Motivation and Effective Communication: Inspiring Others
For some people, it's as easy to motivate themselves as it is for others. For instance, a nine-year-old with ADHD might feel less inclined to complete her homework than her eight-year old friend — even though both are subject to the same task. Intuitively, the nine-year old's brain focuses on how he or she feels in the moment more than what they actually have achieved and may be less motivated around long term goals like finishing their homework or meeting up with their friends for practice after school.
In this piece, we'll explore what it takes for a person to be motivated and how effective communication can foster an overall sense of motivation in your team members and followers. One of the most important aspects of communicating with your team is getting a sense of their current motivational status. By offering potential solutions, they may be able to improve their levels — and subsequently your team's success.
Motivation is closely tied to the "why" behind a business goal. For instance, let's say you have a goal of increasing revenue from $300,000 to $400,000 over the next year. Asking your team why this goal is important will help get them thinking about what's at stake if they don't increase revenue or why it's so important that they do succeed in helping you reach this goal. The "why" should be as big as the goal itself.
For example, let's say a team member states that she doesn't understand the role of a junior account manager in a healthcare company, but after analyzing why they are so crucial to supplying medical equipment for hospitals and clinics, she becomes more motivated to learn more. Asking yourself "why" gets your team thinking about how they can embrace their roles and wants to start communicating this new goal to others and themselves!
On the other hand, communicating what you want from your team will help them see both their own role and potential responsibilities. This could also help motivate them to see themselves as a key team player — both for you and for the organization as a whole. Ask them to identify their perceived strengths and weaknesses, and utilize this knowledge to show them how they can execute their roles more effectively.
For example, if one of your team members recently started a new role and finds it challenging to learn new tasks, you could help him or her by showing "what's next" by outlining what you expect as a junior account manager: how will he be able to fulfill this mission?
Additionally, focus on what is needed in the long term. Keeping your team in the loop on the bigger picture goals can help motivate them to stay focused on their roles and provide a sense of security for them. For example, if you don't understand how they fit into the big picture, they will be less likely to feel empowered and motivated to give everything they have.
On a team level, managers should also take part in making sure that team members are able to see both their own roles and what is expected of them, especially if there is a perceived power imbalance between you and others. There should be no differences between teammates based on gender or job role.
Managers should also be aware of the internal strengths and weaknesses that their team possesses, to help facilitate teamwork. For example, if one team member always has a hard time presenting solutions that others find workable, you might think twice about assigning this individual to the task. If, however, you know he actually has a great knack for solving challenging problems in great detail, you could make sure that he is included in the group.
Getting everyone to communicate as a team can be difficult at first. To start, consider holding regular meetings. These should be held with the purpose of clarifying important points, discussing results and identifying potential improvement areas.
These meetings should also be held on a regular basis, at least once a month. As the meetings progress, they will become more effective and you will see improvements in your team's motivation.
Laura Hines is director of Sales & Marketing at Impressive Resumes . An expert in customer experience and human capital management, Laura has been featured as an expert contributor on e-reputation and social media topics on sites like SearchEngineWatch and LinkedIn . Click here to contact Laura directly or follow her company's blog for industry trends and insights.
Motivation and effective communication is the most important aspect of communicating with your team. By understanding where your team members are, you will better be able to understand how to motivate them. Asking them for their "why" will help you understand what they need in order to succeed, and as a result, how you can help them learn more about their roles and increase their motivation to achieve success.
Photo Credit: Pixabay (public domain)
This article was written by Laura Hines, a certified professional in human resources. She is currently the director of Sales & Marketing at Impressive Resumes. Click here to contact Laura directly or follow her company's blog for industry trends and insights.
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Conclusion
It is important that when you communicate with others you understand how they were motivated to think in the way that they do. By understanding your team members' values and identifying what they consider to be their strengths and weaknesses, you will be able to motivate them with a goal-oriented approach.
If you see specific problems that your team members might face in their day-to-day activities, ask them how they can improve upon these weaknesses and make the most of their strengths. Having an open dialogue with others will help not only improve some of the problems that may arise within your organization, but it will also empower each individual member of your team to take control of each day at work.