What's something you're excited about?

During your next morning ritual, like a daily standup, try starting with a prompt:

"Before we get into it, I'd like to try something new today. What's something you're excited about? I can go first."

It's the first meeting of the day. Everyone's either just woke up or they've been working since the morning. The world outside sucks and is still weighing on everyone's mind.

This is a fun, quick and simple way to get everyone engaged before "getting down to business." Excitement will literally be in the air. You'll get to know your co-workers better which builds a stronger bond plus you'll have fun stuff to talk about during the day.

This is better than asking how people are feeling.

If you've graduated to async standup (congrats!), you can add the same prompt in the morning during check-in.

Here's your quest:

Try it once and see how it goes. If you're the one that brings this practice to your team and it sparks interesting conversations, I'm positive you'll earn some XP.