Creating a team of motivated workers can move an organization forward. Motivated employees are more productive, work harder, and are overall happier in the workplace. Understanding how to motivate employees can be a difficult process. It takes leaders who are willing to change how they do things to create a culture that fosters motivation. Following these tips can help leaders motivate their workers to get the results they want.
Leaders Motivate through Personal Relationships
The first key to motivating employees involves getting to know them. Increased interactions with an organization’s team let managers know the strengths and weaknesses of individuals. Leaders can find that some team members are more motivated when they work as a group, work alone, have a deadline, or are performing specific tasks. The only way to learn this is to have conversations with workers to find what suits them best. Then, managers can try different working conditions until they get it right.
Leaders Motivate by Setting Clear Objectives
Employees often have multiple projects and responsibilities that they must juggle. Although this is part of any job, employees do need clarity to determine the importance of the different aspects of their jobs. By setting objectives, creating deadlines, and describing the larger picture in which individual work fits, employees can understand what work to prioritize. It also keeps employees from wasting time and money on projects that are not of primary importance for the company. Giving employees this motivation can mean a significant boost in motivation.
Leaders Motivate with a Hands-off Approach
After managers do a thorough job of understanding and communicating with their workers, it is time to let them do their jobs. Intruding too much on the intricacies of how someone does their job can be deflating for the employee and counterproductive. Many employees can find motivation by feeling that they are trusted enough to not need micromanaging by an employer. Most importantly, micromanaging puts too great an emphasis on the mundane aspects of the job, and employees lose sight of the bigger vision of the organization that propels motivation. Once employees have the tools and clarity to perform their jobs, it is time for managers to take a step back.
Understanding how to motivate a specific team can take work. When managers approach employees as colleagues who are a part of the team, they can find individual ways to make their organization more productive. These tips can help guide leaders to create a motivated workforce.