Praise the small stuff people think nobody saw. It changes how hard they try next time.

Effort nobody notices is where motivation quietly drains away. People keep doing the unseen jobs for a while on principle, and then they stop, because nothing in the world has ever indicated that it registered. Naming it closes that loop, which is why a single sentence can change how somebody works for a month.

Look for the thing that was done when nobody was watching. The restocked shelf at the end of a shift, the warm-up somebody did properly, the little sister who tidied up without being asked. Say exactly what you saw, once, without turning it into a lesson, and watch what happens next week.