One of the most effective leadership skills any employer or manager can possess is understanding how to motivate your team. Whether a team is composed of three members or thirty, it's essential to ensure that commitment, passion, and drive to succeed are all consistent - but how do you achieve that?
While you can make assumptions on what you think will motivate someone, the most effective way to know for sure is to ask them. Everyone is different, and what drives one person may be completely different from the next. Therefore, if you want to motivate all of your team, it is vital that you take the time to get to know them individually.
Although this is the most effective way to motivate your team, it is also the most time-consuming. In the meantime, here are five things to implement that motivate the majority of people:
Encourage feedback
Seek feedback from your team. Cultivate an environment where staff are comfortable raising issues, asking questions, and providing ideas. When they do, take the time to listen to the feedback and act accordingly. Where you can implement suggestions, do so visibly and acknowledge who made the recommendation. If it isn’t possible to implement any ideas, make sure you provide feedback to the individual(s) with a clear explanation of why. This will not only ensure that they know you considered their suggestion, but it will also encourage them to give feedback in the future and suggest more suitable changes.
Provide positive reinforcement
People are used to getting told when they have done something wrong. However, it is rarer for people to be recognised when they do something right. Positive reinforcement is one of the simplest yet most effective methods to motivate employees. If your team does a good job, make sure you acknowledge their hard work, say thank you for their efforts, and, if possible, focus your thanks on an individual level.
Offer rewards
A job well done is its own reward, and many people are motivated by this type of intrinsic (internal) reward. However, many people are motivated by extrinsic (external rewards) rewards such as a salary increase, an extra day off, or voucher schemes. If you don’t have the budget for these types of rewards, think about what you can do. You may be able to arrange for them to finish an hour early on a Friday, name them team member of the week or formally recognise their hard work and contribution in a team meeting.
Provide challenging work
When we do the same work, week in, week out, it becomes dull and mundane. This can often happen when someone is particularly good at something. We know we can rely on them, and they require little supervision making your management role easier. However, the work becomes mundane and can demotivate employees. To help motivate them, try to give them new and challenging work whenever it is practical to do so.
Personal growth
Most employees like to grow and develop. In fact, learning and development opportunities are one of the top three things candidates look for when considering whether to join a new company. Providing work that challenges them is one way that you can help them grow. Look at other ways you can encourage and help them to develop their skills. The time you take to do so will benefit you, your team and your company overall.
You employees are your greatest asset. So it’s always going to be a worthwhile investment ensuing your employees are motivated. For further information on how Delphinium can help you to develop a motivated and high performing team, contact us today.
Author: Gemma Rolstone | Published 2nd September 2021
