How great leaders keep people’s spirits up

Allow for failure

“Permission to fail is part of morale boosting. People can’t be afraid of their jobs or they’ll never innovate for you.” George Swisher Founder and CEO, LIIRN

Don’t settle for window dressing

“If people are doing good work and there’s a good culture, morale comes with it. If you go through a rough patch, people pull together. Parties and things are add-ons. Morale doesn’t go up simply because you throw a Halloween party.” Gianpiero Puleo Co-owner, Ustwo

Be redundant

“You can get a little bored hearing yourself repeat things, but it’s helpful to people if there’s a continual reminder of how this thing you’re doing fits into a larger picture.” Kerri Hoffman CEO, PRX

If all else fails, there’s always pie

“We did a pie tasting during our latest weekly all-hands project management meeting. There is nothing like scratch-made pie to boost your mood.” Camilla Marcus Cofounder, Techtable; founder, West-bourne