Manager to motivator
As a manager, it’s our job to motivate our team to work hard to accomplish our shared goals.
However, motivating a group of employees isn’t always easy.
As individuals, we respond to different management styles. We also vary in regards to what behaviors or actions motivate us to work hard.
Some people are intrinsically motivated whereas others need a certain stimulus to produce that same drive.
Regardless of the demographic breakdown of your team, I have three steps that you can take to go from a manager to a motivator:
- Give them a voice: encouraging your team to speak up and contribute their ideas is critical to driving motivation and engagement. Your employees want to know that their ideas are heard, considered and appreciated – even if they aren’t implemented. There’s no faster way to kill someone’s motivation than to not give them a voice or a say in the work their doing. All the same, there’s no faster way to drive someone’s motivation than to give them autonomy over their work.
- Check in on a personal level: while the relationship that you have with your employees should be strictly professional, it pays off to check in on items outside the office now and then. Ask your employee how their spouse is, or maybe see if they’ve taken up any new side projects or hobbies. Connecting on a personal level, and showing your team that you care about their lives outside of the office, will help strengthen the relationships and make it easier to ask your team to go above and beyond when you need them to.
- Follow-up: when assigning a new project, be sure to follow-up with your team to see if they have any questions or need anything from you. This is especially important when working with young professionals who aren’t as confident or comfortable speaking up. Following up to ensure you’re on the same page as your team can help save tons of time and money.
While I can’t guarantee that these three steps will turn your low performers to high ones, I do know that it will help you increase your level of confidence and connectivity as a manager.
Do you have any tips you’d add to this list?
Please share them in the comments below!