3 Simple but Powerful Ways to Motivate Your Team
How frustrating is it when you have someone on your team who you know has so much potential, is actually really great at their job and everyone really likes them - but it’s like they are just going through the motions? They get the job done, but only just, they certainly don’t show initiative and you just want to shake them because you know they are capable of so much more, of doing a much better job.
You know they are smart, capable, skilled and you’re frustrated that you’re not seeing their best.
Here's what you’re dealing with when it comes to these people – it’s not that they are lazy – they simply lack motivation.
Why is that your problem you ask? Well, you know how hard it is to find great staff right? So, you don’t want to exit them and have to go through the recruitment process again. Add to that the fact that by proactively working to improve motivation you are actually improving employee engagement – and that can result in a bottom like increase in profits of more than 20% - why wouldn’t you want to fix the problem?
Also, think about what a motivated team is like to spend time with. A motivated team has a great energy, there is momentum, there is a sense of positivity as well as productivity. So wouldn’t you prefer to spend your time with a motivated team rather than an unmotivated one?
Proactively improving motivation amongst your team doesn’t need to be difficult, expensive or time consuming. It really can be quite straight forward, and I’ve got 3 simple but powerful ways you can motivate your team.
#1 – Curious Conversations
This may sound too simple to be true, but it is actually super powerful – talk to your people! I’m not saying talk at them, or bombard them with questions, I’m talking about having a truly curious conversation to try and understand not only what’s zapping their motivation at work right now, but also what they are actually motivated towards so you can try and leverage that at work.
#2 – Goals and Values Alignment
By far one of the most powerful ways you can embed high levels of consistent motivation is to find a way to align individual employees goals and values with your organisations goals, objectives and values. This is truly a magic formula if you can find a way to make it happen.
Having those curious conversations first is critical, as this is how you understand what’s truly important to your employee, and from there it can require some creative and lateral thinking to find a way to align these two worlds.
#3 Create a Sense of Belonging
This is becoming more and more important, especially for our younger generations in the workplace, as a sense of ‘purpose’ is one of their non negotiables. Despite the last 2 years, and the separation we may have experienced, we are fundamentally all social creates, and we crave a sense of belonging. We want to know we’re spending time with our tribe, and that includes at work. When people feel like they belong, that they are with ‘their people’, that they are part of something bigger than themselves, they are more motivated to contribute.
All 3 of these strategies are free, don’t take a lot of time and are not difficult to implement. Yes there is some deliberate thought involved, and you may need to think laterally and creatively, but I’d say that the results are worth the effort, wouldn’t you?
An invitation:
If you’re dealing with motivation issues with you’re your team, or any challenges at all with your staff I’d love to invite you to join me for a FREE Masterclass – Sack Them or Save Them? Where we’ll take a deep dive into understanding what type of problem employees you have on your hands, what the specific solution is and how you can take action to turn your current challenge into your next top performer.
I’ll also share the 5 biggest mistakes business owners make when dealing with these challenges, and what you can do instead to ensure you’re building the team you desire in your business.
Click Here to Register for the Sack Them or Save Them Masterclass
