How to Motivate your Team

Motivation can be defined as a psychological effect that initiates, guides and maintains goal-oriented behaviours. It would not be wrong to say that motivation is a driving force that that psychologically compels an individual towards success. Motivation can play an important role in our life. No matter what field you are related to, but motivation is very important for an individual to give out best in him. Motivation is something that causes us to act, an internal push towards the achievement of our goals. Motivation is from inside. It varies from individual to individual and it is not necessary that what motivates one person would move another also. Different people have their different ways and sources of motivation. A source of motivation for a player is obviously different from a person who aims to become a doctor. Motivation involves in biological, social and cognitive forces that tend to activate our inner senses and we tend to feel pumped up to achieve what we aim for. Major components of motivation can be defined as:

• Activation
• Intensity
• Persistence

Activation may be related to the decision-making process that will initiate a desire towards something that you want to achieve. While the intense focus on the concentration and the willpower put in by the person towards the achievement of his goals. And persistence owes to the continuous effort put in by a person in the form of hard work or something usually different from the normal behaviour towards the achievement of his goals. In short, motivation is a purpose for the cause of an action towards something meaningful.

Types of Motivation

Motivation can be of two types:

• Intrinsic motivation
• Extrinsic motivation

While the extrinsic form of motivation can be defined as the one that arises from an external source and is not related to biological factors. The extrinsic motivation can be in the form of some cash rewards or trophies that are given to employees, students or sports person for their extraordinary performance in their respective fields. This reward, however, acts as an appraisal for the hard work and in return, the employees are encouraged to perform even more to get the respect and award. Though awards are given to those performing well, to encourage them but till it is different from luring and this comes in as an appreciation for the hard work. It is a fact that social recognition and fame always boost the morale of humans.

On the other hand, the intrinsic motivation is one that arises from inside of a person, and the source of motivation can be some motivational speech or lecture, a motivational movie or song, desire to achieve or any successful person. This is the type of motivation that comes from your inner soul and pushes you towards working hard. Inspirational speech or books written on some successful people are the most common examples of this type of motivation.

Need for Motivation

Motivation is really important for anyone to achieve something big in their life. Motivation drives you to put in your best to convert dreams into reality. However professionally motivation is a part of every organization these days to motivate their employees towards some quality work, and this motivation also comes in form of rewards and recognition. During our school days when there was a sports meet, everyone received a participation trophy at the end of the season. Sure, it was a nice gesture, but since everyone received one, it didn’t hold any real significance to the student. But then at the end of the sports meet a student is named as best athlete at final and since only one player was awarded that high honour, it was a much more meaningful achievement.

The same is true for employee recognition to motivate them towards working hard. Compliments tend to lose their meaning if they’re given out just because, or if they’re distributed evenly across the team for no reason other than to just make up for some hurt feelings of not winning or performing well. It is very clear that appraisal and recognition do work out well to motivate, but only if done properly and the right candidate is awarded. If a wrong person is chosen then it may lead to some hard feelings or heart burning among other hard-working employees. So it is advised to be very careful in selecting the one.

Employee recognition is meant to be a motivational tool, but if everyone in the group knows they’re going to get a “good job!” compliment then it won’t create any motivation. It is important to recognize everyone at some point, of course, but each one only when he or she truly deserves it. Otherwise, this won’t help motivating employees in the long run.

How to Motivate your Team?

All the business leaders and executives have their own ways of doing things, and common ways to ensure that employees are challenged, inspired and motivated to do their best work. It is worth mentioning that money is never a motivation. Everybody wants to be part of something big. It is important that every employee know why their work matters. Make it important to your people by telling them why it's important to customers. One way of motivation is to make them feel needed, make them feel their importance and in return, employees do perform their best.

Goal-setting is very important and most companies fail to effectively set their goals and make them clear to their employees. When management holds itself accountable, it's a lot easier to do the same with employees. It is advised that managers provide their workers with some genuine, real-time feedback, good and bad. This may be one of the hardest things for any manager to do, especially when some negative reviews are to be disclosed, but it's also one of the most critical and effective management tools. To help increase office morale few tried and tested ways to motivate a team are:

• Public Praise: Everyone likes praise for a job well done. Taking out time to give sincere and genuine thanks to a staff member in front of their peers will boost their confidence level and self-esteem as result they would work even harder for the accomplishment of the goals. Employees do appreciate the fact that their hard work has been noticed. Praising them not only creates a feeling of need but also opens dimensions for freethinking and a broader approach towards the job. Watching a peer getting praised also leads to a sweet competition among employees to be the one.
• Training for All: Training is a great means of stimulation. Training your employees gives in a signal that you are prepared to invest in your employees’ development, making them feel valued. It also makes them feel valued. Encourage the recipient of any training to share their new insights with the rest of the team. Also, training helps in a boost to their knowledge and with knowledge, there is an enhancement of self-confidence and this motivates the employees to try something new and better for the job.
• Be Flexible and Fracious: To keep your staff well motivated, it is important to make them feel as if they are a part of the family rather than just a worker. If a member of staff has to take time off work unexpectedly, it is better advised to be accommodating. This will give employees an appreciative feeling and they will work hard to make up for lost time. They’ll also be happy to know they’re working for a gracious employer who understands well their needs and requirements and is ready to help them whenever they need help.
• Fun: Everybody likes enjoying and having a quality time with friends and peers. Give your team something to look forward to; work does not have to feel like work all the time and everyone needs a little leisure time. Weekends can be a good time to do something different that keeps people motivated during the next week. A picnic or a small party can be of great importance where everyone gets a chance to enjoy. Team prizes that combine humour with public recognition will go down well.
• Stay Positive: It is often observed that a positive environment improves productivity and creativity. It is better to find a way to stay on the sunny side. Don't be disingenuous on the same time don't sugar-coat some real problems. The only thing to keep in mind is that always look for reasons to be optimistic. When challenges arise, you should stand firm with your team and quickly transition to the opportunities created by any obstacles that arise. Staying positive is particularly important when someone shares a new idea with you. Even if you don't like the idea, focus on the positive aspects of it rather than finding out flaws.
• Involve Others: Obviously, a significant amount of recognition should come from you—the employee’s direct manager. Since you interact with your staffers on a daily basis, you objectively see the work they put into their projects every day, their interaction with other teammates and clients, and the attitude they display along the way.
• Be Humble: Except that you’re not the top authority at your company, it is possible that you may not be able to dole out free days off or give your employees hefty bonuses. But as it turns out, the secret to employee happiness isn’t really confined only to money. In fact, one of the most effective ways to reward your employees is by simply recognizing their hard work and accomplishments. Some public appraisal can mean a lot more than a bonus for most times, though financial increments are also important.