Strive to be Earth’s Best Employer: Motivating Teams

Situation

After a tough quarterly review, our team was told that several of our features would be de-prioritized. Morale dipped — engineers felt like their work didn’t matter, and a few teammates started pulling back from discussions. We’d poured months into ideas that weren’t going to ship.

I wasn’t the manager, but I knew we couldn’t just wait for “things to bounce back.”

Task

I wanted to help reset the team’s energy — remind people that their work still mattered, and help us rally around a new path forward. The goal was to rebuild motivation, not just productivity.

Action

I proposed we host a “Team Reset Week” — a series of short activities and team-owned sessions to rebuild purpose and collaboration. I organized:

• 💡 A “What We Learned” retrospective — focused on insight, not blame
• 📈 A mini product strategy session to co-design a new feature path
• 🎉 A Friday fun demo day — showcasing side projects or “weird hacks”
• 🧠 Private 1:1s with 3 teammates to check in and listen

// Demo Day Invite
  🚀 Let’s reboot with some fun!
  Share anything you’re proud of — a CLI tool, a UI trick, or something you learned.
  All demos welcome — serious or silly. Friday 3PM 🎤✨
      

Result

Engagement returned. Our team’s next sprint review had more participation than we’d seen in weeks. A feature we brainstormed during reset week eventually became a key part of the next roadmap update. Our manager later called it “the turning point for the team.”

Two team members later messaged me privately saying: “Thanks for helping keep things human.”

Reflection

• 🌱 Motivation isn’t automatic — it’s nurtured, especially after setbacks.
• 💬 Leading with empathy builds trust that lasts longer than any single feature.
• 🎯 People do their best work when they feel seen, not just assigned.

FAQ