A Personal Story: One Office, Two Motivations, and a Lightbulb Moment

I had a coworker who loved working in an open office. No cubicles. No doors. Just the constant flow of chatter and the option to speak up or check in whenever she wanted.

“I don’t like being alone,” she said.

To me: That sounded like a nightmare!

I’m the opposite. I want a shut door, maybe a window, and a quiet space to think and create. But that’s the magic of giftedness. My IMF are mine. Hers are hers. She needs me and I need her.

That’s why Giftedness Discovery is not a personality test.

It’s a performance strategy.

Who Are Your Participants?

If you're a People Manager, here's your call to action: Don’t overlook these quiet contributors.

You might think he or she never does anything innovative (like you would), but really he or she is a catalyst for inclusivity, camaraderie, and company culture. Allow him or her to lead in those ways.

They may not be chasing promotions or crafting bold strategies, but when you truly understand how they’re wired, they’ll stick around longer, support more people, and cultivate a culture of loyalty and trust. You want that.

Feeling curious? Wondering if you’ve got a few Participants on your team?

Let’s talk. Book a consultation and find out how to tap into your team’s hidden drivers before someone else figures it out first and steals them.