Mike Brent and Fiona Dent, in their book ‘The leadership pf teams’, point out that three things seem to be paramount when it comes to engaging a team: Purpose, Involvement and Appreciation. How do these 3 factors work?
Purpose: the team members should be clear about what is the purpose of the project they work on as well as how they can contribute towards that purpose both as individuals an as a team. The purpose always signified the direction
Involvement: all the members of the team should be involved at the process in order to own the purpose. What is the best way for you to involve your team?
Appreciation: There are two simple steps to appreciation. Noticing and Sharing.
You can notice what the team members are doing good, focus upon that and share what you notice, let them know! I would add the power of acknowledgement. You acknowledge someone when you let them know that they are doing, they have done something that is good. Acknowledgement is evidence based. It does not rely on judgement. I often use acknowledgement with the people I work with and for. I can say for sure that is one of the most powerful tools to empower someone and to create a momentum.
Like Brent and Dent illustrate ‘ Good quality performance is largely due to a highly engaged workforce’