As Edward M. Hallowell explains in his most recent book, Shine: Using Brain Science to Get the Best from Your People, published by Harvard Business Review Press (2011), “Many people need help in getting rid of the obstacles in their way. In the workplace, this is the challenge that managers face: to help people overcome these obstacles and enter into [what Hallowell characterizes as ‘The Cycle of Excellence’]. While I have made many suggestions on how to do this, my concluding suggestion is this: do it your way. Ultimately, neither I nor anyone else can tell you what to do more skillfully than you can tell yourself.”

Hallowell suggests these “simple, concrete steps” to promote a feeling of connectedness in a workplace:

1. Notice and acknowledge people.

2. Allow for people’s idiosyncrasies and peccadilloes.

3. Develop an organization-wide e-mail policy.

4. Encourage everyone to have “human moments.”

5. Encourage people to recognize stress within themselves

6. Praise others freely and continuously.

7. As a manager, try not to think in judgmental, moralistic terms.

8. Literally, light up the world of your workplace.

9. Keep food and drink around.

10. Foster impromptu get-togethers.

11. Encourage people to reach out.

“Whatever you do, your goal as a manager should be to minimize feelings of alienation and falseness within your organization, while increasing feelings of openness and honesty. You want to make sure people feel permission to be real.”

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Edward M. Hallowell, MD, a psychiatrist, served as an instructor at Harvard Medical School for twenty years and is director of the Hallowell Centers in New York City and Sudbury, Massachusetts, and is the author of two Harvard Business Review articles and 18 books.