Motivate Your Employees The Right Away

Managers motivate employees using a lot of tactics, but not all of them achieve lasting results. And some can even pit employees against one another, weakening the team culture. As a leader of a team that needs immediate improvement, you might be tempted to reach for a quick fix. The good news is, you can see fast results. But you’ll need to choose wisely and start from within yourself as a leader. 

The answer to creating motivation in teams that sticks and increases measurable productivity depends on the leader’s ability to 

• Nurture and inspire the individuals on a team, empowering them to maximize their unique potential

(while at the same time)

• Encouraging each team member’s connection to one another as part of a greater whole, its purpose, and team identity. 

EQ, or emotional intelligence, increases a leader’s perception and intuition to accomplish both motivational objectives. So it’s worth putting concentrated energy into learning and strengthening EQ. 

EQ Competencies to Ignite Team Motivation NOW: 

Communicate dynamically 

Not only does precise and perceptive communication prevent costly mistakes, but it also revs up teams to put all their effort into their work. A few keys to generating healthy, invigorating communication include the following. 

• Open channel – Information freely flows upstream and down, as well as across roles within a team. Team members and managers alike respect one another’s perspectives and see open communication as an essential part of productivity.
  
• Active Listening – The manager listens with the intent to fully understand the employee’s message, both explicit and implicit. They ask open-ended questions to clarify their understanding. They aim first to understand before forming their response. 

• Empathy – Managers can empathize with their people without spreading a pity party, but inspiring them. They can come alongside their people and sit with them in their emotional state as a first step toward leading the direction of that state. It’s hard for an employee to accept encouragement from someone who doesn’t seem to understand their pain. Empathy can also extend and maximize the positive energy an employee brings to work. It’s not always applied to negative scenarios. Managers can share in the excitement when an employee has a new baby or a big deal closes. 

Celebrate the Progress for small and large wins

Managers can be too focused on the end goal that they fail to acknowledge all the work and commitment it takes to achieve one step toward it. Managers that acknowledge the incremental progress along the way light small fires for their people to keep them inspired. Employees recommit themselves to the work ahead because they feel their manager understands their effort. Managers can recognize milestones without having to roll out extravagant parties and trips. A ritual like a gong or a theme song, followed by a heartfelt speech might be all that’s needed to instill pride in the team. Just make sure to involve the entire team in the celebration. 

Show gratitude

and for the qualities you see in your team that you want to encourage like sharing responsibilities, working together, stepping up to lead an initiative, and responding well to a new change order. Ways to show gratitude include 

Words- Tell them. Tell them often, not just once. Be specific. Tell them in public settings like the annual all-hands meeting. Call out individuals in your weekly team meetings. 

Gestures

• Surprise employees with gift items (the more personal the better). 
• Give cards with the manager’s handwritten and personalized message. 
• Bringing breakfast or lunch into the office or taking them out. This also has a team-building effect. 
• Put up a special game (putting, darts, miniature billiards) to let employees have some fun in the office.
• Post a sign in the office that calls attention to the team or individual doing stellar work. 

Rewards

Managers can investigate to find out what kind of rewards matter most to the people on their teams. After bestowing a reward they can not the reaction and use that information to plan for the next one. Some ideas include:

• Cash prizes are ok as long as the contests are set up fairly 
• days off 
• trips (even to local sites)
• novelty office upgrades like a new cappuccino machine in the office or bean bag chairs

remember to show gratitude for the people whose work or personality falls under the radar. These people are often the glue that holds your teams together. It might be harder to measure the impact of the encouragers and quiet faithful workers on the team. Managers should look for their contribution and thank them for what they do. 

Row with the Team

Nothing says team building louder than rowing alongside the team. When a manager comes out of their corner office to sit on the floor with their team and partake in their role periodically, it says several things employees appreciate. It says, “I’m willing to walk in your shoes to understand your world here on my team.” It also says, “I’m willing to put in the work I’m asking my team to do.” It says, “I believe so strongly in our approach that I’m willing to do it as an example for you to follow.” It says, “I don’t consider my role or myself more important than the members of my team.” 

Managers can maintain employee motivation with intentional practices. Motivation should be one of a manager’s top focuses because it greatly impacts the team’s ability to reach goals. Motivation, by its nature, happens internally. Managers achieve team motivation by continually striking emotional chords in their employees. So before a manager enacts any type of motivational strategy, they can consider what kind of emotional resonance their strategy will have on ALL of their people.