How do I get my team to open up to me about work?

The team that I lead at work is not passionate enough. I have tried group activities to rejuvenate their passion for work, tried one on one talks to try and understand what their concerns might be but there’s still no change. How do I motivate my team to do better and be more involved in work activates? Sharon.

Hi Sharon,
While you may have asked for their feedback and comments as to why, they may not feel comfortable telling you directly. What you may want to do is ask for their feedback through the completion of a questionnaire which they can submit through a sealed / confidential suggestion box.
Once the feedback is provided, my advice is that you have a team meeting and share the feedback that’s been provided. This open forum discussion is communicating that you’re going to be open and honest with the issues that have been raised and more importantly, you’d like their contribution in finding workable solutions.
In sharing the feedback and in your capacity as the team leader, you will need to acknowledge issues that are being raised repeatedly and have not been addressed.
Furthermore, once solutions have been proposed that are both workable and relevant, implement them. Employee engagement and motivation is driven by many factors including trust between the team members and its leaders.
While this process is focused on the ‘issues’ the process will also give you an opportunity to discuss and identify team strengths that need to be maintained so that you can continue to work as a team.
Once issues are addressed, you’ll find team members will be more focused on achieving their goals at both the team and personal level.