Andrea, This is a common challenge in organizations. One suggestion may be to visit with other leaders in your organization about building time in the multitude of meetings you have to occassionally set time aside to brainstorm, generate new ideas from a diverse group with different perspectives. A collaborative culture is fostered by this process. It does take time so you sometimes have to pick your spots but in the end it builds buy in from employees and also leverages the knowledge and great ideas from the entire organization. Have you ever read the book Death by Meeting by Patrick Lencioni? It is a good reminder of defining a clear purpose for meetings and not just meeting to meet! Also, in regards to your question on your staff being in a rut and how to get them out of it, I would suggest setting some time aside to have a short planning session with your group to get their input into what needs to be done for the group to acheive their objectives, overcome challenges they may be facing, etc... Taking time for this collaborative session may help rejuvinate them and help you build consensus among the group on what needs to be done and how the group is going to get there. What have you tried to get them out of the rut they are in?