Leading via the link between team motivation and engagement
Many studies, surveys, and polls have concluded that employee engagement is key to building a successful business, leading change initiatives, and developing high-performance teams. To answer the question of how to motivate a team effectively, it’s essential to foster engagement. In its eighth meta-analysis measuring the effects of employee engagement, Gallup found that:
“Work units in the top quartile in employee engagement outperformed bottom-quartile units by 10% on customer ratings, 22% in profitability, and 21% in productivity. Work units in the top quartile also saw significantly lower turnover (25% in high-turnover organisations, 65% in low-turnover organisations), shrinkage (28%), and absenteeism (37%) and fewer safety incidents (48%), patient safety incidents (41%), and quality defects (41%).”
Given so many positives of employee engagement, it is little wonder that organisations are continually finding ways to increase employee engagement and create a productive work environment. Connecting team members to the company’s mission can enhance their sense of purpose and belonging, ultimately influencing their performance and morale within the workplace.
What is employee engagement?
Employee engagement describes how people are committed to the work they do and the values and mission of the organisation for whom they work. They are happy team players who are invested in their colleagues, their team, and their organisation, and employees feel motivated to contribute their best.
In other words, they are motivated to turn up, help others, and do the best work they can. However, engagement is not quite the same as motivation, but a complimentary quality, a key ingredient in employee engagement. For example, motivated employees feel that their work is meaningful, while engaged employees are emotionally committed to their work. Good leaders motivate their employees to be engaged. A lack of motivation and engagement can lead to poor performance, reduced productivity, and a toxic work environment.
Setting the Foundation for Success
Setting the foundation for success is crucial for motivating a team. Maintaining good air quality and including indoor plants can enhance overall employee well-being and motivation. A motivated team is more productive, engaged, and committed to achieving their goals. To set the foundation for success, team leaders should establish clear expectations, provide necessary resources, and foster a positive work environment.
This includes setting SMART goals, providing regular feedback, and recognising team achievements. By setting the foundation for success, team leaders can create a motivated team that is equipped to achieve their goals.
Understanding Team Motivation
Understanding team motivation is crucial for effective leadership and achieving business objectives. Team motivation is the driving force that encourages individuals to take action and achieve their goals.
Recognising that each team member has unique goals, aspirations, and motivations is essential. By understanding what drives each team member, leaders can create a positive work environment that fosters motivation, productivity, and job satisfaction.
Team motivation is influenced by various factors, including clear goals and expectations, recognition and rewards, autonomy and flexibility, opportunities for growth and development, a positive work environment, open communication, and fair compensation and benefits.
Addressing these factors can help leaders create a motivated team that is committed to achieving the company’s mission. A motivated team is not only more productive but also more engaged and satisfied with their work.
How to engage employees with motivational tactics
Many motivational techniques will serve the simultaneous objectives of engaging employees and developing a high-performing team. Here are seven of the techniques used by successful managers and leaders.
1. Share the big picture to give them feel valued
Share your vision with your employees, helping them to see how they fit into the achievement of that vision by providing tasks that help the team progress toward its goals. This will provide the purpose they need to engage with the big picture. Keeping employees up to date with the latest developments and how their roles contribute to the overall vision can further enhance their sense of purpose. Connecting team members to the company’s mission can also enhance their sense of purpose and belonging, ultimately influencing their performance and morale within the workplace.
2. Motivate individuals to motivate the team
Each member of a team will have individual aspirations, goals and objectives. It is a manager’s responsibility to learn what makes their employees tick, and how to create the environment where the needs of individuals can be activated to improve the team, ensuring each team member feels valued and motivated. Providing positive feedback to acknowledge achievements and efforts can uplift employee morale and drive engagement.
Listen to ideas, learn from their experiences, and recycle into the team environment, showing how individual success can propel the team to greater teamwork. This personal and individual approach will help to incentivise employees with a clear understanding of the power of collaboration.
3. Give trust
A team leader should give trust to their employees and show that they trust their abilities by handing over responsibility. This responsibility may be given through providing specific tasks that challenge, or by asking an employee to manage a project sub-team, or perhaps requesting that a team member act as chair in a team meeting. There are many opportunities to share responsibilities and give trust each day – these should be used.
4. Motivate with milestones
Lofty goals often remain unaccomplished because they seem so far away, and unachievable. This serves to demotivate and disengage. Focus instead on smaller, challenging but achievable milestones that will help individuals and teams progress.
Reward achievement of each milestone, and reinforce how much nearer it takes the team to its final target, thereby boosting team motivation. Additionally, fostering team camaraderie through various team-building activities can keep team members motivated by allowing them to bond personally and enhance their collaborative spirit.
5. Reward performance based upon feedback
Value performance and attitude by recording, measuring and rewarding feedback from clients, suppliers, colleagues and other stakeholders. Seek to reward the expected behaviours that help to drive teamwork and promote the organisation.
6. Energise the team by exampling expected behaviours for a productive work environment
Employees follow the lead of their managers and the organisation’s leaders. An enthusiastic, energetic leader who exudes positivity toward work and the organisation’s values and goals is more likely to keep the team motivated and create that energy within his or her team.
7. Communicate openly
Be transparent about company goals and progress. Hide nothing, so that there are no surprises. Allow people the opportunity to voice concerns and ask questions, and provide honest feedback. Always show respect in the communication process, and include team members in the decision-making process, valuing their contribution and helping them to understand their value to the organisation. Additionally, organising team building activities can further enhance open communication and strengthen team bonds.
Empowering Team Members
Empowering team members is essential for team motivation and success. Empowerment involves giving team members the autonomy to make decisions, take ownership of their work, and providing them with the necessary resources and support to achieve their goals. When team members feel empowered, they are more likely to feel motivated, engaged, and committed to their work.
Empowering team members can be achieved by providing them with clear goals and expectations, recognising and rewarding their achievements, and offering opportunities for growth and development. Additionally, leaders can empower team members by providing them with flexible schedules, allowing them to work independently, and giving them the freedom to make decisions. This sense of autonomy and trust can significantly boost team motivation and drive the team towards success.
Setting Clear Goals and Expectations
Setting clear goals and expectations is essential for team motivation and success. Clear goals and expectations help team members understand what is expected of them and what they need to achieve. When team members have clear goals and expectations, they are more likely to feel motivated, focused, and directed.
Clear goals and expectations can be achieved by setting specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals. Leaders can also provide team members with regular feedback and coaching to help them stay on track and achieve their goals. Additionally, leaders can use goal-setting frameworks, such as OKRs (Objectives and Key Results), to help team members set and achieve their goals.
By setting clear goals and expectations, leaders can create a motivated team that is committed to achieving the company’s mission. Clear goals and expectations also help team members track progress, receive honest feedback, and feel motivated to go the extra mile. This clarity and direction are vital for maintaining high levels of team motivation and ensuring the team’s success.
Fostering a Positive Work Environment
Fostering a positive work environment is essential for motivating a team. A positive work environment encourages team members to feel valued, motivated, and engaged. To foster a positive work environment, team leaders should promote open communication, encourage teamwork, and provide opportunities for growth and development. This includes creating a healthy work environment, providing flexible schedules, and offering work-life balance. Investing in the team’s professional development through workshops and online courses can further enhance employee engagement and effectiveness.
By fostering a positive work environment, team leaders can create a motivated team that is productive and committed to achieving their goals.
Investing in Team Development
Investing in team development is critical for motivating a team. Team members feel motivated when they are learning and growing in their roles. To invest in team development, team leaders should provide opportunities for training, mentorship, and coaching. This includes providing regular feedback, recognising team achievements, and offering opportunities for advancement.
By investing in team development, team leaders can create a motivated team that is equipped to achieve their goals.
Measuring Success and Adjusting Course
Measuring success and adjusting course is essential for motivating a team. Team leaders should regularly track progress, solicit honest feedback, and make adjustments as needed. This includes setting clear goals, providing regular feedback, and recognising team achievements.
By measuring success and adjusting course, team leaders can create a motivated team that is productive and committed to achieving their goals.
Conclusion
Employee engagement and employee motivation work hand in hand to energise teams in the work they do and the goals of the organisation. When team leaders, supervisors and managers employ effective motivation strategies, the team should become a more collaborative and cohesive unit, fixed on the achievement of individual and team goals. This level of engagement could transform a team’s results.
Contact us today, and discover how we could help your managers to redefine their own behaviours and embed the leadership techniques to build high-performing teams.
