The word “motivation” comes from the Latin verb meaning “to move” but what does it mean for us?
Motivation is defined as “getting people to do their job willingly and well” and various surveys tell us that highly motivated people have a vital role to play in the success of an organisation to succeed in its mission. Now you’ve looked at the areas you need to improve, study these tips below that will point you in the right direction. You as a leader can play a huge part in motivating your people to achieve their best. Some people work for love; others work for personal fulfilment.
Others like to accomplish goals and feel as if they are contributing to something important. Some people have personal missions they accomplish through meaningful work. Others truly love what they do or the clients they serve.
Some like the camaraderie and interaction with clients and peers. Other people like to fill their time with activity. Some people like change, challenge and divers problems to solve.
Motivation is as individual and diverse as the people we work with Whatever their personal reasons for working, the bottom line, however is that almost everyone works for money. Money pays the bills. Money provides us with a means to survive and supplies our basic needs.
This is a fact of life – its unlikely anyone would turn up for work they weren’t getting paid so to underplay the importance of money as a motivator is a huge mistake. However, there are other factors that drive people to do their best once they are at work and that’s what we will be looking at throughout this package.
Being able to motivate people who work for you is one of the key skills for any leader in ensuring we reach our goals – getting more money to more children.
- Be a manager your people can trust
- Know your team
- Challenge your team
- Be honest with your feedback
- Communicate, Communicate, Communicate
- Create a sense of purpose
- Create a sense of importance
- Stay excited and energized
- Offer support and encouragement
- Be Positive, don’t give up
1. Be a manager your people can trust
- This one seems like an obvious one, but it takes time to build and can be lost in an instant
- Trust and respect are earned through your actions
- How consistent are you? Do you follow through on the promises you make?
- Do you avoid making promises you can’t keep?
- Do you stand up for your people?
- Are you part of the team or do you stand apart?
- Do you give your team credit for their achievements?
2. Know your team
- This is about how well you know your people. What do they like? What do they dislike? What do they value?
- What hidden talents do they have that you can tap into and recognize?
- The best leaders have figured this out
- They really understand what makes their people tick
- They make time to get to know them whether its over a cup of coffee or at the pub after work
- Good leaders use their knowledge to get the best performance out of their people while at the same time meeting their people’s needs
3. Challenge your team
- Give them the opportunity to do work that is interesting and challenging
- Smart and ambitious people like stimulating work and have a say in how and what things get done
- How often do you engage your people in decisions
- How good are you at delegating work
- Do you dump work or micro manage it
- Do you give them projects that will stretch them and help them learn
4. Be honest with your feedback
- Your people want feedback even feedback that is uncomfortable
- How often do you provide feedback (outside of performance reviews)
- Do you sugar-coat messages
- Do you give praise when it’s due
- Do you coach your people
- Honest feedback, especially when there are performance problems is difficult, but if done well, can be a powerful motivator
- Ask yourself; how often do you ask for feedback from your people?
5. Communicate, Communicate, Communicate
- Communication is one of your most powerful motivating tools, especially true during times of change
- How well do your people understand the bigger picture – the goals the strategy
- How well do you understand how they fit into it?
- How can you help them understand their fit? Don’t assume if you said it once the message was heard
- People hear through the “lens” of their values and beliefs
- Use multiple modes of communication, and again, don’t forget actions speak louder than words
6. Create a sense of purpose
- You must make them understand the job or task you need them to complete has a purpose
- If they fail to see a purpose, they might not see that the job is important and it will become difficult for them to become motivated
- When you explain, or show them that you need the task completed and why, they will better understand why it needs to be completed
7. Create a sense of importance
- When others feel that the work they do important, they will feel motivated to get it done
- To create as sense of importance around the job or task, you should show them that they have the power to make the project work
- Delegating responsibilities where possible will make the other person feel more motivated because it says that you can trust them
8. Stay excited and energised
- When you are eager and ready to work, whether it is around your house or in your workplace, others will feel the same
- When others look towards you for guidance then lead them by example. If you stay motivated yourself then others will follow
- Motivation can be created by staying focused and energized
9. Offer support and encouragement
- Have empathy for those around you and when their motivation is slacking, instead of getting angry, offer support
- Let them know that the work they do important to our clients, and that without them we wouldn’t fulfil our mission. Have them understand that while their job may be difficult, it isn’t impossible
- Coach and encourage them to try difficult things for themselves (without someone doing it for them) and you will find that those around you have a better time staying motivated
10. Be Positive, don’t give up
- Motivating your people is a skill. Its sometimes tempting to t take the “easy option.” Don’t quit – stay at it
- If you create an environment that is viewed as fair and consistent, you give people little to push against. You open up a space in which people are focused on contribution and productive activities rather than gossip, unrest and unhappiness
- Which workplace would you chose?
Motivating behaviours won’t guarantee a motivated team, and sometimes there are organisational challenges that fall outside of the leaders control. But, focussing on the things you can control (and influencing the things you can’t) can go a long way in building motivation, loyalty and productivity in your people.
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