Online and face to face training, coaching and events across the UK and Europe

Motivating & Engaging Your Team

Understand what drives each team member and use purposeful conversations, genuine recognition and ownership to strengthen engagement.

Leadership asks you to make decisions, support people and deliver results — sometimes all in the same conversation. You may be the person everyone looks to while still working out your own next step. Having developed hundreds of leaders across the UK, US and EMEA, we understand those competing demands. The Lab is space to think clearly, practise honestly and grow the confidence to lead in your own way.

Managers collaborating in a leadership workshop
Thrive Training Lab

Explore. Practise. Make it yours.

Duration

Half day · 3.5 hours per half day

Group size

6–8 delegates

Format

Online or face to face

Price — Face to face

From £1,250

+ VAT

Price — Online

From £999

+ VAT

where understanding becomes useful —

Why this course matters

People bring more energy to work when their contribution matters and their individual motivations are understood.

What you’ll explore in the Lab

Motivation cannot be forced, but managers can create the conditions for people to contribute with energy and commitment, particularly through change or sustained pressure. This half-day course explores the role of purpose, autonomy, growth and recognition, helping leaders spot disengagement early and understand what genuinely motivates each person in their team.

Delegates develop practical approaches to motivation conversations, meaningful recognition and shared ownership, with opportunities to consider how these apply to their own management challenges. They leave with a practical team engagement plan to guide more focused conversations, re-energise their team and support their efforts to retain valued people.

a real challenge. a purposeful response.

The challenges this addresses

  • Recognition that misses what matters to the person
  • Disengagement noticed only when someone decides to leave
  • Motivation assumed to be the same across the team
  • Ownership opportunities overlooked when energy and involvement begin to fall

What this can change at work

Engagement starts with understanding the person, not guessing what should motivate them. Managers explore individual drivers, practise re-engagement conversations and use recognition and ownership more thoughtfully. People can feel better understood and see clearer opportunities to contribute, while teams gain a more personal response to pressure or change. A practical engagement plan helps the business move from noticing low energy to discussing what could make work more engaging.

Individual drivers explored

One-to-ones include questions about what gives each person energy and what is making their work less engaging at present.

Recognition with relevance

Managers recognise specific contributions in ways that reflect what matters to the individual rather than assuming one approach suits everyone.

Engagement turned into action

Leaders agree practical changes to recognition or ownership and revisit them in team engagement discussions rather than relying on assumptions.

Inside the workshop

Working in a small group of 6–8 delegates, managers explore the drivers of motivation through focused discussion, interactive breakouts and peer-to-peer learning. Live practice develops their approach to motivation conversations, alongside practical work on genuine recognition, autonomy and ownership. Delegates leave with a team engagement plan and clear actions for understanding individual motivators and responding to early signs of disengagement.

Make Motivating & Engaging Your Team relevant to your business

Tell us where you want to make progress with what really motivates people at work. We can discuss suitable workplace examples, priorities and access needs before agreeing the scope. Choose live online or face-to-face training for your UK or European team, with delivery arrangements agreed before booking.

Discuss this course

What the training covers

The scope below sets out the subjects covered. Workplace examples and practice are shaped around your team within the booked format.

  • What really motivates people at work
  • Spotting disengagement early
  • Motivation conversations: finding what drives each person
  • Recognition that feels genuine
  • Giving autonomy and ownership
  • Building an engagement plan for your team

What’s included in your booking

Your booked time and format
Half day · Live online or face to face, agreed before booking · 6–8 delegates.
Included in every course
  • Interactive, facilitator-led learningLive, hands-on sessions built around practice and participation.
  • Group discussionsShared conversations about real situations, so people learn from each other as well as the facilitator.
  • Breakout exercisesSmall-group practice, role-play and problem-solving, online or in the room.
  • Take-away materialsCourse materials, tools and templates to use back at work.
Facilitated learning and practical application
The subject coverage, exercises and facilitator feedback described above, with space to connect the learning to relevant workplace situations. The workshop description sets out the specific plans, prompts or tools developed in this course.

Follow-up coaching, refresher sessions and additional delivery days are not automatic inclusions; any additions are agreed in your proposal. Travel, venue arrangements and any software licences are confirmed separately where relevant. Prices exclude VAT.

Outcomes

The capabilities delegates work towards through the training and practice:

  • Identify what motivates each team member
  • Hold conversations that re-engage people
  • Use recognition and ownership to lift energy
  • Leave with a practical team engagement plan

the next conversation is where it counts —

Take it back to work.

Choose a real situation where you want to apply the learning. Use it to turn an outcome into a manageable first step, then reflect on what changes.

Choose

Start with one priority: Identify what motivates each team member.

Apply

Try the approach in a relevant task or conversation. Note what felt useful and what you would adapt.

Review

Reflect on what happened, seek feedback where appropriate and choose your next step. Follow-up support can be discussed separately.

Bring this topic to your next event

We can discuss adapting Motivating & Engaging Your Team into a keynote or large-group session, focusing on the themes most relevant to your audience. Depth, activities, timings and any follow-up depend on the format and package you choose; an event session is not a substitute for the full course.

Explore Speaking & Events

More from Leadership Lab

Five live online labs for established managers to lead with purpose, apply emotional intelligence, coach for performance, influence without authority and build a culture of accountability.

5 × 2.5-hour live online sessions (12.5 hours)Maximum 8 participants

Course synopsis

Leadership isn't about having all the answers. It's about creating the environment where people, teams and ideas can thrive. Leaders Online Lab Part 1 is a practical, interactive leadership development experience for established managers and experienced leaders who want to strengthen their influence, develop high-performing teams and lead with confidence. Across five live online sessions, leaders define their personal leadership philosophy, put emotional intelligence into action, move from giving answers to coaching independent thinking, build influence beyond their own team and create a culture of ownership rather than dependence. Every session includes a practical application — from a leadership impact assessment to a team accountability action plan — with workplace challenges between sessions so learning becomes everyday leadership.

5 live sessions · 2.5 hours each

Outcomes — you'll be able to

  • Identify your leadership strengths, blind spots and impact, and define a personal leadership philosophy
  • Recognise emotional triggers and respond to challenging situations with greater confidence
  • Use advanced questioning, listening and coaching to develop independent thinking
  • Build a stakeholder influence map and lead persuasive, outcome-focused conversations
  • Create a team accountability action plan that empowers without micromanaging

Included in every course

  • Interactive, facilitator-led learning
  • Group discussions
  • Breakout exercises
  • Take-away materials

Live online

From £6,500 per group+ VAT

Complete programme (Pt 1 & 2): From £11,750 per group · Save £1,250

Course details

Five live online labs for experienced leaders to lead through change, think and decide strategically, lead diverse teams, develop future leaders and define the impact they want to leave.

5 × 2.5-hour live online sessions (12.5 hours)Maximum 8 participants

Course synopsis

The leaders people remember are the ones who brought them through change — and left them stronger, clearer and ready to lead themselves. Leaders Online Lab Part 2 strengthens strategic leadership, decision-making and change management capabilities while developing the next generation of talent. Across five live online sessions, experienced leaders communicate change with clarity and empathy, shift from operational priorities to strategic thinking, make decisions with incomplete information, adapt their approach for diverse and multigenerational teams, build talent development plans and define the leadership legacy they want to create. Each session closes with a practical application, finishing with a six-month leadership impact plan shared with the group.

5 live sessions · 2.5 hours each

Outcomes — you'll be able to

  • Develop a change communication and stakeholder engagement plan
  • Make and explain decisions with incomplete or ambiguous information
  • Connect team objectives to organisational goals in a strategic priorities map
  • Adapt leadership approaches to individual needs across diverse and hybrid teams
  • Build a talent development plan and a six-month leadership impact plan

Included in every course

  • Interactive, facilitator-led learning
  • Group discussions
  • Breakout exercises
  • Take-away materials

Live online

From £6,500 per group+ VAT

Complete programme (Pt 1 & 2): From £11,750 per group · Save £1,250

Course details

your next step starts here —

Ready to step into the lab?

Your business. Our training. Together, we thrive.

Bring the challenge your people want to work on. We'll shape a practical training workshop or coaching experience around it — with room to explore, practise and take a useful next step.

Start a conversation