As a leader it is any manager or supervisor's job to keep their staff motivated and working towards achieving the company's goals. This is never easy, especially if your team, tired after months and months of work and feeling underutilized and under-motivated are heading towards team wide burnout.
Successful teams are built when employees feel challenged, motivated and excited by what they are being asked to do. And the good news is that bringing that passion and sparkle back into your employees day to day lives at the office is easier to do than you might imagine. Here are just a few ideas and suggestions to get you started.
Show Appreciation That is Personalized.
Showing employees just how much they are appreciated is great for their morale, their motivation and their commitment to their job and the company. However, what makes people feel most appreciated does vary.
For some, external motivation in the form of public praise and monetary rewards works best. For others the internal motivation that comes from feeling empowered, allowed to make their own decisions and listened to.
Take the time to find out what each individual responds best to. Is it affirming words and monetary bonuses or the gift of extra free time and public acknowledgment of their achievements? Whatever it is once you have figured it out appreciate away, and do so often.
Ask For Ideas and Implement Them
One of the best ways for any manager to inspire and excite a less than motivated team is to ask them what it is that would motivate them. And then listen to what they have to say.
Given a safe forum in which to express their ideas and opinions, and then seeing that they are being heard and acted upon, creates employees that feel valued. And as research study after research study has demonstrated valued employees are some of the most productive of all.
Offer Yourself Up as a Mentor, Not Just a Boss
How well do you really know the employees who work for you? While you do not need to pry or ask for their life story, you should get into the habit of asking your employees questions that will help you get to know them - and their work motivations - better.
Do they feel burnt out? Do they feel like they need help when it comes to prioritizing their workload? Where do they see themselves in five years? Take the time to offer yourself as a mentor and find ways to help expand their skillsets and knowledge base so they feel valued and invested in. Once they do you can almost guarantee that their productivity and excitement about what they do will soar.
Eliminate Demotivators
As we have acknowledged, motivating all the members of your team is often not easy. However, unfortunately, demotivating them is, and it is something that happens far too often, whether the management team intends to do it or not.
A lack of recognition for a job well done, a lack of guidance from the top, unreasonable deadlines, a lack of communication and more are far too common in workplaces across every industry. Removing as many of them as possible is key to creating and excited and inspired workforce, and doing so is one of the most important steps towards a more inspired, more productive workforce of all.