Johnny enjoyed his job. He woke up early each morning excited about going to the office. He felt like he was making a difference. He was engaged and constantly challenged. He enjoyed his team mates and overall had a great time at work.

Sally was the exact opposite of Johnny. She hated work. She found it difficult to get out of bed in the morning and start her day. She didn’t fell like she contributed and was constantly in battle with her coworkers.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know which employee is going to be more productive.

Think about your past experiences, I bet you’ve had Sally jobs and Johnny jobs. I know I have. What is it about Johnny’s job that makes it so much more manageable, so much more exciting? It is the work environment. The people you work with, the job you do, the boss you have, the support you get, all of these things and many more make up your work environment.

So how can you as a leader ensure you have built a Johnny environment and not a Sally one?

1. Make sure that your team is challenged at work. Are they doing work they find interesting? Are they making a difference? Ensuring your team has challenging work is key to making a great work environment. One way to do this is to evaluate your team’s work and make sure it is evenly balanced across the workgroup. Also, look at what your employees like to do and what they are skilled at and make sure that there is an abundance of work in those areas if possible. If this is not possible, it may be time to ask yourself if you have the right people cast correctly.

2. Make sure your company and workgroup have clearly established goals. Nothing is more frustrating than lack of direction. Teams with out a clear vision of the future have the propensity to “spin their wheels.”. If your team does not have clear objectives, create them. Once they are created, share them and make sure that the team understands them and how they link to the job they do. Only then can you create clear, fair and stretching objectives for the individual that are linked to the overall company objectives. Ensuring that the employee has clear, fair and stretching objectives will let the employee know what is expected of them. This linkage of goals will allow the employee to see that they do makes a difference and will more than likely make them feel a greater connection to the organization and its objectives.

3. Make sure you create an atmosphere where fun is accepted. No your work environment doesn’t need to be like the set of an Adam Sandler movie, but it does need to accept fun. A client once told me that they were not fun, I told them they didn’t have to be fun, but they needed to be ok with others letting loose at times. All of this is still within the confines of what is right and what is not. Don’t be afraid to let your hair down a little and have some fun at work.

4. Make sure you get to know your team, both professionally and personally. Life is too short to spend 8 (or more) hours a day with people you don’t enjoy. Get to know people away from work. Understand what makes people you work with tick. Know the name of people in your office and use them. Try and learn things about your team so you can create meaningful dialogues with them.

5. Make sure to create an environment where differences are celebrated. Don’t just say it, truly live it. Different people bring different backgrounds and experiences to the table. Without difference we would have a whole office full of people like you. And if you are like me that could be scary.

6. Make sure people are treated fairly and consistently. Make sure your team knows you have their back. If you treat everyone the same and have the same rules for everyone the team will know what is expected and what is in bounds. Eliminate the showing of favoritism.

7. Make sure you are giving and receiving feedback often. Truly share openly.

8. Make sure you recognize contributions. Understand how your teams like to be recognized and try and recognize them that way. In a past corporate job, one of my managers didn’t like to be recognized in large group meetings. She preferred to be recognized in small work groups or in one-on-one situations. Knowing this, when she was up for a big award, I ensured that the recognition was in small groups and not at the large company meeting. This may sound simple, but knowing your people is critical to gaining their trust and support and creating a great environment.

Unfortunately, these are not quick fixes; they take a while to master and implement. Good luck and remember you can create an environment like Johnny’s.