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Building an authentic relationship with your team members can take some time as it starts with rapport and building trust.  You will have to consider actions that you have undertaken in the past that may have undermined trust within your team.  Your first step would then be to look at what you can do to fix this lack of trust.  If you already have a good amount of trust with your staff, consider what in your relationship with them could do with some enhancement.

Write out for yourself what you know about your staff in terms of their passions, talents, skills and aspirations.  Are there any gaps in your knowledge?  Are there areas that require more depth and detail in order for you to fully understand what motivates them and gets them to come to work every day?

The best way to go about filling these gaps is to open conversations.  Invite them to talk to you about their aspirations and career goals.  Consider how you might be able to incorporate their aspirations into current work practices.  What projects might be available for them to participate in or are their opportunities for them to diversify their work role?

Having an understanding of their passions and talents and what "floats their boat" enables you to enrich their roles and also motivate them in their work to perform to their best.  As always, ensure that the relationship you build is an authentic one.  Working towards a high level of employee engagement involves authenticity because as soon as someone thinks that you don't really mean it, you have lost their trust which is imperative for a productive working relationship.