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14th Jun 10
admin
As a manager, the results that you achieve to a large extent depend on your ability to motivate others.
On the face of it, motivation seems easy. In reality, it is a really big challenge.
So if motivation is so important, what are the keys to motivating your people?
Key 1: Get to know your people
People are not their job title, they are human beings. They have their own hopes, aspirations, desires and needs. As the manager of people, you need to know what it is that makes your people tick. So how do you find this out? It’s really simple, ask them directly.
Key 2: Treat people as individuals
Whilst you might well be managing a team, the team is comprised of individuals. This means that you need to respond to the individuals’, rather than the group’s, motivators. If you find that you need to create group or team incentives, try to address the individual needs within the group.
Key 3: Don’t fall into the money trap
Ask managers what motivates people and chances are they will say money. Ask employees or those that you manage and chances are money will be on the list but not at the top of it. People need to feel that they are fairly rewarded for what they contribute. However, money in itself is not a long term motivator.
Key 4: Provide growth opportunities
We all to a greater or lesser extent have a desire to grow, develop and take on new challenges. Providing opportunities for people to grow and develop is one of the lowest cost ways of effectively motivating others. It could be something as simple as an opportunity to work on a project or go on a workshop.
Key 5: Provide feedback
We all like to know how we are doing and feedback is the way of getting that information. It takes a minute or so to go in and say thanks to someone or a group of people or to praise them. Despite this, most managers devote little or no time to providing feedback. If you start to do this, you might be surprised at the impact it has.
The Bottom Line
Motivating is key to your success. So what do you need to do to start motivating effectively and delivering even better results?
Tags: management, The Keys to Motivating
