8 Simple Steps to Motivate Your Team

As a business leader, motivating my team is a consistent goal. I want my colleagues to be happy and productive, and providing them a positive environment does just that. It is good for them and good for the organization. 

Eager and excited team members also help me as a director. There is a limit to what I can accomplish myself, but by enabling, empowering, and exciting others and watching them thrive, my impact is virtually limitless.

Steve Jobs is a perfect example of a good motivator. He excited employees, customers, and the media with his dazzling ideas and demonstrations of new products. The result – one of the most valuable companies in the world and products that are ubiquitous.

Are you ready to be a motivational leader? I have had the honor of speaking before both business and academic groups to help them develop their ability to motivate others. Here are eight of my top tips for inspiring your team – steps that you can implement immediately to help your team thrive.

1.      Let Them Know that You Believe in Them

Your team wants to know that you have faith in their capabilities. If they are experienced and have been with you for a while, you have seen their successes and know what they can achieve. For new hires, there was a reason that you chose them. In both cases, it is important that they know you believe in them. 

Take time to highlight specific accomplishments or talents that you find valuable and appealing. Share your admiration of their work with them, but don’t stop there. Let other people know the value that you see in your team members. It is encouraging to hear from your leader that you are a critical member of the team, but it is even more inspiring to know that he thinks highly enough of you to share this positive feedback with others.

2.      Empower Your Team

Now that the team knows you admire their skills, enable them to apply these liberally. Do everything you can to move hurdles out of their way. Allow them to make decisions and act on them.

One of my mentors once told me that, “if someone doesn’t have authority, he cannot have any responsibility,” and he was correct. If you tell a team member exactly how to do something, is he truly responsible for its success or failure?

Let your associates make their own decisions. If the results are positive, it helps builds up their confidence, excites them, and makes them eager to take on even more responsibility. If it fails, use it as a learning experience, discussing why it didn’t go as planned and (here’s where you empower them further) letting them make a decision about the next steps.

3.      Communicate

Communicating with your team is essential. Good communication is tied to high levels of trust, productivity, and engagement. It is critical because it works to build both emotional and intellectual commitment.

Your team wants to know that you care. Speaking to them is not the same as communicating. Be sure that you are spending at least as much time actively listening to them – asking questions to clarify what they tell you and showing interest. This will build trust, which has been shown to increase morale, improve productivity, and reduce turnover.

Communicating well also ensures that goals and objectives are clarified and allows the team to see where they fit in the larger corporate picture.

Frequent interaction also allows you to identify and correct issues sooner, minimizing their impact by solving them before they become larger.

4.      Encourage Ideas

Your team members all have different skills, experiences, and interests on which they can draw. Do not bound them by your areas of expertise. Encourage them to explore their ideas. Is there an improvement that they suggest? Do their unique viewpoints lead to better ways to accomplish results. You won’t know until you allow them to pursue these concepts.

When team members are acting on ideas that they themselves presented, they are more engaged, committed to its success, and happy. They know that they have influence in the direction that the team is moving.

5.      Commit to Their Advancement

Focusing on your team members’ advancement has many benefits. They will be motivated because they know that you care about them and because they know that they will be rewarded for their efforts. As you encourage and enable them to progress in their careers, you also make them more valuable to you and your organization.

Even if team members advance beyond their current roles and leave your team, you still benefit. Earning a reputation as the leader who develops people increases your stature among the executive team and shows new potential team members that yours is a desirable team on which to work. You will also have former team members who believe in you working in other areas, which is helpful when you find yourself in a position to work with or need the support of those other groups.

6.      Prioritize a Work-Life Balance

Your team members have a life beyond the office, and I guarantee that it is important to them. Be sure that it is important to you, as well. Listen when they talk about other activities and congratulate them and their family on personal accomplishments.

Make sure that your team also has time to enjoy away from work. Participating in hobbies and activities, prioritizing outside commitments, and taking vacations will all lead them to feel more well-rounded and relaxed. Fulfilled team members are happier, less distracted, more productive, and more apt to stay.

7.      Reward Success

Recognizing people for their hard work and success accomplishes several goals. In addition to the value inherent in the rewards themselves (monetary, additional benefits, days off, etc.), rewards also encourage performance by acting as a compliment of your team’s work.

Recognition also provides feedback – confirming that you are satisfied with their work and encouraging them to repeat or even exceed their successes in the future.

8.      Set a Good Example

Actions speak louder than words. One of the best ways to encourage your team is by setting a good example. Modeling the behavior that you would like to see lets your team know what to expect, what you value, and that you personally internalize these yourself.

Demonstrating for your team how to perform in your position also sets you and your team up for promotion. Should the opportunity arise for you to advance to another position, someone on your team may be more prepared to replace you. Your good example enables your replacement to perform and succeed, allowing you to focus on the new role and making the transition smooth.

As a leader you can only accomplish so much yourself. To truly exceed you will need to rely on your team members. Motivating them increases your impact, makes them happier, and is good for your organization.

All of these are steps that you can take immediately to motivate and empower your team. As a leader, you should make an effort to actively apply them daily.

- Mike Kilgore