Finally, leadership is not about spectacular crowning deeds. It’s about keeping your team focused on a goal and motivated to do everything in their power to achieve it, especially when the stakes are high and the repercussions are severe. It is about creating the framework for the success of others and then standing back and letting them shine.
13 Ways to Motivate Your Team
1. Get to know them on a personal level.
Before diving into team empowerment tactics, you need get to know your team on a personal level. When a workplace culture is solely transactional – ‘here’s a task for you to complete’ – your staff will grow disenchanted and will not put in any extra effort.
2. Allow your team to utilize their abilities on a daily basis.
Team engagement increases by 15% when people apply their abilities in their day-to-day roles. As a frontline leader, you should spend time determining each individual’s strengths. This will assist you in distributing duties and encourage team members to collaborate.
3. Challenge them to think outside of the box
A strong leader brings out the best in his or her followers. They can tackle procrastination and job resistance and provide their teams with the support and assistance they need to think beyond the box.
Leadership is not about being in charge, it’s about being of service.”
Ken Blanchard
4. Give them the tools they need to succeed.
Not sure what your team requires of you? Ask them about our hack for that. While this isn’t a groundbreaking hack, it is something you must do in order to properly empower your team. You may develop a team ritual to promote open communication and support your workplace culture.
5. Ask insightful questions
Get curious and ask insightful questions. It’s an integral element of taking a coaching approach; a framework that great leaders use to empower their teams.
6. Show your appreciation
It may not seem like a big deal at first but taking the time to show your appreciation goes a long way. The most important thing is to thank your team members for the effort they put into their work, rather than simply saying ‘good job’. Get specific about the behaviors that your team members have displayed that you’re really grateful for.
7. Develop their skills
One of the best ways you can empower your team is to invest in developing their skills. It might be investing your time in 1:1 catch ups to coach your team members, or it could be sending your team along to an interactive workshop.
8. Role model the behavior you want to see
Truly empowering leaders walk the talk. If you want your team to get more involved in culture-strengthening rituals, you’ve got to champion them. If you want your team to step up their customer service game, show them what great customer service looks like.
9. Embrace empathy
A core skill for every leader is empathy. Without it, you won’t be able to relate to your team members and it’ll detract from your efforts to empower them. Often seen as the soft-fluffy part of science, the rigor that sits behind empathy demonstrates quickly that it’s one of the toughest human skills to master.
10. Encourage cross-team collaboration
When teams collaborate, creative solutions are found, and perspectives are challenged. It’s a great thing for your organization, and it’s something that can ramp up results like nothing else. Explore our guide to the four different types of teams to figure out where your team are sitting.
11. Show that you trust them
As a leader, you’ve got to show your team that you trust them in order for them to go above and beyond. Next time you give someone a task, give them a clear outline of what you’d like them to achieve and then let them approach the task in their own way.
12. Have regular catch-ups
When was the last time you checked in with each individual member of your team? Do you give them the opportunity to ask questions and air concerns in a one-on-one setting? Quality time is one of the most important factors in creating an empowered, engaged team.
13. Give them something to own
Ownership is a powerful psychological construct that we’ve been helping teams, leaders and exec boards to understand for a few years now. If you’re willing, breaking the top-down approach with a self-led performance plan, it can make all the difference.
There you have it, thirteen things you can do to empower your team to reach their full potential and achieve results within your organization. It’s time to get cracking.
If you want to take your leadership capability to the next level take a look at our Coaching Mastery program. Effective coaching can shift individuals and teams from ticking boxes towards being more cohesive, curious and collaborative… who doesn’t want more of that?
