I’m a pretty positive guy, but I’m not going to cherry coat this for you, these days it can get pretty trying to stay motivated with everything happening in the world. However, I can’t afford to let that consume me as a husband, father, business owner and leader of leaders. If I’m being completely honest, neither can you. Leaders don’t get to drop the ball, whether at home or at work. Too many people rely on our motivational energy to carry them through the tough times. So, this week I want to motivate you, the motivator. Let’s discuss a few tips on how you can sustainably maintain that model motivational lifestyle as a leader.
Strategic Motivation
While motivation is the key part of any leader’s job, it is one of the most difficult. People are made up of energy and communication is really a transfer of energy.
As a leader, most of your plans are rooted in a long-term vision. The same applies for motivating your team, your human capital, and the greatest company investment. Now don’t chuckle, but I have to tell you that it starts with energy. No, I’ve not become a new age crystal bearing yogi (I leave that to the wife), but there is truth that negative attracts negative and positive begets positive. As a leader, you are the biggest magnet of all. Your team looks to you to provide a positive, stable, and sustainable energy so they can show up daily and be motivated to get the job done well. A leader needs to focus on what he or she can do daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly to maximize their team’s motivation.
In my book, The Sales Leaders Game Plan, I outline two key principals for motivation.
- First- knowledge creates confidence, and when a person is confident, he or she is more motivated to act: (Knowledge + Confidence = Motivation).
- Second- a leader must turn the energy thermostat to HIGH!
The right energy will empower everyone to achieve more. Remember- most people spend more time at work than at home, so work needs to be fun and motivating.
Maximizing Motivation
Here are some positive habits you can can practice daily, weekly and quarterly to maximize your team’s motivation.
Motivate Daily
Communicate. Whether you’re in the office or arranging daily zoom check-in meetings, talk to everyone. I know as a leader your plate is already quite full, but resist the urge to walk straight into your office with nothing more than a grumbled ‘Good morning!’. Your priority is to get your team ready for the day, so lead with positive energy and make it a daily pleasure to be greeted and acknowledged by your boss. I promise you that those genuine short chats will go a long way to create a winning culture.
Motivate Weekly
A lot of people hate meetings because they can often be monotonous, boring, and tedious.
Because communication is so important to any company’s success, not having a meeting is NOT going to work; instead, ensure the meeting is effective and a good use of time. Use the meeting to teach your team how to do their jobs better.
Now, I’m not talking about rambling on about whatever it is that your company produces or provides. I’m talking about spending time on improving soft skills. This can run the gamut from leadership, customer service, communication and even sales. You can pick a topic each week and tie it to a weekly goal. For example, if this week you choose to focus on customer service, your goal could be to have your team compete to make their client’s praise that week. This will be engaging, rewarding, and motivating.
Motivate Quarterly
I’ve found that all-team practice days foster excellent bonding and learning experiences. There are simple and cost-effective ways that you can get this done. Here are a couple of options:
- You can schedule an off-site interactive exercise that will involve the entire team. Getting them out of the office space will also humanize their colleagues and leaders.
- Bring in a keynote speaker for a short workshop (I know a great one!) or have one of your suppliers, manufacturers or even subject matter experts give a short Q & A session.
These are just a couple ideas, if you pause and give it some thought, I’m positive you can come up with a few more ideas that will suit your team.
Just remember, if you arrive at the office in a foul or furious mood, you pass on your negative energy to your team (and then on to whomever they talk to next). No matter how happy they feel, your dismal disposition will bring them down. Don’t allow that to happen.
Final Thoughts on Leadership Motivation
Being a leader means showing up and getting the job done, despite how you might be feeling on the inside. Lead with positive energy and you’ll achieve positive results. If you yourself need support, find ways to get that done outside of the office (maybe you need a trip to Retreat Ranch for a personal reset).
Get in the trenches, talk with your teams, be energetic, positive and focused, I guarantee your team will do the same with your customers, ultimately ensuring your success.
I love to help leaders, like you, create and sustain a winning culture. What are you waiting for? Contact me and let’s talk about how we can transform for your team into all-stars!
