One company. Two departments. Both equally talented.

One department has an engaged staff, produces great results, and is consistently enthusiastic about its work.

The other department…not so much.

How does one team, any team, make and keep enthusiastic people?

Here are six ways that leaders build enthusiasm among their teams:

Make the vision clear. People want transparency and honesty. So giving them clarity on what is expected – what to do and where they are going – sets them at ease and builds a purpose within them. Remove any hidden agendas so that trust and commitment have a starting point.

Get your people on board. By reaching out and connecting with your team, you break down the walls of distrust. Share your commitment to them, your belief in their talents and the possibility of everyone meeting the expectations. Let them see you believe it and hear you believe in them.

Train your people. When employees are fed – whether communication, tools, skills, or knowledge – they grow and become more engaged in their work. They even develop a deeper sense of purpose as they acquire the confidence in performing when they have all the right tools at their disposal. Give your teams the advantages they should have in training and support.

Gain quick wins and build to bigger wins. Setting your team up to win and meet a small goal gives them a boost of excitement and drills belief that they can grow further. When they see a string of successes you will have then enabled them to build momentum and get them wanting to improve and gain more success. Set them up to win at all costs.

Keep consistent. Staying consistent means more than constant training and honesty, it’s also giving them new and attainable (and challenging) opportunities. Between your leadership character and approach to goals and training, being consistent gives your people a reliability to look forward to daily.

Never get complacent. The biggest enemy of every winning team is coasting and becoming complacent. Stay sharp and help your people stay sharp as well. Using methods like mutual accountability, vacations, rotation of project leader roles, and so on, you create an atmosphere where your team has a new challenge and a new leader to coordinate the charge with. Keep the foot on the gas pedal, but change the gears to mix up the challenge and keep your people enthused and motivated.

These simple techniques will bring a solid platform of engagement and commitment to your organization. Enthusiasm is an elusive culture, but once it’s present it will take off. Your only challenge then is to continue to channel it for sustained success.

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Paul LaRue is the creator of The UPwards Leader and Instigator for Lead Change Group. His background in senior leadership,. strategic planning, culture change, and people and organizational development gives him unique insight into the workings of successful organizations. Paul has given speeches and training sessions for many public and private entities and stresses the virtue of a culture that centers around core values and character in leadership.