After a year as eventful as 2020, your team’s morale might be lower than usual as we enter the new year. Good leaders recognize the potential to lead with positivity. You have the power to motivate your team and start their year on a good note.
Smart leaders know that effective motivation comes from rewarding your agents when they succeed rather than punishing them when they fail. Emotions drive us, whether we like it or not, and real inspiration is born from feeling good about the work that we do. But how do you cultivate an environment of positivity? These six strategies can help:
Building a More Motivated Team
• Make work pleasant.
Being friendly and fun goes a long way to keeping your team happy and doing their best work. They can be easy to overlook, but a smile and a sense of humor are simple steps you can take toward making work a better place for everyone.
• Figure out what motivates them.
Meeting your teammates on their own terms is an important step toward knowing how to inspire them. What is their reason for getting out of bed each day? Toward what long-term goals are they working? Learning their aspirations and interests can help you work with their individual needs.
• Praise often.
Giving your teammates recognition for even the smallest successes is an easy way to bring positivity to everyone. In fact, a Gallup poll of over 10,000 businesses found that workers who were praised regularly experienced increased productivity, engaged more with coworkers, and were more likely to stay with their team in the long run. Try praising your team at least once a week to make it a habit.
Giving your teammates recognition for even the smallest successes is an easy way to bring positivity to everyone.
• Offer flexibility and autonomy.
Micromanagement kills creativity. Giving your teammates the freedom to work however they prefer is a powerful way to ensure that the work gets done. You can still hold them accountable for meeting the team’s deadlines, but as long as they deliver their work on time, it is best to go easy on when, where, and how they get it done.
• Eliminate unnecessary meetings.
Communication is key to keeping teams functioning well, but many companies hold more meetings than they really need. At best, they waste time by interrupting workflow. At worst, they smother creativity and leave your team reluctant to work. If what you are trying to say can be said in an email, it is best to type it up and send it out instead. When you do hold meetings, set out a clear agenda and only invite those who need to be there.
Unnecessary meetings can waste everyone’s time by interrupting workflow. When they do need to be held, set out a clear agenda, and only invite those who need to be there.
• Value one-on-one time.
Use the time you have saved on meetings to prioritize checking in with agents one-on-one. Making this a regular routine ensures that your teammates have the space to speak up in a safe environment about any issues they might be having. It also gives you a chance to recognize their efforts individually. This one-on-one time will motivate your team by instilling the confidence that you always have their best interests in mind.
By using these six simple strategies in your workplace, you will be fostering a positive environment where your teammates feel included, encouraged, and inspired to show up and put in their best effort every day. It can be easy to overlook the power of a positive mindset, but it can be the most powerful motivator we have.
For more great entrepreneurship tips, read our earlier articles on running your business during the holidays and maintaining momentum during the holidays.
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