Give credit to whoever had the idea. It costs you nothing and makes people want to bring you their next one.

Credit is one of the few things you can hand out without losing any. Naming whose idea it was does not shrink your part; it tells everyone you are safe to think out loud around. People who get named once come back with the next thing, and people who get quietly absorbed stop bringing anything.

In your next group project, say the person’s name in front of the teacher or write it into the shared doc. Be specific about what they contributed rather than thanking the whole team. Do it even when you built most of the rest.