Motivating your team

• It's important to use a motivational approach that suits your style.
• No point trying to be a cheerleader if you are a quiet person.
• The essence of motivation is to give people what they want for doing what you want - effectively this is pay for performance.
• But ''pay'' could be a lot of things other than money - it depends what each person on your team really wants most.
• The first step, therefore, is to find out what everyone wants.
• This might not be so easy - they might say they want more money.
• Often people complain about working conditions or pay because they don't feel valued or a sense of achievement.
• Fixing symptoms, therefore, won't necessarily change anything.
• Different people find different things rewarding. Here are a few:

• The key is to make the reward contingent on performance - like recognition.
• For example, offer a development opportunity only when your performance expectations are met rather than just because they want it.
• To find out what people want, use a combination of approaches:
  • ask them.
  • observe them on the job.
  • get them to rank order the items on the above list.
  • ask them what tasks they find most/least satisfying and why.
  • see what works through trial and error.
• Also, set clear and stretching targets.
• Communicate progress.
• Give postive feedback regularly.
• Celebrate success.
• Set a committed, enthusiastic example yourself.
• Conduct regular performance reviews.
• Remove motivational blockages - factors that turn people off.