So how much would you get out of bed for?

Published by Jon Land for Broadlands in Communities

£100? £500? $10,000? Frankly, it should be considerably more than that on the cold dark mornings!  Money has long been thought to be the key incentive for pretty much anything – as the misquoted Linda Evangelista will agree, but actually it’s the reason you get out of bed in the morning, not your motivation for it – and there’s a difference.

Maslow, Herzberg and Vroom (surprisingly not a firm of disreputable solicitors) have produced various theories analysing motivation, and each has concluded that the list of reasons people come to work will always start with money, along with security, status, company, and so on – and that’s normal. We all have responsibilities – mortgages, families, credit card bills etc, and we have to be able to meet our obligations. But once you’ve done that - you’ve got a job and can pay your bills - you begin to think on a higher level, and you want more from the time you spend at work. You want to enjoy what you do, you want to feel valued and appreciated, you want to have fun! When these things happen, you’ll really begin to achieve satisfaction and fulfillment, and that’s the real motivation.

Coming to work for a coffee and a chat is all well and good, but when it comes to more than that, it’s very difficult to inspire yourself to deliver a good performance without input from others. For you to feel genuine enthusiasm for your work, for you to know that you’re appreicated, the motivation has to come from your seniors.

So, supervisors, team leaders and managers of staff (at any level) - you need to motivate your team! If you’re a manager worth your salt, you’ll be doing a lot of this already (and if you’re not – oooh, shame on you!) – so try the checklist below to see how much you can boost your team’s feel-good factor, and improve their performance. These are just little things you can do, but they’ll make the biggest difference in creating a positive environment in your workplace, so try inspiring your staff towant to come to work, rather than just needing to:
 

• Be passionate about what you do. If you have passion for the work of your team, you stand a greater chance of taking your people with you
• Say thank you
• Remember their birthdays
• Recognise special efforts/results
• Support them and show confidence in their abilities
• Make them feel valued
• Do not take credit for their efforts/successes
• Do not blame
• Have regular one-to-ones
• Do not criticise them in front of others. If you need to do so, do it carefully and in a balanced way
• Never be sarcastic
• Be honest and trustworthy in all that you do
• Notice when they need help and offer to help
• Give them space and treat them all with respect
• Be open to different approaches and solutions
• Wherever and whenever you can, make work fun.

If you’d like help inspiring and motivating your team and improving performance, visit us on www.broadlandsconsulting.com, or call us on 01543 220752.