Motivating Your Team to Success

There is one basic principle that seems to always apply when it comes to managing an individual, team, group, department, customer or business for maximum productivity - know what motivates them.

Motivation is essentially an exercise in psychology.People will usually gravitate towards things that they find rewarding and pleasurable and avoid things that cause them pain.If you first take the time to understand what motivates members of your team, you will stand a much better chance of identifying effective ways to incent high performance.You must also understand how team dynamics can affect individuals and the personality of your team as a whole. 

Not all people are motivated by the same thing.Some people are motivated by money, prestige and reputation, while others may be motivated by fear, accomplishment, praise, or rewards.In order to tap into key motivating factors, consider some key assumptions:

1.     People have reasons for everything they do.  They do not act blindly and, in fact, will set up goals in one fashion or another in their attempt to get what they want.

2.     People are generally self-motivated.Employees choose to do something because they believe it is good for them.  Either they will be praised or they will avoid being cited for poor performance.They will accomplish and master a new task or they will develop a special skill that helps to ensure job security.Although employee behavior is often directed toward team goals, each a task should be framed to offer something that reaps personal benefits or it will quickly cease to be a source of motivation.

3.     Whatever goals people choose to pursue, they must be attainable.If they discover that their goal is not attainable, they'll stop pursuing it. Setting a realistic goal will allow you to get buy-in from people and that will get them to work with you, not against you.

4.     Most high performing professionals and successful business leaders always see opportunities for themselves and their organizations.  A manager has the unique ability to offer opportunities that will motivate employees to achieve their goals.  In other words, an employee is much more likely to produce on tasks that are communicated as opportunities.

5.     Sometimes opportunity lies within an underperforming area or a weakness that an employee can improve. If an employee is underperforming, a good manager can motivate that individual to improve through strong coaching and professional development support.If team members know you are willing to invest in their success, they are more likely to be dedicated and productive.Within every underperforming or challenging area is an opportunity that needs motivation as a strong partner if the goal is to turn that negative into a positive.

To make success a reality, all persons involved have to be motivated to achieve excellence in their respective roles and each person must have a clear understanding of what success looks like for the organization.For a manager, this means cultivating a highly motivated and dedicated team of employees who see their work as an exciting challenge instead of a grind.

 For any manager, mastering the power of motivation can make you a standout performer in your own right, and that may be all the motivation you need to get started.