Beverlee Rasmussen CEC PCC What’s your team like at your small business? Are you happy with their work? Are THEY happy with their work? How can you motivate your team to improve their performance?
People are inspired to do their best when they use their talents to positively contribute to an organization. You need to recognize your employee’s contributions.
Motivated people feel seen, heard and understood. They are genuinely happy to come to work each day. They don’t feel “like a number”, even in very large corporations.
Motivated people work harder and care more.
According to studies conducted worldwide by Daniel Pink (2013), there are three things that motivate people to work hard. They are autonomy, mastery & purpose.
Autonomy
People need to feel like their unique skills and talents are appreciated. They want to feel respected and valued for their contributions.
As a leader, you can motivate your team and improve performance!
For example, you can facilitate a meeting to make space for autonomy. In this meeting, everyone gets the opportunity to contribute to solving a company problem.
Mastery
According to Pink, humans are hard-wired to strive towards mastering the things we’re good at. We are always looking for opportunities to improve.
You can encourage mastery in your company by leading a learning organization. A learning organization is a company that makes sure its members are discovering new skills and concepts. For example, you can provide grant-funded training opportunities. Also, you can encourage people to take on challenging tasks with company support.
Purpose
Your team must understand and connect with the purpose of their actions and the purpose of your organization.
No matter people’s backgrounds or positions, everyone needs a reason for their work. And that reason needs to matter to them.
Maybe your companies vision is to create plastic-free storage containers to lower environmental impact. Why not share that vision with your employees? Chances are your team members will align with your purpose. They want to make a difference too.
Also, people have a personal purpose. It could be as simple as “I work so I can spend quality spend time with my family.” Ask your employees what’s important to them. In your organization, there’s room for their personal purpose as well as the company’s purpose.
If you know how people are wired, you can gain insights and build structural and social systems to create a great working environment.
Do they need candy or quiet? Do physical rewards or words of affirmation motivate them? Does everyone on your team have the opportunity to do their best? Uncovering these details will motivate your team and improve their performance.
Motivate Your Team!
Implementing these concepts could change you from “desperate for some cooperation from unmotivated employees” to “relaxed because I can rely on my team to do amazing work.”
Giving employees both the responsibility AND the authority to do their jobs will have a greater impact than just giving them responsibility alone. With authority comes a degree of power that positively drives motivation.
What have you done in the past to motivate employees? I’d love to hear about your experiences in the comments.
Until next time, enjoy your Entrepreneurial Journey!
