Motivating yourself and motivating a team are two completely different ball games. In our industry, teamwork is so important and we rely on each other in many ways. It is therefore important that as leaders, we recognise that motivating and maintaining that motivation within our teams is critical to success.Here are my top tips on how to keep your team engaged and motivated.

• Understand their Goals – Getting to know each member of your team on a personal level and understanding their personal goals is hugely beneficial. This is the approach I take with our team because it allows me to understand exactly what people want to achieve and in turn, what makes them tick. If they are ever struggling or lacking motivation I know exactly how to pick them up and get them back on track! It also brings us closer together which improves morale and strengthens the team in general.

• Personal Development – Supporting your team members to develop their skills benefits both the individual and the wider team. By enabling people to build their skills set and grow, they recognise that you are truly invested in them and will be more likely to work hard and stay loyal to you. In addition, this personal development only adds to their ability to perform, so you’ll have a higher performing, loyal workforce who work collaboratively with you towards the overall business goals.

• Create a Positive Culture – Culture is incredibly important in any business, even more so now we can easily see what it’s like working for a company on social media. If you have a company culture that stifles creativity and limits work life balance your team morale will be flat and performance will suffer. This will be amplified when your staff see teams in the same line of work championing their employer on social media platforms. They are far more likely to jump ship and start working for your competition. Understand what drives your team and implement a culture that makes them thrive. In turn, they’ll be championing you!

• Avoid Micromanaging – Micromanagement is a sure fire way to demotivate your team. If your team don’t feel empowered to work autonomously, they are likely to start doubting their own ability and morale will hit rock bottom. Set your team goals and allow them to achieve them in their own way. Let them know you’re there as a mentor if they have any concerns or hit any challenges along the way but let them have the freedom to develop their own style of working. I’ve found this has brought the best out of all of our team whether they are extrovert or introvert because they find a style to suit them.

• Celebrate Success – Recognition is simple but essential when it comes to motivation. We are hugely fortunate in our line of work that we not only acknowledge success but we really celebrate achievements at all levels of the business and we see the positive impact this has. Celebrating success doesn’t have to come at a big cost to a manager, creative but effective ways demonstrate the same gratitude. However, not acknowledging success can come at a huge cost through lack of engagement or worse, losing key members of the team.

Your team are your biggest asset so its important you work together and recognise when they might need that extra bit of motivation. For more advice on a range of business topics visit my reflections blog.