As a manager or supervisor, your impact on employee motivation is immeasurable. Words, body language, and facial expressions visually display the value and trust you have in others. High morale and sustained motivation in the workplace is greatly determined by your actions towards employees and how they perceive those actions. The feeling of being valued ranks right there for most people with liking the work, competitive pay, opportunities for training and advancement, and feeling “in” on the latest information or activity.
There are four major skills that assist in building and sustaining an energized team:
Build and utilize the talent within your team
· Portray a passion for the “purpose” of the job
· Listen to ideas from those actually performing the work
· Empower people to take actions that improve performance and reward initiative
· Take advantage of opportunities to coach, mentor, and delegate
· Remove obstacles that prevent employees from performing with excellence
· Create an environment for learning new skills and information
· Routinely monitor progress, give praise and constructive feedback
Parallel performance for success
· Understand and communication performance requirements
· Inform employees of team performance deficiencies for support in improvement
· Encourage employees to be the best in providing service and performing job tasks
· Develop plans for sustaining successful performance and continued growth
Make a positive impact through communication
· Message Tone - How you say it, is as or more important than what you say.
· Message Clarity – Clear, concise, appropriate vocabulary, and correct grammar are the keys to delivering logical and simple messages to others.
· Communicate with impact -- Confidence and enthusiasm in message delivery impress others and generates a motivation to act
Create an inclusive work environment
· KNOW YOUR PEOPLE – The main ingredient in team cohesiveness
· Lead by example –More eyes watch you than you have to watch others
· Demonstrate inclusive behavior – Everyone has a talent, find it and use it!
· Establish team expectations at the beginning and provide periodic reminders
· Encourage and support the team through simple acts of kindness and acknowledgment