Motivating your team goes well beyond dangling a carrot on a stick.
In fact, if you’re trying to motivate that way, your team is likely far from being intrinsically empowered to do a great job for you and your company.
Think about it for a moment.
The carrot and the stick is out of the eighteenth century, where unmotivated workers needed prompting to get through the daily grind of repetitive, mundane tasks.
With the threat of the “stick” in front of them, these workers had a reason to be productive.
And you’ll get results, too – but probably not the kind you’re looking for.
A well-motivated team will unleash creativity and productivity like never before. They’ll aim for the fences.
And that’s how you hit it out of the park.
With this kind of empowered team, you’ll meet your awesome strategy goals and delight your clients beyond their wildest dreams.
Most employees aren’t compelled to do great things when threatened with the stick, so to speak. And surprisingly, nor are they driven by money.
Most of the people on your team want to be challenged. They want to be empowered and control their destiny. They want to exercise their chops, learn more and explore new boundaries.
In short, they want to do amazing things.
And with the right motivation, they will.
So let’s get down to the nitty gritty of what it takes to get your team on creative overdrive.
Here's what Dan Pink, author of “Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us” has to say.
As much as possible, give your team autonomy to make decisions about their work.
Let them choose with whom to work, how they will work, and when they’ll work. Having control over these decisions will prompt creativity and productivity.
Learning and development should be a core fundamental for your team.
But you need to establish a setting where everyone will flourish. Start with small goals that are attainable to help them achieve success, before moving on to more difficult tasks.
One way to ensure your team is creative and motivated is to create a purpose.
They need to know where they’re going and why. In fact, you should demonstrate that making a profit and the purpose are on the same level. Your people should know that your words and action back this up.
Not everyone will thrive on competition – even with themselves – and not every industry is ideal for that kind of environment.
Instead of a competitive one, create a collaborative workplace. Creatives, by and large, work best when collaboration drives their work. Establish teamwork and partnerships, and you’ll get happy employees who generate quality work.
Think about your style of management: Is it overbearing or empowering?
Is it controlling or easygoing? Are you reserved or approachable?
A leader that empowers, is approachable, easygoing, and will establish a work environment that is positive. And remember to laugh a little.
Give your team the freedom to let loose and trust them to get work done.
You should expect your employees to succeed; however, accepting failures is just as important.
Yes, celebrating successes by acknowledging the milestone will be appreciated. So bestow your team with lots of praise and validation for what they do right – but don’t denigrate for failures. Instead, use them as opportunities for growth.
Companies like Google celebrate failures just as hard as they do a success. Their motto is that greatness comes out of attempting big things and failing – and then learning from it, trying again and succeeding.
With an environment that empowers your employees, you’ll create a team that has freedom and purpose, will develop and grow, and fail and succeed.
In short, a motivated team member is a brilliant team member.
So give them wings to fly and do great things!
What creative ways do you motivate your team?
