The 3 Secrets of Team Motivation

Are workers telling the truth when they say they are ill? This question was posed on the Money Programme on BBC Television in December 2004. British Bosses are reporting that more and more of their staff appear to be skiving off with faked illnesses and many firms are taking new steps to crack down on malingerers. Research by the Confederation of British Industry suggests that workplace absence is on the rise for the first time in five years. Last year we were off sick on average for 7.2 days up from 6.8 the previous year. It costs UK businesses £11.75bn a year, the CBI says. The CBI also estimates that 15% of all illness is due to people taking days off when they are not really ill.

Now while I accept that there will always people who take time off work for no good reason, I believe managers need to take a long hard look at how they manage their people in the first place. Perhaps if they made the workplace a far better place to be then a lot less people would take a "sickie."

If you want a highly motivated team who don't take time off work, don't keep looking for other jobs and make a positive contribution to your business there are three things you need to do.

#1 Spend some quality time

I didn't say "quantity time" I said "quality time." One or two minutes of quality time on a regular basis are far more productive than a one hour review every year. You need to get to know your team better and they need to get to know you. It will help you build a relationship with the individual. You'll gain a much better understanding of them and how they're handling the job. It will also give the impression that you care about the individual and show that you're there to help with problems both personal and business.

Spending quality time will encourage opinions and ideas to flow from them and allows you to explain the company's mission. It gives them a feeling of being in on things which is a big motivator. It will also help you build an "early warning system" of any problems both business and personal. Finally, it builds team spirit and morale.

#2 Give feedback and coach

You need to regularly tell each member of your team when they're doing well and when not so well. I read some recent research that suggested 65% of employees in the US received no recognition at work in the past year. My experience tells me that it's much the same throughout the world and much worse in some countries.

Some managers still believe - "why should I praise people when they're only doing what they're paid to do." It's also important to tell people when they're not performing. There are too many managers who either ignore poor behaviour or come down on the person like a ton of bricks. There are particular ways to give feedback and coach and they're described in detail in the book - How to get More Sales by Motivating Your Team.

#3 Be a believer

We're now getting into the area of "Empowerment" which was first introduced in the 1080's and became a bit of a management buzzword. However, I believe that it's one of the most promising but least understood concepts in management today.

I'm a fairly down to earth practical sort of person (probably comes from my engineering background). I'm not big into management theories unless I can see the benefits for me - I see a great deal of benefit for managers and team leaders in Empowerment.

Empowerment is about utilising the knowledge, skill, experience and motivational power that's already within your people. The majority of people in teams and organisations throughout the world are severely underutilised. Your team have probably more to offer in terms of skill, knowledge and experience and if you utilize that, you will achieve your business goals and you'll motivate them.

Alan Fairweather is the author of four ebooks in the "How to get More Sales" series. Lots of practical actions you can take to build your business and motivate your team.- http://www.howtogetmoresales.com

---

Constructive Group Dynamics: How to Go from the S.N.I.P.P.Y. Syndrome to a C.L.E.A.R. V.I.E.W.

If asked to look at your work calendar for the... Read More

Leading To A Preferred Future

Last month's edition of Footprints and Monuments illustrated a parallel... Read More

The Secret of Successful Events

Reed Employment made a survey of their clients and compiled... Read More

Finding The Leader Within (Keys To Zen Leadership)

Most believe that leadership is an innate quality that some... Read More

Team Work

So much has been written on this subject; Team Work,... Read More

How Does Personal Development Help in Business?

Teams run most businesses and teams work best if each... Read More

4 Tips for Keeping a Team Motivated

Companies often have incentives for reps, but sometimes that isn't... Read More

Building The Winning Team

Winning teams aren't created by accident. Rather, the team or... Read More

Top Ten Creative Excursions for Building Effective Teams

The ability to build effective teams is a must for... Read More

Team Building Survey Reveals Clues, Not Answers

Team Building Question:I'm a manager of a team of 20... Read More

Grow Your Staff into a Team of Creative Problem Solvers

As a manager, your employees will come to you with... Read More

4 Tips for Keeping a Team Motivated

Companies often have incentives for reps, but sometimes that isn't... Read More

Teamwork in the Workplace: A Definition

A tight knit team is a group of competent individuals... Read More

Consensus: The Right Team Decision Strategy?

Consensus is the appropriate decision strategy for the most important... Read More

Trust: A Critical Factor to Your Teams Success

True or false? Teams that practice good teamwork contribute to... Read More

Building Your Dream Marketing Team

The Fantasy: Your marketing budget is packed to the brim... Read More

How To Encourage Ideas From Your Team At Meetings

You're at a meeting with key staff. You want some... Read More

General Patton and Leadership

No figure in history is like General Patton. He was... Read More

Employee and Coworkers Gifts

Giving gifts to your co-workers or your employees can be... Read More

Creating Unity In Your Company

The other day I got a call from a friend... Read More

Station Teams: Assembly Required

Too often teams aren't assembled. They just happen. A project... Read More

3 Steps To Successfully Build A Team In Any Program

Any x by y matrix plan has one big risk...... Read More

Why It Pays to Out More Humor in the Workplace

1. Humor reduces stress levels and stress is the number... Read More

Designing and Deploying Human Centric Processes

A lot of effort has been carried out in the... Read More

Building Successful Work Relationships--Playing In The Same Sandbox

Remember playing in your childhood sandbox? If you enjoyed being... Read More

Effective Team Building Part 1 - Another Brick in the Wall!

The first in a series of articles giving a slightly... Read More

Company Picnic Ideas and Planning Tips

The company picnic is a beloved tradition at many firms.It's... Read More

Empower Your Trainees

One of the most memorable quotes that I heard from... Read More

Presenteeism - present in body absent in productivity

Presenteeism is alive and 'not well' in many businesses today.... Read More

What College Taught Me About Teamwork Training

I declared a Communications Major two years into school, after... Read More

Motivation - Dont Make Your Team Uncomfortable

The people in your team may feel a bit uncomfortable... Read More

Getting Team Discussions Moving in The Right Direction

Group discussions are where much of the creative work of... Read More

Team Communication Critical To Success

I'm often asked, "Why is my team always fighting fires... Read More