I spoke at a conference last week, and afterward, someone approached me and asked, “How do I get my team members to be more engaged?”
This is one of the most common questions I am asked. While I understand the depth of the question, I am not always certain the person asking it does. My response to those who approach me with this question is: “How engaged do you want them to be?”
To which they usually reply, “I am not sure.”
On teams, engagement is the emotional commitment a team member has to the team and its goals. It reflects how deeply they care about their contributions and their teams. Engagement is what drives team members to contribute what psychologists call “discretionary effort”—the extra work they willingly put in beyond their required duties.
Being part of a team inherently requires some level of commitment. Engagement comes in three stages: involved, interested, and invested.1,
1. Involved
Team members in this stage expend minimal effort. They typically show up on time, do their work at a comfortable pace, but nothing more. They approach their role with a punch-in-punch-out-collect-paycheck mindset.
An “involved” team member might attend meetings but rarely contribute ideas or feedback. They complete assigned tasks but avoid volunteering for additional responsibilities. Although genuinely reliable, their engagement is transactional, and their presence doesn’t significantly influence team performance or culture.
2. Interested
Team members in this stage demonstrate curiosity. They want to know how things are going and are open to offering suggestions or occasional feedback, but they are otherwise content to remain on the periphery. You won’t see them taking the lead, driving change, or rocking the proverbial boat.
An “interested” teammate cares but not enough to risk vulnerability, scrutiny, or inconvenience. Their engagement is passive yet positive.
3. Invested
Team members in this stage immerse themselves in their team’s goals, tying their individual success so closely to the team’s that the two become indistinguishable. They see their teams’—and their teammates’—problems as their own.
An “invested” teammate will stay late to help a fellow teammate meet a deadline, come in early to get a jump start on work, and proactively address issues before they escalate. Their sense of ownership and accountability makes them a catalyst for team success.
Good teammates operate in the “invested” stage. While their approach has the greatest potential to impact team success, their level of engagement can also bring challenges that some leaders may not be prepared to handle. This is why I ask: “How engaged do you want them to be?”
Invested teammates require greater levels of support. Assuming that team members naturally progress through the various stages of engagement would be a mistake.
Former college basketball coach and current sportscaster Tom Crean shared some controversial advice to younger coaches recently on social media related to this point:
Younger Coaches ,
Don’t let anyone tell you that don’t coach effort or energy. That it’s a given. NO IT’S NOT ! You do have to coach someone to believe and understand how hard they have to play to be GREAT. How much energy is needed to persevere and overcome. Build their BELIEF !— Tom Crean (@TomCrean) October 14, 2025
“Younger Coaches,
Don’t let anyone tell you that don’t (you) [sic] coach effort or energy. That it’s a given. NO IT’S NOT! You do have to coach someone to believe and understand how hard they have to play to be GREAT. How much energy is needed to persevere and overcome. Build their BELIEF.
If you want team members to be more engaged, you must use your discretionary effort to provide the energy, encouragement, and support that facilitates them being in the invested stage.
As always…Good teammates care. Good teammates share. Good teammates listen. Go be a good teammate.
