Employees are a diverse bunch with varied interests. Each one has had a different taste of life and what motivates one might not motivate another. When handling a team, it can be quite difficult to get everyone on the same page and motivate them to give their best. Being a leader means much more than being a manager, not only one has to plan and organize tasks according to the strengths and capabilities of the team members; a leader also has to inspire motivation among them and get them to work as a team aiming for the betterment and growth of the company. Below are some of the tips to bring out the best in employees:
- Treat everyone the same: Every company and every team has different types of performers. One might be excellent performer over the last course of months while another’s performance might have gone down in the same period of time. You often find employees in corporate complaining of favoritism as the reason for stalled growth of their careers. A leader always treats his/her employees the same way and in a manner that is respectful and warm. He/she puts in efforts to find out why the performance of an employee has gone down and doesn’t go the way of reprimanding an employee without going into the reason it is so.
- Finding the right type of motivation- Every employee has a different way of thinking and working. What works to motivate might not work to motivate another. Some employees look for monetary incentives to work harder, some are more focused on learning and gaining skills, some want positions of power, and most want all three. There are two ways a coach goes to motivate players; either going for positive motivation or negative motivation. Employees with low-confidence might not get motivated when told the phrase, ”you can do it” but might come out of their shell and give their best when the phrase, “you do not have it in you to do it” is used to motivate them. For some, positive motivation works best and for others, negative motivation is the way to go. Only a leader can identify which technique to use at what point of time.
- Making everyone a part- It happens a lot in an organization when employees feel they are not part of the decisions or feel underappreciated thinking the employers do not care about him/her. It is also one of the major reasons employees leave a company and go for an organization where the work culture is more inclusive. Employees need to be given a sense of belonging and inclusiveness. A manager might lack this quality, but a leader, much like a father at the dining table, will give everyone the feeling of being part of the same family. A sense of inclusion certainly gets the best out of an employee, where he/she starts thinking of the company as their own and acts only after contemplating what would be best for the company
- Show that you believe in them- A pat on the back for a job well done is just not enough to show the employee that he/she is appreciated. A leader shows belief in his/her team members, he/she shows that they possess talent and are invaluable to the company. When a leader does that, it instills positive enthusiasm in the employees and makes them give their very best for the job and to the company.
- Invest in them- Every employee in his/her start of career expects a lot from a company. They expect to be made an asset of the company. Everybody wants to be groomed for a higher command. If the company invests in employees and shows them that their development is important to the company as they will be part of their future. There is no limit to how much it will motivate the employees and make them work keeping the company’s goals in their mind. A leader identifies the skills of an employee and works to hone them.
- Give credit- Small praises like ,”Thank you” and “Great job today” can do wonders for the motivation levels of an employee. It gives a feeling of being appreciated to the employees. When an employee works hard, a simple “thank you” at the end of the day is enough for the employee to feel what they have done means something to the company. It does not mean that a leader has to thank an employee for doing a job that he/she is paid for; it only means that the leader sees the extra effort put in by the employees and appreciates the dedication.
Author Bio: Soban Usmani is HR associate at BestOnlineAssignmentHelp. When he is not making sure that people around him are productive, he likes to watch thrillers.
