Keeping your team motivated should be your top priority as a leader. A motivated employee ends up being more productive and easier to work with. And that means you’ll get more results.
Whether you’re trying to get your sales team to get on LinkedIn Sales Navigator or your HR team to update the handbook, motivated people are where it all starts.
“Motivation is what gets you started,” says Jim Rohn. “Habit is what keeps you going.”
So here are some ways you can keep your team motivated and performing well.
This one might seem obvious, but maybe it’s time to revisit your employees’ salaries. When you set salaries, make sure you’re paying at least the industry standard and more so if the person is very experienced.
“Remember: 26 percent of engaged employees say that they would leave their current job for just a 5 percent increase in pay,” writes Peter Economy, best-selling author and ghostwriter. “Don't lose great people because you're underpaying them.”
Remote employees are becoming more and more of a thing lately. Companies are realizing how beneficial it is to them and to the employee.
So if you really want to show employees that you appreciate them, give them more choice to work at home with a flexible schedule.
Nathaniel Koloc, co-founder and CEO of ReWork, points this out in his article for Harvard Business Review.
“A sense of freedom, — the ability to choose what you work on, as well as how, when, and where you perform your work — is a growing priority for talented professionals across sectors and industries, and one of the core elements of a fulfilling career,” he says.
Nobody wants a dead-end job. And it’s your role to open up that dead-end into a highway of potential. Ask them to tell you about their interests and career goals, then see if you can give them opportunities within the company.
“...My team members frequently express desires to work with specific types of client that tap into their personal interests,” writes Joey Hodges, Forbes Councils Member. “I encourage them to look for those opportunities and incentivize them with new business commissions if they land them.
Encourage Failure
Humans learn by failing. And that’s good news because we all mess up sometimes.
As a leader, you should realize and remember this. Expect your team to make mistakes, and don’t penalize them when they do.
This is the only way they’ll get better at selling.
Setting clear goals for your team can lead to a dramatic boost in productivity. If your employees aren’t sure what they’re working towards, they’re not going to work as hard.
It’s like a race -- a runner who doesn’t know where the finish line is will get lost and will soon lose interest in the race. So show your team the finish line.
Trust is a huge factor in a successful employee-boss relationship. If your people trust you and you can trust them, then you’re a true team. That’s why you should avoid micromanagement like the plague.
Muriel Maignan Wilkins, co-founder and managing partner of an executive coaching and leadership development firm, points out how you can be a manager, not a micromanager.
“At the core of moving away from micromanaging is letting go of the minutia,” she writes. “This can be hard, but the key is to do it a little at a time. Start by looking at your to-do list to determine what low hanging fruit you can pass on to a team member.”
How do you motivate your team?
Brooklin Nash is Head of Content at Wiza.co, dedicated to creating helpful content around cold emailing, lead generation and LinkedIn Sales Navigator.