New Year, New Motivation: 8 Keys To Engaging Your Team
Check out these eight strategies for motivating your team in the New Year.
Many of us are facing down strategic plans for the new year. But beyond goal setting, lies the real task of managing teams that can consist of varying levels of – ahem, enthusiasm.
It’s no secret that teams can consist of highly motivated go-getters and what some call in academia, coasters, as well as strategic players who do the absolute minimum in order to slide by with low effort and little buy-in.
“It’s no secret that #teams can consist of highly motivated go-getters and what some call in academia, coasters, as well as strategic players who do the absolute minimum. #Leadership”
Whether you are leading a team or are a team member looking to make sure all the strategic goals are met and exceeded, here is some great New Year advice you can tap into all year to motivate, increase engagement and ensure success on all levels.
“Here is some great #NewYear advice from @takeleadwomen you can tap into all year to #motivate, increase engagement and ensure #success on all levels. ”
1. Foster curiosity. Dr. Diane Hamilton, writes in Forbes that building a sense of curiosity is the first step in motivating employees. “Curiosity is a hot topic because it ties into innovation, engagement and productivity. If we can spark curiosity, we can fix a variety of negative issues we experience in the workplace. The Curiosity Code Index (CCI), which I created, determines the factors that inhibit curiosity and provides guidance to help build a strategic action plan for overcoming those factors. By finding out what inhibits employees, we can learn to improve. Employers can discuss with their employees how fear, assumptions, technology and environment have impacted their desire to ask questions, their drive and desire to explore. They can create measurable goals for overcoming the factors and provide a plan for getting out of status quo thinking.”
“Foster #curiosity. @DrDianeHamilton, writes in @Forbes that building a sense of curiosity is the first step in motivating employees. #LeadershipTools”
2. Be positive, show empathy. Rebecca Knight writes in the Harvard Business Review of advice from Lisa Lai, a business coach, “Don’t just say, ‘Here are the deliverables. Here’s the deadline.’” Instead, ‘develop the story’ around why the project has meaning and what the ultimate goal is. ‘Define what success looks like.’ Be upfront with your team and acknowledge the ‘burden and sacrifices’ involved, such as late nights and weekends at the office. Express empathy and be vulnerable, adds Lai. Say: ‘This is going to be hard. I am feeling it, too.’”
“Be positive, show #empathy, Rebecca Knight writes in the @HarvardBiz of #advice from Lisa Lai (@Soul4Breakfast) a business coach. ”
3. Give feedback, but don’t micromanage. William Craig writes in Forbes, “The micromanager's time has come and gone, and everybody knows it. The essential leadership technique we're talking about today isn't about casting judgment on the tiniest things throughout the day or insisting on a ‘my way or the highway’ approach. Instead, it's about helping team members find short-term tasks and challenges that support their long-term goals, like achieving a certification in their field, developing a new skill or chasing down a specific promotion.”
“Give #feedback, but don’t #micromanage, William Craig (@webfxbill) writes in @Forbes. #LeadershipTool”
4. Foster a culture of growth, development and learning. Cheryl Lasse writes in the Association for Talent Development, “Getting them motivated isn’t enough. You need to make learning a habit to create a culture of lifelong learning. That takes specific communication to ensure learning is operationalized—for example, as a part of the regular employee-manager conversation. To motivate employees to take charge of their development, stop pushing. Instead, get them pulling. Help everyone understand the learning imperative. Make it easy for them to know what to pull and why to pull it. And ensure that learning remains a part of the regular organizational conversation.”
“@CherylLasse writes in @atd about the need to foster a #culture of growth, development and learning in the #workplace. ”
5. Reward progress. Kathy Miller Perkins writes in Forbes, “While leaders cannot control how we feel about our work, they can influence how we think about our jobs by creating the right conditions in our work environments. What is it that inspires employees to love their jobs? According to research on inner work-life carried out by Harvard professor Theresa Amabile and her colleague Steve Kramer, the most potent incentives are not obvious benefits and rewards. Rather characteristics of the work itself are more dominant in determining motivation and engagement.”
“Be sure to reward employee #progress, @KathleenDMiller writes in @Forbes. #Workplace #LeadershipTools”
6. Make employees happy. Tim McElgunn writes in HR Morning, “A recent study found that employees who are happy are 12 percent more productive than those who aren’t. Whether or not the specific percentage is totally accurate, we can all confirm the general point from our own work experiences. Happy employees get to work on time, work hard, and take responsibility. Make humor part of the agenda – work is stressful. Find ways to lighten things up occasionally. Within the constraints of your particular process, don’t insist on rigid schedules. Give employees some control over how they use their time during the day. Respect, and encourage respect for, differences. Make fitness and physical activity part of a normal day. Create a bright atmosphere and encourage interaction.”
“Make #employees happy, @TimMcElgunn writes in @HRMorning. #Workplace #Culture ”
7. Define Your Own Terms. This is Leadership Power Tool #7 from Gloria Feldt, co-founder and president of Take The Lead. Her recipe for motivating employees is to redefine power not as “power over” someone or something, but “power to” accomplish a goal. Shifting “from a culture of oppression to a culture of positive intention to make things better for everyone is ‘power to’ leadership.”
“Define Your Own Terms. This is Leadership #PowerTool #7 from @GloriaFeldt, who’s advice is to redefine power not as “power over” someone or something, but “power to” accomplish a #goal.”
8. Make the purpose clear. Dave Allen writes in Real Business, “Purpose, when executed properly, can generate a better brand image, improve employee relations and performance, and increase profit. The key is executing it properly. Our poll indicates that only 22% of CEOs are using purpose to set the direction of the business, 43% are using it to define their brand is it pertains to advertising and branding campaigns, and 20% to recruit and retain talent.When businesses see purpose as merely a tagline, the foundation of what it represents is lost. The real idea behind purpose should be setting the direction for the business and creating a unified message between stakeholders, employees, customers, and management.”
Of course it is important year round to fully motivate employees and team members, but a new year can mean a fresh start. The not so good news is most employees and team members are not engaged and motivated.
“A new year can mean a fresh start. The not so good news is most employees and team members are not engaged and #motivated. #WorkCulture”
Darlene DeRosa writes in Business2Community, “According to Gallup data, only about a third of American employees are engaged in their workplace. These employees are not only productive, but they also demonstrate a passion for their work and their company’s goals that allows them to promote innovative solutions and drive results. They go to great lengths to ensure their teams achieve their goals and feel that their success and the organization’s success are fully connected. Disengaged employees, on the other hand, can range anywhere from people who are adequately productive but put no passion into their work to those who are so unhappy in their roles that they actively undermine the company with their behavior. Since this group consists of roughly two-thirds of the workforce, organizations need to think long and hard about how to identify and deal with disengaged employees.”
Here's to motivating the majority of team members to make 2020 a stellar year.
