Engage Authentically: Help Marco Polo Teams Play Well
Mar 30, 2025
"Everyone has their video off again," Rachel sighed as she scanned the black squares on her screen during the weekly team meeting.
As Director of Engineering for a global software company, she'd watched engagement slowly decline over the past months. Cameras off. Microphones muted. The chat silent. Sure, work still got done, but something vital was missing.
Has this happened in your distributed team meetings? The quiet vacuum of screens where energetic faces should be?
I thought about Rachel's struggle during a recent conversation with John Bernatovicz. "Until you tap into people's hearts and passion around what they want to do to make the world better, you really miss a huge element," he shared. This insight cuts to the heart of authentic engagement in a Marco Polo culture.
The E in the C.O.N.N.E.C.T. framework for creating a positive culture in distributed teams is for Engage Authentically: Help Marco Polo Teams Play Well.
It's so easy to mistake presence for participation. We assume Marco is engaged when they attend virtual meetings, respond to messages, and complete their tasks. True engagement runs deeper into an authenticity that is "really real" as my 5-year-old granddaughter says. To engage Marco authentically means the work culture fosters a full contact sport even through screens. Culture is not a spectator sport. Marco Polo teams play well together.
Holly Grogan, Chief People Officer at Appspace, shared with me in our Work Positive Podcast episode that she sets playground rules for situations like Rachel's so authentic engagement happens. She said, "We try to get people to turn their videos on so there's human interaction and you can see people's expression. But if you're in an environment where you need to multitask with somebody at home, then it's okay to turn off the video." This balance between encouraging connection and honoring reality builds authentic engagement rooted in empathy.
Holly's playground rule transforms passive participation into authentic engagement. Real engagement happens in daily interactions, small moments of recognition, and consistent follow-through on employee input.
Think about the most engaging conversation you've had recently. Chances are it wasn't during a formal meeting. It probably happened organically, when you felt heard, valued, and safe to share your thoughts. This same principle applies to a Marco Polo culture. Facilitate space for authentic interaction beyond structured meetings. Lead by showing up and asking, "How are you?" and listening actively.
Such authenticity engages Marco at a level far beyond typical engagement efforts. Kevin Eikenberry noted this typical engagement as: "If you coach someone by saying 'You have a bad attitude,' the first thing they're going to do is get defensive and nothing's going to work." Instead, he advocates for observation-based conversations that invite real dialogue. For example, "Here's what I noticed you doing in a meeting, and here's how it's impacting others." This approach opens the door for authentic engagement so Marco and the Polo team learn to play well.
The key to such an authentic transformation occurs when we stop trying to mandate engagement and start creating conditions where it flourishes organically. At Appspace, this happens in what Holly Grogan calls "communities of interest" or facilitated opportunities where the Polos connect around shared passions beyond work. These organic connections often lead to deeper work engagement because they display an authentic interest in one another.
A Marco Polo culture gifts every team member with multiple opportunities to engage authentically, and yet the ultimate responsibility for playing well belongs to each Marco. There are no guarantees. You create a positive work culture that can grow people and profits when you ask Marco how to adjust meeting formats for greater engagement, offer new communication channels for real-time interaction, or simply make space for authentic human connection.
Rachel, our engineering director, decided to step away from a focus on video-on mandates, and chose instead to start every meeting with an authenticity check-in. Her Marcos could participate however they felt comfortable—voice only, chat, or video. She offered breakout rooms for more intimate discussions where people naturally felt more comfortable sharing. Most importantly, Rachel modeled authenticity herself, by sharing her successes and her genuine struggles.
The results surprised her. Video participation increased organically. The quality of authentic engagement deepened greatly. Team members surfaced challenges earlier, shared innovative ideas more freely, and supported each other from a place of genuine care. Her Marco Polo teams played well.
Authentic engagement can't be forced. Genuine, substantive participation happens as you encourage Marco to play well.
Ask yourself these three questions to create a Marco Polo Culture that grows people and profits through authentic engagement:
- How many team members have their cameras off during our meetings?
- What's the participation level like in these meetings?
- When was the last time I shared a struggle and lesson learned on the job?
You invite Marco to play well through purposeful communication that supports and sustains this engagement, growing stronger distributed teams through clear, intentional dialogue.
Taken from Dr. Joey's upcoming book, Marco Polo Culture: C.O.N.N.E.C.T. with Distributed Teams.
What's your question about creating a positive work culture with distributed teams? Ask Dr. Joey here.
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