How Great Leaders Motivate Their Teams

Human beings have a lot of basic requirements. As a leader, you know that your team needs lunch
breaks, holidays, and sick leave for their physical and mental wellbeing, but you also need to take their
emotional wellbeing into account.

Clocking in 5 days a week can take a toll on a person’s soul if they don’t believe in what they’re doing.
Work takes up the majority of a full-time employee’s life and spending that much time feeling adrift in
an ocean of meaningless labor will wear anyone down.

Human nature leads us all to want something to believe in and drives us to achieve goals that stem from
that thing. Motivation is the secret ingredient to the sauce of success; with it come countless benefits
that don’t just stop at your employees but reach your customers too.

But … what is motivation?

Motivation is a driving force. It’s the why behind an action, and the overarching reason behind a
person’s decisions. It’s a desire to act in a certain way to bring about a specific goal.

What this means is that motivation is needed to both set and attain goals, and without it, a person isn’t
really living, they’re just existing.

Motivation is important because it helps to provide you with solid goals to work towards, problems to
solve, habits to change, challenges to cope with, opportunities to take on, and so much more.

There are actually two types of motivation, extrinsic and intrinsic. Extrinsic motivation is motivation that
comes externally, such as rewards, praise, and support. You can think of it like a carrot on a stick. The
thing with extrinsic motivation is that there’s a tradeoff between making someone feel good and
eliminating the need for actual competence.

Intrinsic motivation is motivation that comes internally, I.e., getting enjoyment or satisfaction from
experiencing an activity for its own sake. It's freely chosen. The desire to complete a task or reach a goal
can be driven by curiosity, wanting a challenge, or just wanting to learn and experience more.

Whether extrinsic or intrinsic, it isn’t always easy to get motivated, and it’s definitely a challenge to stay
motivated. Great leaders know that motivation is very much so an ongoing, often uphill battle. The
smallest stone can stop the gears from grinding.

The biggest challenge however, is motivating others. Any selection of people will have different levels of
self-motivation due to different factors, and it’s even more complex and layered for teams.

Yet somehow amidst all that, you have to get everyone working toward the same goal at the same pace,
keeping them motivated through thick and thin.

The benefits of motivation

Motivating others constantly is a challenge, but it’s a fruitful endeavor. Here are just some of the
benefits of motivation for your team

1. Increased productivity

Motivated employees actually want to do their jobs and do them well. This increases their productivity
levels and keeps everyone either on time or ahead of schedule. Deliverables are reliable and timely,
projects run smoothly, and everyone is on the ball.

Your team will be more productive, efficient, and effective.

2. Increased innovation and creativity

Having a culture of motivation will give employees the boost that they need to believe in what they do.
With that belief also comes the desire to innovate and be creative in order to find the best ways to get
things done.

3. Increased happiness and overall job satisfaction

Recognition is a key aspect of motivation. It’s important that employees know that their hard work
doesn’t go unnoticed. When employees feel both appreciated and supported, they will naturally do
good work. This high-quality work and culture of recognition, appreciation, and support all increase
overall happiness and job satisfaction.

4. Decreased absenteeism

When employees are happier and more motivated, they are less likely to be absent from work. This is
because they enjoy the work they do, they enjoy working with the people they work with, and they are
less stressed and so need less stress-related sick and/or vacation days.

5. Decreased stress

Being happier and more fulfilled by the work they are doing means that employees enjoy lower stress
levels. Less stress in turn means better mental health, better sleep, better mood, and less risk of heart
disease, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure (just to name a few things).

6. Decreased rate of staff turnover

Retention rates increase due to all of the above benefits. Staff are more loyal to their company and
leaders, happier to work with their team due to a common goal and motivation, and far less likely to
search for another job.
 7. Great reputation

Ultimately, you can enjoy a shining reputation for all of these reasons and more. With it, you can attract
more talent than before from all levels of experience and quality as well as from around the world. Your
customers will also know how great your company is to work at, which can be a real boost to customer
loyalty and support.

The qualities that motivational leaders have

Of course, simply knowing that motivation is needed isn’t enough; you have to actually be a good
leader. In order to do that, you have to have certain qualities and do certain things.

1. Know how to make others listen

There are many factors involved in making others listen. A motivational leader is enthusiastic and
passionate; you must believe in what you are trying to make others believe in. You must be genuine,
invest in others and learn about them, their wants, needs, strengths, and weaknesses.

It's not enough to just be good at what you do. You must be likable, respectable, and show that you walk
the talk in order to get people to want to listen to you.

2. Recognize success

The best leaders recognize the success of their employees and encourage them through meaningful
goals and challenges. To do that, you must know each of your employees’ talents and skills. It’s a lot of
work but it means that you can really help them feel invested in what they do and make them uniquely
effective.

3. Have and demonstrate integrity

Have your values, live them, and stick to them. You will gain respect for being ethical, genuine, and
consistent and therefore naturally inspire others to follow your lead. Own your work and take pride in
what you do.

4. Communicate well

As with anything to do with leadership, communication is paramount. You must be able to put your
point across clearly, and sometimes you need to be able to change your delivery to make sure that
different people can understand and appreciate what you’re saying.

Be concise, tactful, and respectful, but don’t let there be any two ways about what you’re saying.

5. Share the vision

See the future that you want and figure out how to get there. Then, you must be able to articulate all of
this to other people so that you’re all on the same page as to what it is you’re working towards and why.

6. Be creative

There are many ways to reach a goal. Think outside the box and dream up inventive ways to success.
Don’t let yourself become stuck in your ways. If something isn’t working, then try another way, and
always be open to others’ input as well.

7. Empower others

Finally, all good leaders lift others up. Never humiliate or humble your team, especially in front of
others. Instead, give them the support that they need, listen to what they have to say, and present them
with opportunities and challenges to grow.

How to motivate teams to success

With the skills that you need in order to be a good leader, you yourself must be motivated by the right
reasons. You must really want to help your team be the best that they can be and to deliver your
customers the best goods, services, and experiences possible.

From there, the hard work, determination, and focus will come naturally, but remember that it will not
necessarily be easy.

Listen to your team constantly, remembering that leadership is about fruitful conversations and not a
lengthy monologue. Set your goals clearly and communicate them well. Know your team and challenge
them uniquely.

Whatever the specifics of the approach that you take end up being, it’s undeniable that motivation will
decrease your team’s burnout and increase their satisfaction, happiness, and productivity. You’ll
increase your connection with them as well as your customers and revolutionize your organization going
forward.