How to Motivate Your People. Boost Performance through Motivation. Motivational Management Style.
Friday, August 7th, 2009Boost Performance—Motivate Your People
Motivation – maximizing staff performance to ensure the achievement of planned results – is surely just as important in difficult times as in good.
All managers are ultimately judged on their results. However many people you manage, you are dependent on the contribution of your team. And the quality of their contribution is dependent on their motivation. People perform better when their motivation is high. Furthermore, the difference between adequate and excellent performance spurred on by motivation can be considerable – and is just what you need in tough times.
The greatest perceived difficulty about motivation is perhaps simply finding time to fit it in. Yet the rewards make the time it takes well worthwhile. It really does result in people achieving more, so the time needs to be put in to make sure people remain motivated, especially at times when performance matters most. Similarly, the problems of a demotivated team on their manager’s time are all too obvious and again this is the last thing you want at a
difficult time.
Successful managers are good at motivation in good times and in bad.
What is most important, then? Without meaning to negate other factors, ten keys to successfully adopting a motivational management style may be summarized as follows:
1. Always think about the ‘people’ aspects of everything.
2. Keep a list of possible motivational actions, large and small, in mind.
3. Monitor the ‘motivational temperature’ regularly.
4. See the process as continuous and cumulative.
5. Ring the changes in terms of method to maintain interest.
6. Do not be censorious about what motivates others, either positively or negatively.
7. Beware of panaceas and easy options.
8. Make sufficient time for it.
9. Evaluate what works best within your team.
10. Remember that, in part at least, there should be a ‘fun’ aspect to work (and that it is your job to make sure this is so); maintaining this is especially important in difficult times. No one wants doom and gloom to pervade their whole working life.
Make motivation a habit, and make it effective, and you may be surprised by the results.
Motivational action must be:
well judged – the right action, at the right time, carried out in an appropriate way;
creative – finding new and different things to do as well as utilizing tried and tested methods;
balanced – using a mixture of methods well matched to the individuals involved;
continuous – motivation must be an inherent, ongoing part of management, not a ‘when there is time’ thing.
