“It is only in teams where you have the courage and bravery to be your full self that you can contribute your best.”

—Keith Yamashita, SYPartners Chairman and Founder

Self-reflection group activities are a powerful way to build trust and authenticity within teams. They help us understand who we are, how we show up at work, and what we might be holding back. When teams engage in self-reflection activities, they create space for real connection and psychological safety—foundations for innovation and performance.

In a recent Creative Confidence Podcast chat, Keith Yamashita, Founder and Chairman of SYPartners and instructor of our course From Superpowers to Great Teams—shared an identity-based exercise that helps individuals and teams reflect on and embrace their full selves. Try it with your team to build trust and unlock the hidden strengths each member brings.

Step 1: Reflect on Every Aspect of Your Identity

Think about the phrase “I am _____.” Now, fill in the blank. Get out a piece of paper and write down every word that comes to mind. This should be a long list.

Go broad, and include all kinds of things that make up your identity. When Keith does this exercise, he writes that he’s a trained economist, a father, gay, a dog owner, a Scrabble expert, a hoarder, a pencil maniac, and much more.

Our identities are composed of limitless aspects of ourselves, not just the pieces we bring to work.

Step 2: Notice Which Parts of Your Identity You Hide

Now think about which of these identities you tend to shelter or hide and which you bring into a work context. When you step into a new situation, for example meeting a new team or introducing yourself to a room of strangers, which identities do you hide?

How does the situation affect which aspects of yourself you bring forward and which you shelter?

As Keith says, you have all this richness about you, but by not sharing these different aspects of your identity with others you’re depriving the world of your full talents and your full self.

Step 3: Share and Reflect Together as a Team

Repeat this exercise with your team. Have everyone write out their identity list then separate into pairs. Without looking at their lists have everyone share their identities with their partner. Guide a discussion around what elements of their identities people shared, and what they omitted (either purposefully or unconsciously).

“We’re constantly depriving others of our full humanity,” Keith says. “Every single word you leave off is a richness that you could explore.”

This may feel uncomfortable at first, but the goal is to build trust among your team so that you create a space where it’s safe to bring your full self to work.

Why Self-Reflection Activities Help Teams Thrive

Research shows that diverse teams outperform non-diverse teams by significant margins, especially on problems that require creativity, new thinking, and synthesis of knowledge. The complex problems modern businesses face require everyone to bring the entire toolbox of skills they possess as individuals. Right now is the time to be more open than ever before.

“It is only in teams where you have the courage and bravery to be your full self that you can contribute your best,” Keith says. “And it’s the only place creative leadership can thrive.”

How to Integrate Reflection into Team Building

Self-reflection group activities aren’t just one-time exercises—they can become part of your team’s rhythm and culture. Here are a few key moments when this activity can be especially powerful:

• Use during project kickoffs or offsites
  Start with reflection to build empathy and alignment. It helps teammates understand each other's motivations, backgrounds, and working styles before diving into collaboration.
  
  

• Introduce it during onboarding
  Help new team members feel seen from day one. Sharing personal identities in a safe, low-stakes way creates trust and signals that they’re encouraged to bring their full selves to work.
  
  

• Pair with values
  When your team is exploring company values, inclusion goals, or culture initiatives, this activity helps ground abstract ideas in personal stories and shared experience.
  
  

• Revisit it during retrospectives
  Use identity reflection to support honest, human conversations about what’s working, what’s missing, and how team dynamics have shifted over time.
  
  

Small actions like these make a big impact. Integrating reflection into team building fosters deeper trust, strengthens collaboration, and builds the foundation for creative leadership.

Ready to lead more connected teams? Learn how to apply reflection and identity work in real-world team settings. Explore Keith Yamashita’s approach in our From Superpowers to Great Teams online course.