According to a recent Ernst and Young survey, more than 1 in 4 employees in Germany (28%) reported being demotivated at work. The study found that a positive work environment (57%) and strong relationships with colleagues (55%) were the main drivers of employee satisfaction. Leadership plays a key role in shaping these factors.

Effective team leadership offers the following benefits:

• Higher employee satisfaction
• Improved productivity and performance
• Lower turnover and absenteeism
• Stronger collaboration and a more positive team atmosphere
• Greater innovation and willingness to learn

Positive Leadership

Positive leadership, which is based on positive psychology, is gaining attention.

American psychologist Martin Seligman, PhD, is the Zellerbach Family Professor of Psychology and director of the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

He established positive psychology as a formal field in the late 1990s.

His PERMA model identifies five core elements that are essential for well-being:

• Positive emotion: Experiencing joy, gratitude, and hope
• Engagement: Being deeply involved in activities that use one’s strengths
• Relationships: Having supportive and meaningful connections
• Meaning: Serving for a purpose greater than oneself
• Accomplishment: Pursuing success and mastery

These elements are foundational to fostering a thriving work environment and enhancing team dynamics.

Building on this, Markus Ebner, PhD, is a trained coach and psychologist in Austria. He developed the PERMA-Lead model, which provides managers with practical strategies to strengthen these five factors in their teams.

Christoph Bissinger is a trainer and coach who delivers seminars on positive leadership and the PERMA-Lead model, including sessions for healthcare executives. He specializes in leadership, teamwork, communication, and mental health.

Bissinger provided five actionable strategies for applying the PERMA-Lead model to clinical teams.

Positive Emotions

In high-performing teams, positive emotions outweigh negative ones by at least 3:1 ratio. Leaders should foster this balance through their kindness, gratitude, and recognition. Leaders can encourage this by:

• Starting meetings by recognizing achievements,
• Creating pleasant, ergonomic, and visually appealing workspaces,
• Celebrating birthdays and milestones,
• Hosting welcome breakfasts for new team members,
• Organizing occasional after-work social activities, and
• Offering constructive praise: Instead of simply saying “Well done!” ask questions such as “How did you achieve that?” to reinforce learning and engagement.

Engagement

Allowing staff to apply their individual strengths and skills enhances their engagement and commitment.

Strengths can be identified using tools such as strength cards. Each team member assigns cards representing specific abilities to colleagues, providing a clear picture of the strengths recognized within the team.

Assign tasks to align with each team member’s strength, matching the role to the individual, rather than expecting the individual to adapt to the role.

Relationships

Foster a culture of trust, appreciation, and support, where team members feel comfortable speaking up and mistakes are treated as learning opportunities.

Encourage proactive problem-solving by addressing conflicts promptly and guiding the team to resolve issues collaboratively.

Help team members understand each other’s roles and responsibilities using tools such as role-mapping posters to identify contributions and roles within the team.

Purpose

Help your team understand the value of their work by discussing how their tasks contribute to meaningful outcomes, such as improving patient care.

Identify and eliminate unnecessary tasks or processes that do not add value to the project.

Offers opportunities for staff to engage in meaningful projects and initiatives.

Employees regularly seek input on what they find useful or impactful.

Provide feedback on the meaningful impact of individual or team performance.

Accomplishment

Define clear and achievable objectives for your team.

Track and visualize progress using tools such as Kanban boards, intranet updates, or newsletters.

Analyze the factors behind successes to identify practical “recipes for success.”

Recognize “shadow performers” — team members whose contributions are often overlooked but are essential to success.

Regular development discussions should be conducted to guide growth and performance.

Celebrate major achievements as a team.

This story was translated from Medscape’s German edition.