How to keep your team motivated

Sure! Times are hard, nationally and globally, there is no easy time, times have always been hard, and it seems like it only gets worse as years pass by. Hard times affect companies differently. Whether the hard times are particular to a sector, or not, some companies feel it more than others and some other companies don’t feel it at all. We have reviewed Ron Carucci’s article and we cannot help but appreciate the facts he wrote. Read through!

Trying to motivate a random individual is already difficult. Motivating people that you are responsible for can be worse when you’re the messenger of the disappointing news in the first place, especially if you are neither a therapist nor have a degree in Psychology or Motivation (if that is a thing).

Ron approaches the need for employee motivation from a point where a depressing situation has been created, and he starts by telling us what to do in order not to worsen the situation.

Ron says; don’t sugarcoat when you’re delivering depressing news to your employees, and we agree. Sugar coating makes things worse. Most times, the sensitive and environment-conscious employees can already sense that something bad is coming. Sugar coating will just lead you to make false promises, and nobody needs that. Don’t be insensitive, and don’t sugar coat bad news at the same time.

He further recommends that you shouldn’t defend yourself, deal with survivor guilt after layoffs, and when possible, invite your team into hard decisions. Great recommendations. If the team is a very large one, I’m talking 100+ employees, you can attend to them per department as it will make things calmer for you.

Ron recommends that showing genuine care goes a long way in encouraging your employees. If you see a check-in on your employees as an activity you want to tick off your to do list, the chances are high that your employees see through the pretense. This will just add salt to the injury.

Other things he proposed to motivate your employees include; helping them to re-prioritize work, staying available for them and being approachable, showing them appreciation for their sacrifice and perseverance, fostering a community, setting an example of staying motivated yourself, managing your own emotions productively, be it disgust, sadness, anxiety or anger, demonstrating resilience and modelling self-care. According to Ron, if you don’t take care of yourself as the leader, your employees will see that you are not taking care of yourself, and they’d think you expect them not to take care of themselves.

Encouraging your employees in hard times is good. Appreciating and motivating them in normal or good times is even the best. Create a non-toxic environment for your co-workers. You can review harsh policies, create games, recognize their hard work, give perks, encourage healthy competition, give room for growth and career advancement, take their personal development as serious as them, etc. Remember, hard times never last, only motivated people do.

Your team stays motivated as each milestone is hit. Visit www.teamsync.tools to create your projects and milestones today.