What do you do if your employees lack motivation and need inspiration to achieve their goals?
Discovering your team's motivation has dipped can be concerning, but it's a common challenge in the workplace. The key is to approach the situation with empathy and a strategic mindset. Remember, motivation is the fuel that drives your employees towards their goals, and when it runs low, productivity and satisfaction can plummet. As a manager, it's your job to reignite that spark and help your team find their stride again. By understanding their needs and providing the right support, you can inspire them to achieve great things.
Begin by understanding the root causes of your team's lack of motivation. Engage in open communication and ask them directly about their concerns and challenges. Sometimes, employees may feel disconnected from the company's vision or unsure about how their work contributes to the overall goals. By identifying these gaps, you can tailor your approach to address specific issues and show your team that their input is valuable and heard.
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M Imran Z Khan
Director @ Clovity | Sales & BDM | EMEA & APAC Staffing & Outsourcing- Contingent & Direct/Perm hiring solutions | Service Delivery Management
By identifying and alleviating the root cause of a problem, you can prevent an issue from occurring again in the future. One potential cause of lack of motivation in a team could be a lack of clear goals and expectations. If team members are not clear on what is expected of them or what they are working towards, they may struggle to stay motivated. Another potential cause could be a lack of autonomy and control over one's work. The best way to establish whether there is a performance gap in your company is to carry out a performance gap analysis. With this exercise, you measure performance against established goals and benchmarks so that you can identify areas for improvement.
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Toshiyuki Tachibana, CPA, MBA and CMA
Japan CFO
Lack of motivation to achieve the goals often comes from lack of understanding of the goals and hence lack of their engagement and commitments. First you need to know how much and what they are understanding the goals and what is the gap between the company and them. Also it is important to confirm if they have not only logical but also emotional sympathy to the goals because they are the source of their engagement and commitments.
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Michaela Č.
Trainee at ITEC
Actually, I would investigate what is intristic motivation and what is extrinsic motivation in team cohesion. I would recognise patterns of team working, elaboration , I would review appraisal and performance evaluation of employees. I would investigate with those , who are eager to stand up for themselves and I will try to assess level of difficulty of problem. Listing the problems, giving timeframe of solving these issues would definitely help.
Setting clear, achievable goals can provide your employees with a roadmap to success. Work with each team member to establish objectives that align with their personal aspirations and the company's targets. This personalized approach not only gives them a sense of direction but also a feeling of ownership over their work, which can significantly boost their motivation.
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M Imran Z Khan
Director @ Clovity | Sales & BDM | EMEA & APAC Staffing & Outsourcing- Contingent & Direct/Perm hiring solutions | Service Delivery Management
Setting clear, achievable goals is pivotal for organizational success. It provides a roadmap for action, aligns individual efforts with company objectives, and fuels motivation and engagement. Giving directions for setting goals can help employees feel a greater connection to their organization. Not only does this contribute to increased optimism in the office, but it also encourages better employee performance. Aligning personal aspirations with professional goals is key for career advancement and overall life satisfaction. By setting clear objectives, continuously developing skills, and seizing opportunities, individuals can chart a strategic path to leadership roles while maintaining work-life balance.
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Toshiyuki Tachibana, CPA, MBA and CMA
Japan CFO
Unless your goals are understandable, your employees can’t engage and commit to achieve them. So clear and understandable goals need to be made and communicated with your employees. Goals can be dropped down to each employee level so that they can know what they are expected to do. Ownership is a crucial factor to enhance engagement and commitments. So proper delegations and autonomy should be given to your employees.
Providing consistent support is crucial in fostering a motivated team. This can take many forms, from offering professional development opportunities to simply being available for guidance and feedback. Show your employees that you're invested in their growth and that you're there to help them overcome obstacles. This kind of supportive environment encourages them to take initiative and strive for excellence.
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Toshiyuki Tachibana, CPA, MBA and CMA
Japan CFO
Ideally we had better provide such delegations that require a little challenging but achievable efforts by your employees as these are good opportunities for them to grow. So please present your witness to supports whenever they have any questions or ask for your suggestions and advices. Even if they may fail, praise their efforts and challenges because this enhances their acceptance of ambitious challenges.
Recognition for a job well done is a powerful motivator. Make it a point to celebrate both individual and team achievements, no matter how small. Public acknowledgment or even a simple thank-you can go a long way in making your employees feel appreciated and motivated to continue performing at their best.
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M Imran Z Khan
Director @ Clovity | Sales & BDM | EMEA & APAC Staffing & Outsourcing- Contingent & Direct/Perm hiring solutions | Service Delivery Management
A powerful way of motivating your team or individual helps their internal feeling of satisfaction that drives and influences behaviours. It is a force that compels individuals to engage in certain actions or pursue specific goals. If the team is compensated on recognized revenue, recognize your team members individually and collectively both. There's something very powerful about setting time aside to personally thank another individual for playing a role in your success. Honor the team collectively and praise their contributions publicly. Must use phrases like , “Thank you all for your unwavering support and dedication” and "Your support has been the cornerstone of our success”.
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Toshiyuki Tachibana, CPA, MBA and CMA
Japan CFO
Recognition is good opportunities to praise individuals to achieve something important to the company goals but also to share the values which the company is respecting. Sharing success stories by award receipts with other team members is also good learning time to enhance total capability as a whole. This a process to change personal experiences to common experience in the company.
Empowering your team by encouraging autonomy can lead to increased motivation and innovation. Trust your employees with responsibilities and give them the freedom to approach tasks in their own way. This trust demonstrates your confidence in their abilities, which can inspire them to take ownership of their work and push their limits.
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Toshiyuki Tachibana, CPA, MBA and CMA
Japan CFO
Autonomy is a strong weapon to increase capabilities of each team member and lift up their stages to higher. However, it is important for your team members to understand the meaning of responsibilities behind autonomy. This process helps your team members to increase their commitments to autonomy. Culture respecting each others are mandate things in the organization by which autonomy works well.
Promote a collaborative environment where employees can share ideas and work together towards common goals. Collaboration not only improves team dynamics but also allows individuals to learn from each other and find inspiration in their colleagues' perspectives and skills. When your team works cohesively, they can achieve more than they would individually, which can ignite collective motivation and drive success.
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Toshiyuki Tachibana, CPA, MBA and CMA
Japan CFO
It is your role as an executive that you are expecting not only personal achievements but also team achievements. You had better explain your expectation and a power of collaboration always. One of merits of collaboration is learning from each other as different members hold different strengths and perspectives. By combining all of capabilities of your team members your team could achieve more than sum of personal capabilities.
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M Imran Z Khan
Director @ Clovity | Sales & BDM | EMEA & APAC Staffing & Outsourcing- Contingent & Direct/Perm hiring solutions | Service Delivery Management
If mistakes happen, as a leader I don't place blame on others. I try to take ownership of the mistakes, determine what went wrong, I work and try to develop solutions to correct those mistakes and prevent them from happening again as we move forward as a team. As a leader you should know how to deliver feedback in a motivating way inspire continuous improvement. Focus on strengths, acknowledge achievements, and offer specific guidance for improvement. Such leadership styles build confidence, empower team members, and foster a positive environment where everyone is motivated to excel.
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