Motivation is a key component in making sure your team members are on the same page. There are many ways to motivate, but if you know your team members well, it's best to tailor motivation to their particular needs. Becoming aware of these different motivations is the first step in knowing how your team can be motivated and in creating a culture that inspires them.
Identifying Motivation
Your first step is to figure out how you can motivate your team members. It might be as simple as offering a gift or putting up a picture of their favorite band, but there's more to it than that. In order for a team member to go the extra mile, they have to know why they're doing so. When you can convince your team that supporting each other is the reason to get things done, they will work harder without even knowing why. You can help them to understand when talking with them about their motivation.
Identify Your Top 10 Goals
Some teams want to be ahead of the competition or industry standards, while others are just trying to do their best. A great way to motivate your team members is by helping them feel that they are a part of something bigger than themselves. You can do this by listing their team goals and encouraging them to help each other on the way to reaching these goals. With a purpose in mind, your team will inevitably work harder in order to get there.
Developing a Competitive Mindset
Motivation is, at its core, competition. This goes beyond competitions between teams but also between individuals. In some ways it's helpful to see competition as a negative approach to gaining motivation for success; however, not all competition is bad. When you create a competitive environment, it will help your team to see who's doing the best job and who can benefit from motivation to do even better. It's important that you don't push your team too hard because they can become resentful. Instead, be sure to reward those that are doing well and keep things fun.
Togetherness as Motivation
Whether by nature or survival instinct, humans are drawn towards togetherness. In fact, it's one of our most primal instincts. For teams, it's important to understand that the best way to motivate someone is through being together. When your team members feel as if they are working together towards a common goal, they will be more likely to give their all to succeed. Even if you're running a solo effort, you can begin to bond with your team members by creating some type of activity or tradition.
Creating a "Day in the Life"
Although every team faces different circumstances and goals, most of us work regular hours and have regular schedules. All of this repetition can cause some teams to plateau, so finding ways to motivate your team members is a vital way to inspire them. Getting in the habit of sharing what you do each day with your team can help them understand your job better and become motivated themselves. It's also a great way to develop a sense of community within the team.
Using Positive and Negative Examples
Motivating your team members by using negative examples will work for some teams but not for others. Not only does one negative example have to be effective, it has to be applicable in order for your team members to benefit from it. Even if this method works, you still need to limit the amount you use it because your team will start to lose faith in the direction of the company and in each other. You can use positive examples by encouraging your teammates and showing them that you believe they can do great things.
Offer a Reward
It's difficult (if not impossible) for anyone to do anything without being motivated by a reward. This is because the human brain craves rewards and, when you offer a reward that's large enough, it can be enough to motivate your team members. This doesn't mean you should give out rewards all of the time; instead, try to do so more often than not. You can also use rewards as motivation by offering them for completing certain tasks or working faster. There are many different types of rewards you can offer and you should think about which ones your team will be most accepting of when choosing them.
Celebrating Success
Anytime you accomplish something great, it's important to let your team know that it was accomplished and to celebrate the accomplishment. When you do this, you'll be creating a sense of camaraderie with your team members because they will feel as if they are part of something bigger. Celebrating success is also a way to give recognition without making your team feel as if they're being forced into taking your praise.
Creating a "Game Plan"
Just as it's important to have goals for your team, you should also develop a game plan for how you want them to achieve your goals. Teammates can often get bogged down in the day-to-day tasks that make up the average day but when they know what needs to be done and why it needs to be done, they will feel more inspired. It's also important that you're transparent with your team members. Let them know what you expect from them and when you think it should be completed by, so they can develop their own game plan.
Beating the Competition
Many people don't feel as if they are being challenged enough at work, so beating the competition is a great way to motivate your teammates into feeling more inspired. When you can beat another team at their own game, it helps to motivate your team to getting better. Whether it's a work related competition or a personal one, the chance of beating others can be a great motivator.
Giving "Incentives"
It's common for companies to use incentives as motivation but this method will only work if they're smart about how they use them. For example, you should only offer an incentive if you're willing to fulfill it. If your team is motivated by material things, using incentives might be a good choice for you. Incentives can take the form of bonuses or gifts and they work best when they are personalized.
Showing Gratitude
To motivate your coworkers, one way to do so is to show gratitude. This doesn't mean that you should lavish them with praise all of the time; instead, just make sure that they know when they do something well. You can do this by offering small things such as saying thank you or complimenting them. This will help to create a more positive environment at work and it can also help motivate your team members because they will know that you're not making empty promises.
Understanding Your Team
It's important to understand your team to make sure that you're using the right methods of motivation on them. First, it's a good idea to determine if they are motivated by independence or teamwork. Next, you should also determine what their individual motivations are so you can use a variety of methods on them. You should also consider the results that you expect from using different methods on your team members, so you can make sure that your methods have a lasting impact.
"Praise in Public and Reprimand in Private"
You need to be careful about who you use different types of motivation with because some people respond better when they're praised publicly while others perform better when they are reprimanded in private. Praising your team members in public is a good way to let them know how much you appreciate what they do but it might also lead to extra pressure on them. You should also consider that your praise could have unwanted consequences such as making them complacent. On the other hand, reprimanding your coworkers in private can help you motivate them without others knowing about it and this can help you maintain a positive reputation with the rest of the team. You can also choose to reprimand individuals by giving them negative feedback or being sarcastic with their work.
Hope for the Best and Prepare for the Worst
You need to remember that you have two possibilities when you're motivating your team members: hope that they will perform better than they have in the past or prepare for them to not perform quite as well. You can use this method of motivation to encourage your team members in good times but it's also a good way to provide them with extra motivation during hard times as well.
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