“Don’t ‘tell’ to get things done, but motivate instead!” Dave J.
When a manager of business corporation thinks of ways of motivating her subordinates the first image that comes to mind is that of a coach gathering her team members together before a big project and giving them a pep talk and getting them all revved up to go out on the field to perform their very best.
While this initial form of encouragement may work at the onset, usually halfway through the project it has worn off.
It is therefore more important to find more permanent ways of motivating others.
While it is strongly believed that individuals cannot be made to act in one manner or another, it is possible on the other hand to create a favorable environment that will encourage people to act in a certain way and also will help to foster a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment for their achievements.
People become motivated when others defer to them for advice. Many individuals make the mistake of assuming that it is demeaning to them in one way or another to ask for advice of another, especially from someone who is lower then them at work. This is not the case.
When you ask advice of a person who is more knowledgeable in a given area than you are, you instill motivation in them because they realize that they must be viewed as competent or otherwise no one would ask them for their thoughts, ideas or suggestions.
This helps employees to feel that they are a worthwhile part of the greater whole of their workplace. When it comes to employees be aware that "people support a plan or a project which they have helped to develop."
Always seek to keep other people "in the loop" about what is going on whether it is family meetings or employee meetings at the office. At work make sure the meetings are relevant to those who attend and make sure they are full of useful information.
Employees in general feel more confident and are more motivated to do their best work when they are kept informed about the happenings around the office.
As well people are pleased when their immediate managers communicate vital workplace information to them. Make sure you share the end goals with your employees as well because no matter how choked full of information a meeting is, if it does not include the hoped for goals or results employees will quickly become bored, restless, confused and frustrated and will probably be looking for an excuse to get out of the meeting and return to work!
This is also the case with family meetings. Once children are old enough to understand, include them in the meetings as this will make them feel a part of things and will give them a sense of pride.
Being praised for work well done is one of the greatest motivators for anyone. This can be done most easily in the workplace but it can also be done in the home, such as when you praise someone for a delicious meal or praise how he or she painted a room or redecorated a wing of the house or when you praise someone's flower or vegetable garden.
Praise makes a person feel recognized and it also adds a sense of meaningfulness to just about any project, task, assignment or chore. All praise is relevant and appreciated but sometimes zeroing in on a particular aspect of a job and praising someone for that is so important. This is especially the case when a person has been working towards a goal for a very long time and needs all the encouragement and motivation he or she can get.
Knowing the right way to motivate others within your organization not only proven to be profitable to your business, but also elevate your “popularity poll” amongst your subordinates. Get started and give it a try….!
Dave J is a Certified Neuro-Linguistic-Programming Coach (by the American Board of Neuro Linguistic Programming), a business trainer & author of "Secrets Revealed," as featured on local radio and TV shows. His insight of NLP has given him the edge to provide peak performance coaching to individuals and corporations of all levels – across Asia. Dave J is available for keynotes speaking, breakout sessions and seminar sharing. You can reach him at dave@asiacertifiedbusinesscoach.com
