How to Build a Positive Team: 9 Strategies from Leaders
Building a positive team is crucial for organizational success. This article presents effective strategies from experienced leaders to foster a thriving work environment. Discover practical approaches to empower, recognize, and motivate your team members for enhanced productivity and satisfaction.
- Empower Team with Real Authority
- Implement Showcase Technique for Recognition
- Celebrate Achievements Through Shout-Outs Program
- Create Transparent Scoreboard for Team Metrics
- Start Day with Positive Morning Huddles
- Foster Ownership Through Open Communication
- Conduct Quarterly Retrospectives for Team Improvement
- Set Collective Goals with Tangible Rewards
- Prioritize Regular One-on-One Meetings
Empower Team with Real Authority
The most effective strategies are authentic. To motivate my team, I offer real authority, responsibility, and power.
This approach surpasses any perk you can imagine, trust me. When people feel genuine ownership over outcomes, their energy and commitment increase significantly.
This method requires some flexibility in roles. At Green Lion Search, if someone demonstrates aptitude, they earn more responsibility—regardless of their title.
Consider the recent overhaul of our candidate onboarding process. Instead of assigning it to a manager by default, I gave full decision-making power to a mid-level recruiter who had been quietly delivering impressive results and offering insightful feedback. It was my way of saying, “I see you.”
She absolutely rose to the challenge—built the system from scratch, consulted the team for input, and even created a new training module. The rollout was a huge success.
More importantly, it sent a clear message to the rest of the team: true advancement is available to every employee through hard work and creative insight.
Michael Moran
Owner and President, Green Lion Search
Implement Showcase Technique for Recognition
I motivate my team by implementing a “showcase technique” that transforms how we recognize individual contributions. Rather than generic team meetings, we create dedicated spaces where team members can demonstrate their specialized skills and innovations. For example, we established a bi-weekly “technique spotlight” where each person shares a specific workflow improvement they’ve developed. This approach had a remarkable impact – team members began developing creative solutions independently, knowing their innovations would receive proper recognition. The practice fostered healthy skill-sharing and created natural mentorship opportunities as more experienced team members helped refine solutions presented by newer colleagues. This recognition framework transformed our culture from task-completion focused to one where continuous improvement and knowledge sharing became embedded in our daily operations.
Not only this, but on Saturdays, during the lunch break, we normally sit together and the employees share their passions/interests with each other, for instance, playing music or sharing their dreams. This helps in strengthening the morale of the team, thus leading to a positive work environment.
Khurram Suhrwardy
Founder, Caption Easy
Celebrate Achievements Through Shout-Outs Program
One way I’ve found to motivate my team is to take time out regularly to recognize and celebrate achievements, both big and small. It lets them know that I’m paying attention and that I appreciate them. When these accomplishments are acknowledged, there’s an obvious morale boost because everyone knows that even if they aren’t getting noticed today, their work won’t go unnoticed when they achieve something. It’s resulted in a really positive work environment.
I even started what I’m calling a “Shout-Outs” program where team members can publicly recognize each other’s accomplishments during our meetings. It’s been amazing seeing how this has resulted in a more supportive and collaborative atmosphere in the office. We’re seeing productivity boosts as well. It’s been a big win-win situation for us.
Diana Stepanova
Operations Director, Monitask, Inc
Create Transparent Scoreboard for Team Metrics
Make the scoreboard visible. Then get out of the way.
At InsurancePanda.com, we built a live team dashboard where every key metric was public: quotes submitted, calls handled, conversion rate, and retention. No hidden data. No sugarcoating. Updated daily. Everyone saw everything.
Sounds intense, right? It wasn’t. It was liberating.
We paired it with weekly “Wins and WTFs” meetings. Every Friday, each team member shared one win and one thing that confused, frustrated, or challenged them. No managers led the discussion. Just peers, talking honestly.
One month in, something clicked. The top performers weren’t flexing; they were helping. People stopped hiding mistakes and started asking better questions. The shy analyst who never spoke? Suddenly, they were offering insights that saved us thousands in ad spend.
The biggest shift wasn’t in productivity; it was in pride. People knew where they stood. They knew how their work moved the needle. And most importantly, they knew they weren’t doing it alone.
If you want to build motivation, don’t throw more money or empty praise at your team. Give them clarity. Give them ownership. Then let them surprise you.
James Shaffer
Managing Director, Insurance Panda
Start Day with Positive Morning Huddles
A simple yet remarkably effective strategy we employ is a 5-minute morning huddle to kick off each workday. During this brief meeting, we celebrate a recent team success and acknowledge an individual who went the extra mile the previous day. This could be a technician who provided crucial support to a colleague on a challenging task or someone who received exceptional praise from a client.
We also encourage team members to express gratitude for even small acts of support, like a simple “Thanks for helping me restock the truck.” These huddles have demonstrably improved communication flow, significantly boosted team morale, and consistently set a positive and collaborative tone for the day, which is particularly valuable during our peak seasons.
Phil Oliver
Owner, Air Treatment Heating & Cooling
Foster Ownership Through Open Communication
Motivating a team starts with giving them a sense of ownership and purpose. At Noterro, I prioritize open communication and encourage the team to share their ideas openly. During a recent product update, instead of outlining a rigid plan, I asked everyone to bring forward their own solutions to a specific challenge. This approach not only fostered creativity but also made each team member feel like their voice genuinely mattered.
The impact was immediate. The team felt more connected to the project, and we ended up implementing a feature suggestion from one of our developers that significantly improved the user experience. Recognizing and celebrating those contributions boosted morale and reinforced the value of collaboration. It’s a simple strategy, but it’s effective in creating a work culture where people feel seen and valued.
Nick Gabriele
Director, Noterro
Conduct Quarterly Retrospectives for Team Improvement
I instituted quarterly team retrospectives to promote collaboration and team cohesion. Team members could express what they liked, disliked, and what they felt could change. For example, after the first retrospective, many comments were made regarding communication failures; however, I was able to implement new Slack guidelines post-meeting to alleviate these issues. Such changes led to enhanced workflows and fewer instances of miscommunication. Offering a safe environment for channels of feedback promotes feelings of empowerment and psychological safety, which enhance the workplace culture.
Chris Hunter
Director of Customer Relations, ServiceTitan
Set Collective Goals with Tangible Rewards
Our approach to team motivation involves establishing well-defined, collective performance goals that are directly linked to tangible rewards such as team lunches, bonuses, or extra time off. For instance, last spring, we challenged the team to increase service plan signups by 20% over a two-month period. To ensure transparency and engagement, we held regular weekly progress updates, visually tracked our advancements on a shared board, and acknowledged every milestone achieved. This strategy not only led us to successfully reach our target – we surpassed it – and the team was recognized with a catered BBQ lunch and personalized company merchandise. Crucially, this process fostered a strong sense of ownership over the outcome among team members.
Kevin J. Vander Hyde
Vice President, Vander Hyde Services
Prioritize Regular One-on-One Meetings
Any organization needs effective communication as its fundamental base to succeed. I establish open communication channels with my team to create a space where everyone receives attention, feels important, and is capable of participating. This approach establishes trust while allowing team members to share their thoughts and perspectives freely.
I make regular one-on-one meetings with each team member my top priority. Through these meetings, team members can share their work progress, receive help with obstacles, and provide feedback to enhance operational efficiency. This practice allows me to stay updated about their personal growth while giving them an opportunity to express their thoughts and concerns. The straightforward approach helps develop teamwork and respectful relationships among team members.
Erica Nunley
Founder & CEO, Nunley Home Buyers
