THE NYC ENERGY BOOM
If you're based in New York City right now, you already know. The energy this month has been something else. People are in the streets celebrating the Knicks' first Championship win in 53 years. The World Cup is in full swing. Movies Under the Stars and Shakespeare in the Park are back. And every weekend, the city is hosting celebrations of pride across all five boroughs.
New York has always been a melting pot. That's not a new idea. What is interesting about that right now is what happens when the support and programming offered to a community actually reflects the people in it. The city feels alive because people feel seen in it.
This edition of At The Starting Line takes that idea seriously and asks, “What would it look like to build that kind of community inside your organization?”
THE METAPHOR
Every city runs on structure. Highways and roads keep traffic moving. Sanitation keeps the streets clean. Power grids and sewer systems work in the background to support the many people living together. And then there's the cultural infrastructure like schools, libraries, restaurants and parks, all spaces that exist because different people need and want different things.
Organizations are not so different. Your employees have different working styles, different priorities, different ways of doing their best work. But, what structures are you building for them?
A few examples to get the thinking started:
🏙️ Recreational Slack/Teams channels → small pockets of the organization where people can connect over shared interests
🏙️ Organization-wide blackout periods → protected time where employees aren't fielding emails and calls, and can actually work
🏙️ Regular requests for employee feedback → employees who feel heard show up differently, the same way citizens engage more when their voices are considered
Even in complex organizations, simple approaches can make all the difference, letting the people inside your organization know they aren't interchangeable, and that you're building with them in mind.
THE BENEFITS
According to the 2026 Gallup State of the Global Workplace Report, employee engagement has declined for the second year in a row. (We encourage you to read it directly. The full findings are worth your time.)
It’s a trend worth watching. And the city metaphor might offer a useful reframe. When people feel supported in ways that are specific to them, collective energy shifts, builds, and drives productivity. You see it in New York right now. It’s a city that makes room for its people and gets that energy right back.
“AT THE STARTOPOLIS”
We're a small team. We're not going to pretend otherwise. But we are actively working on building structures that make space for the people on this team and that will hold up as we grow.
Here are some examples:
Flexible working hours and time off. We have guidelines and we have flexibility. We hold both at the same time. (Isabella here, breaking the fourth wall: I'm writing this later in the evening because that's when I focus best. At The Start has built a structure where that's actually possible.)
“Book club” and water cooler Slack channels. Honestly, things have been busy and these channels have been quieter than usual. But they exist, and when someone drops a meme or a book recommendation or a random pop culture take, they can keep the day moving or prompt a conversation that turns your day around.
Showing up for big moments. Right now, one of our team members has a wedding coming up. Another is working from abroad for several weeks. We're thinking ahead about how to make sure they can step away, be present for their lives, and come back without having missed anything that can't wait.
Sharing rituals and experiences. At The Start Days are a good example of this. We bring the full team together for strategic planning and decision-making, and we pair it with something we all enjoy like a good meal or a Broadway show. It sounds simple, but there's something that happens when people do something meaningful together outside of a message thread or a Zoom call. The work gets better, and so does the team.
See the original post from June 17, 2026 here.