21 Jul How to Re-Energise a Leadership Team That’s Lost Its Spark
Ever notice how everything starts to feel the same? Meetings blur into each other, the energy dips, motivation flattens, yet everyone’s still busy, still dealing with change. It’s a strange mix: motion without momentum.
It’s a pattern I’ve noticed over time – teams who are treading water, doing their best, but missing the spark.
There’s a hard-to-name “fed-up” feeling. When I ask people to put a colour on it, they often say grey – dull, lifeless.
But when we talk about what would make that grey more vibrant, they speak about learning, connection, getting stuck into something that feels meaningful.
Here’s how to start shifting that energy:
1. Step Back and Reflect
How are you feeling? What’s really going on beneath the surface? What would you like the team dynamic to feel like? Before changing anything, pause and notice your own mindset.
2. Meet Each Person, Somewhere New
Have individual conversations with your team members outside the usual setting. Take a walk. Sit outside. Go for coffee. A different space opens up a different kind of conversation. If you’re craving something new, start here. And if you feel resistant to doing this, that’s worth noticing, because often, the resistance is part of what’s keeping everything stuck.
3. Be Genuinely Curious
Ask people how they’re doing and what’s important to them right now. What would make things feel more purposeful or even enjoyable? Don’t assume, ask.
4. Break One Pattern
Try something different: cancel a recurring meeting, invite a new voice, or rotate who leads the meeting. Even small changes can shake up stale dynamics.
5. Create Space for Spark
When one person reconnects with something that excites them, it can lift the energy for everyone around them.
Ask:
“What’s something you’d love to try, learn or get stuck into?”
It doesn’t need to be big, just something that feels fresh or meaningful. Often, that one spark is enough to get others thinking differently too. Let it ripple.
6. Change the Context, Change the Chemistry
Many teams I work with do something physical or community-based, like painting a wall at a local basketball court. It sounds simple, but it shifts things. People laugh. They connect. And that energy carries back into the work.
This isn’t rocket science. And it doesn’t require a grand gesture or major shake-up.
Small things, different conversations, different settings, small acts of curiosity, can start to shift the energy.
Great oaks come from little acorns.
And often, all it takes is one good seed to get things growing again.