I did not set out to write about motivation…there are likely thousands of blog posts out there with tips on how to motivate your team. Motivation was just on my mind as I thought about goal setting for the coming year. Therefore, this post just came about from a place of personal reflection and intention.
A team’s success is closely tied to how motivated they are to win, so as leaders, we can feel a lot of pressure and responsibility when it comes to motivation. There are so many factors that affect motivation; it’s hard to know what we actually need to DO day in and day out to motivate our teams. Wouldn’t it be great if there was a magic list of what to do and exactly how to motivate each individual team member? The keyword there being individual…..as unfortunately, what motivates us is different for every person. That magic list is a little easier to nail down these days with the abundance of personality assessments available to outline what drives each type of personality. However, things can get a little tricky when you add the complexity of your own personality as a leader to the mix. Of course, it’s always a good practice to simply ask a team member what motivates them. Although, having been on the other side of that conversation, I can say it can feel like there are certain answers that might be more well-received than others.
Now, I am naturally a very motivated person, which should make it easier to know just what to do right? Nope, each year seems to get busier and busier, and I realize how important it is to be intentional about motivation. Even if you manage to create that magic list of “To-Dos” to get it just right, there’s no guarantee. As leaders, we can’t own all the responsibility of motivating someone else; they have to have ownership in their journey as well. To ensure I am accountable for my part of the equation, I am asking myself a few questions to help me go about motivation with intention in 2020.
1. What things am I doing personally to stay focused and motivated? Am I demonstrating a strong example?
2. What feedback do friends and family have to share about ways leaders have demotivated them? What can I learn from those stories?
3. Do I have an understanding of what motivation looks like through the lens of everyone’s personality, including my own?
4. Have I asked each of my team members what motivates them lately?
At the end of the day, I think we all just want to be successful in our role, no matter what that role is. We need each other in order to win, and it really all comes down to the relationships that form a great team. As I think about what next year holds, I am excited and thankful to have such a strong, all-in team. Their effort and drive keep me on my toes, striving to deliver on my part of the motivation equation.
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