In the fourth of the short videos in the 11 part series on how to create motivated employees, I share the third of 10 key factors that when present will collectively enhance the motivation of your team members/employees.
How do you rate for this factor?
In the third of the short videos in the 11 part series on how to create motivated employees, I share the second of 10 key factors that when present will collectively enhance the motivation of your team members/employees.
How do you rate for this factor?
In the second of the short videos in the 11 part series on how to create motivated employees, I share the first of 10 key factors that when present will collectively enhance the motivation of your team members/employees.
How would you rate for this factor?
For more information on all 10 factors and the underlying belief, visit the OTM Academy.
Over and over in the programs that I facilitate for both Senior and Developing leaders I am asked this question, “Gary, how do I motivate my team members?”
Below is the first short video in a an 11 part series that answers this question.
I concur that organisations need to create the conditions that enhance individual motivation and that, most likely, the conditions that have caused people to appear ‘de-motivated’ now were present well before the economic downturn.
My research and experience has clearly indicated that there are a number of factors that leaders/manager can control that can enhance the conditions where individual motivation has a chance to be raised.
These 10 suggestions are all within the control of each manager/leader and in my view are absolutely doable.
What have you been doing to motivate your team members?
How could you use this article to catalyse Conversations That Matter® within your organisation?
Unfortunately poor company cultures exist. This is why Organisations That Matter was created – to try, one company at a time, to change this reality.
So, what can a Team Leader do to improve the motivation of their team members when their team exists within a poor company culture?
The first thing is to control what you can control as the Team Leader. My experience and research indicates that pay is a massive de-motivator if it is not ‘fair’ in the overall context of pay within the company and the industry that you are in. If a person is not being paid fairly in this context, then pretty much everything else that the company does becomes less relevant over time. The pay issue becomes the core de-motivational issue.
If pay is ‘unfair’ then you must do what you can to fix that situation.
Most companies have systems and processes for accurately paying people. As such, if you believe that a person is being paid unfairly, go in to ‘bat’ for them. Let them know what you are doing but also let them know that you have to follow the system’s rules. Providing you have a record of being genuine, most people will be very pleased that you have taken the time and effort to go in to ‘bat’ for them. This act of support will often increase a person’s motivation. However it won’t last forever if the real problem isn’t addressed. (Please note I accept that the research indicates that most people feel they are underpaid. However, when ‘pay’ is placed in the context of company and industry, it is my experience that most people are able to identify if they are paid within an acceptable ‘range’ of pay.)
If pay is ‘fair’ then it is the cultural issues that come into play. It is possible, within limits, to create a positive sub-culture that may exist only in your team.
From my research from conducting many leadership development activities on this exact issue, the simultaneous things that you can do are very controllable.
You can genuinely appreciate and recognise the efforts of your team members. This starts with saying, “Thank you.”
You can look out for developmental opportunities (including projects) and offer them to your team members.
You can listen to their suggestions and genuinely take them on board and then get back to them about why their idea has/hasn’t been implemented.
You can assign tasks to team members that truly reflect their talents while at the same time creating some ‘stretch’ for them. Of course, this means that you will have bothered to find out what their talents are!
You can create team celebrations to celebrate successes.
You can bother to remember the whole of life details that your team members have felt comfortable sharing with you (ie their partners and/or children’s names, their birthday, special events in their life, their sporting teams and heroes etc.)
You can articulate how your team is contributing to your organisations vision and mission and help each person to ‘see’ how they are personally contributing to bringing these to life.
When times demand it you can make decisions that are timely and help the team to achieve its objectives.
These actions are all doable and are well within the control of a leader, irrespective of company culture.
It is my experience that when these activities are done with genuine intent, most people respond with an increase in self motivation and perform to a higher standard which is ultimately what leadership is trying to achieve.
How have you worked to increase the motivation of the members in your team?
Over many years of facilitating leadership development programs I have been continually asked, “What is the secret to motivating my team members?”.
I have been taking the participants of our programs through a simple three step process to find the answer to this question. You might like to treat this process as an activity, so why not pull out some paper and pen and see what answers emerge for you.
Step One
Rather than focusing upon the factors that will enable you, as a leader, to motivate your team members, let’s consider your thoughts about the factors that enable you to be the best that you can be at work. Take out your pen and paper and jot down some points that, for you, enable you to be highly motivated at work.
Once you have completed your answer, look at the typical responses that I have received over many years of collecting participant responses to this question.
The following are the Top 10 typical responses that are listed in no particular order of importance.
• Recognition for the work that has been done
• Opportunities to be creative
• A sense of contributing to the company
• A sense that what I do has value
• A fair wage for my contribution, all things considered
• Being treated fairly and trusted to do my job
• Being given appropriate feedback on my performance
• Having work that is interesting and that uses my skills
• Having opportunities to develop and grow in the business
• Having opportunities for promotion
Step Two
Now place yourself into your leadership role. What factors do you think will enable your team members to perform to the best of their ability? Once again take out your pen and paper and write down your answer to this question.
Once you have completed your answer, look at the typical responses that I have received over many years of collecting participant responses to this question.
The following are the Top 10 typical responses that I have received over many years of asking this question.
• Being given compliments and recognition for doing good work
• Having appropriate work delegated to them
• Having opportunities to progress their career
• Having training and development opportunities
• Having work that uses their skills
• Being paid appropriately for their work, all things considered
• Having leadership opportunities
• Being shown that management actually cares about them as a person
• Being trusted to do their job
• Being consulted about changes before they happen
Step Three
Look at both lists of responses. What do you notice? What stands out to you?
Many people have responded that they are surprised at the similarities between the two lists. When I have asked why they are surprised about the similarities between the two lists, people have responded that they somehow thought that the motivators for leaders and everyone else would be different. In reality it seems that most people’s motivations are fairly similar.
In summary, people want:
• To be paid fairly for what they do
• To be provided work that uses their skills
• To be provided training and development opportunities
• To be recognised for the work that they do
• To be trusted to do their job properly
• To be provided with opportunities for advancement or promotion
• To be included in making decisions about changes that will affect them
• To be treated fairly including being given feedback on their performance
• To be shown that people in the organisation actually care about them as a person
• To have work that has some value
How to use this information
As a leader the easiest way to use this information is to look at the three lists and ask yourself, “How am I and my organisation performing with each of these motivating factors?”. Neither leaders nor organisations are perfect, so you are unlikely to have a positive tick against each item. However, if your team members are lacking motivation then I guarantee that the underlying reason will lie in what you and your organisation are not doing to help them to maintain their motivation.
The beauty about this simple exercise is that it can quickly highlight what you can do to increase motivation. If you discover that you aren’t properly recognising your team members for the work that they are doing, then start doing this behaviour. If you recognise that you aren’t providing appropriate development opportunities for your team members, then consult with your People & Culture department and discover how they might be able to help you. If you discover that some of your team members aren’t being paid properly, all things considered, why not commence whatever processes that you can to increase their pay to a more appropriate level? These actions and others can be taken to quickly enhance the motivation of your team members.
Motivating team members is not as difficult as many leaders think. Follow the three steps above and take action based on your results. You will be pleasantly surprised by the increase in motivation that your team members display..
Please feel free to comment or to ask questions about this article.