6 Ways to Motivate Your Team | Brian Tracy

Hello, I'm Brian Tracy and today I want to talk to you about how you can motivate your team. If you're in charge of a group of employees, or even one or two people, then chances are, you know it can sometimes be hard to motivate a team to produce their best work. As a leader, being able to keep your team motivated and on task is one of the most beneficial skills that you can possess. And fortunately, this is a learnable skill. Thankfully, there are plenty of effective tips and tricks that you can use to become a more powerful motivator in little time at all. And all great leaders are great motivators. First, you need to create a collaborative environment. It's been shown time and again that employees do their best work when they feel like their efforts are actually valued. The paycheck may be what motivates employees to show up at work, but feeling valued is what motivates them to do their best once they are there. With that in mind, one of the best ways to motivate your team members is to create a collaborative environment where they are able to share their input and feel as if they are a part of the big picture process. There is a very popular video called Start with why and it's been viewed more than a million times. So tell people why this job or this work is important. Tell people why it affects other people. Remember, if a person has a big enough why, according to Nietzsche, they can bear any how or what. So why is the job important? Even if all else is equal, an employee working in a collaborative environment is going to be much more motivated than an employee who feels unheard or undervalued. Next, make sure to share your vision with your team. It can be difficult for employees to muster motivation if they don't know what they are working towards. If you want your employees to feel motivated by the work that they're doing, be sure to show them how their efforts are helping to make that big picture vision possible. Just saying something like we can't do this without you. Wow, that's a great motivator is you are very important to the success of this project. Fabulous motivator. Understanding what you are actually working towards is a huge motivator. The why and team members are a lot more likely to deliver their best best work if they are keyed in on your vision, if they know exactly what it is and why. In addition, it's very important to give positive feedback. A little positive feedback can go a long way, and giving your team praise when they have earned it is by far One of the easiest and most effective ways to keep them motivated through the day. In many cases, a single compliment is all that it takes to brighten an employee's outlook and leave them feeling motivated for the entire rest of the workday. What I do in my office is I go around and talk to people and I ask them what they're doing and I compliment them on their work. Just like going around and watering flowers, you go around and boost people's morale and motivation by just simply talking to them in a positive way. Just be sure that your positive feedback is specific and genuine. Your employees will be able to tell the difference between genuine praise and just flattering words. Make the effort to understand each team member's work style different employees will be motivated by different factors. As a leader, it's your job to understand the work style of each team member and pinpoint what it is that motivates them the best. Some employees, for example, may find friendly competition highly motivating, while others may have no interest in competing with other co workers. Some employees may work best when they're working alongside others, while other employees may work better alone. These are just two examples of how a team member's individual work style is may affect how they are motivated to give their best effort. Rather than applying general motivational strategies to your entire team, it's far more effective to get to know your team members and work toward motivating each of them on an individual basis. Next, to truly motivate your team, you need to lead by example. Many years ago, I traveled through Africa and I had the opportunity to meet Albert Schweitzer, the greatest humanitarian of his day, who built a hospital in the center of Africa and took care of 1500 people at a time over the years. And he said that you must teach men by example, for they will learn by no other. And I never forgot that if you want people to do something, you have to lead by example because they will not learn any other way. True leaders lead by example in every case, and few things are more motivating to a team than seeing their leader roll up his or her sleeves and get to work. Albert Schweitzer, when he was 91 years old, would work a full day. He would travel around the hospital grounds in a jeep with his assistant and he would get out and he would work. He would help lift building materials. He would help serve food. He was quite amazing and everybody just worshiped him and never forgot him for the rest of their lives. And like me, I certainly didn't. So as a leader, your team members look to you to set the pace and define what excellent work looks like. When your team members see you working hard and getting your hands driven dirty, they're much more likely to work hard themselves. If you want people to come in early, come in early yourself. If you want people to work efficiently throughout the day, work efficiently yourself. If you want people to complete their tasks, you complete your tasks as well. If all you're doing is handing out orders, you can't expect those orders to be followed with much effort or enthusiasm. Lead by example and your team members are far more likely to follow your lead and always ask this question what kind of a company would my company be if everybody in it was just like me? It's the great question of leadership and finally, allow for personal development opportunities. Most employees want to work in an environment where they are encouraged to grow and progress in their careers, rather than working in an environment where they are just treated like a cog in the machine. This is considered to be the most important motivator of all. A feeling of progress and growth and becoming more and more of what you are capable of becoming. When an employee feels like their work is actually helping them climb the corporate ladder, they are sure to be motivated to do their best. By encouraging personal development and working to provide your team members with opportunities to advance in their professional careers, you can give your team something much more motivating to work toward than just a paycheck. Okay, now think of one action that you can take immediately to motivate your people to higher levels and quality of work and performance. One action are you going to take immediately and with what person are you going to take that action? If you enjoyed this video and feel it was valuable in teaching you about how to motivate a team, subscribe to my channel like this video and share this video with your friends. Don't forget to click the button on the screen for a free gift. Thanks again for watching.