Keeping your employees motivated, enthusiastic, and engaged with their work when you and your team are juggling multiple tasks day in and day out can be a big challenge. So, through this article, Expertis hopes that you will learn some tips to help rekindle the fire of enthusiasm and achieve success.
Small business owners are characterized by a drive for success, a high tolerance for risk, and a dedication to making their dreams come true. Despite all of these qualities, they still face challenges when it comes to maintaining the passion for their work, both for themselves and their employees, regardless of the circumstances. In an age of multitasking and work overload, how can you maintain your enthusiasm for work to motivate yourself and your team to achieve the desired results?
Here are a few tips to rekindle the fire of enthusiasm for you and your employees whenever you need it.
1. Monitor for factors that decrease motivation
One of the misconceptions that needs to be dispelled is the idea that we can motivate others. Motivation is an internal force. That means that even the best employees can become demotivated. So your role as a leader is twofold: One, to create an environment that allows your employees to be motivated and creatively proactive, and two, to observe and identify the factors that can cause your team to become discouraged.
For example, you don't keep your word, don't acknowledge the efforts of others, and reward those who do nothing on par with those who do. As football coach Mike Delaney put it, “Any business or industry that pays the same for the lazy and the hardworking will sooner or later find themselves the number of lazy people. than the number of people who are hard-working and enthusiastic about their work.”
To stay motivated, people often want to feel part of something greater than themselves. Connect with them, helping them understand that their efforts are directly tied to a larger goal.
2. Keep an eye out for the quotient of interest stats
As a small business owner, you often track a myriad of business indicators such as business operations, management costs and employee productivity. So what about the ability to induce excitement?
Successful entrepreneurs often find the secret to building a corporate culture that can boost employee motivation. An important function of the work environment is to ensure that it is a place where work is enjoyable. Making sure employees are happy in the workplace is a smart move by a business owner. An enjoyable work environment will help relieve pressure and stress – factors that can reduce motivation in the long run.
We spend most of our waking hours working. This makes it more difficult for people to separate work and private life. Ask yourself, do employees feel happy going to work every morning or do they dread it? There are many ways to create an enjoyable work environment. The top two measures are: Eliminate silly rules in the workplace and ensure that people are not scrutinized every inch.
3. Set many small milestones
Running long, never-ending projects can tire employees out and cause them to lose enthusiasm over time. To avoid this, set small milestones for the entire project at the beginning of each project, and celebrate small wins along the way. This simple act will help recharge everyone’s batteries and keep your employees motivated.
4. Keep yourself and your staff in the area - Flow status
“Flow” is the state in which each individual function is at its peak. This state occurs when we are engaged in activities that are motivating and where challenge and skill are balanced. It creates the point of maximum productivity. Like athletes or musicians, being in a “flow” state means we are completely absorbed in the task at hand. We experience complete concentration.
As a leader, you can facilitate this state by creating clear, short-term goals, giving them a sense of ownership, and providing immediate feedback on their performance, rather than waiting six months to review their performance. Prevent boredom from setting in when their skill level is far above the challenge, and find ways to enrich the work, constantly raising the bar (limit/threshold) to keep them busy and their motivational fire burning.
If you are struggling with distraction to get into this state of “flow”, try using one of the most popular focus apps today.
5. Allow employees autonomy
Motivation can increase when people feel they are in charge of a task. A sense of autonomy and control over one's work boosts one's energy and helps them achieve their goals. So, to get the results you want, give them control over how they work.
6. Focus on the “overachievers”
Instead of trying to motivate everyone on the team equally, focus your motivational efforts on the "outperforms" more. We all know who they are. They are the ones who will go above and beyond their workload, who always go the extra mile and make things easier for the team.
A study at the University of Iowa showed that it would be worth putting such people in central positions at work, allowing them to interact with many different members. This study also shows that the placement of these people in a more strategic way, will have a positive impact on the entire staff and improve the overall performance and motivation of the business.
7. Connect with people
Most people want more than just a good job and close to home. To stay motivated, employees want to feel part of something big. As a business owner, you need to connect them, help them understand your own efforts and show them how directly you are connected to the big goal, vision and mission you are trying to accomplish. .
Take every opportunity to remind people of the higher purpose and dream of the business. Reminding people of what the business is about, why they work, and what can be achieved is essential to keeping your employees motivated.
8. Instead of saying "I can do it" ask "Can I do it or not?"
A study at the University of Illinois found a link between changing the way you monologue can have a significant impact on your motivation to pursue goal fulfillment. The change here is very simple. People who wonder whether they perform the task or not will generally do better than those who tell themselves they will.
9. Beware of Procrastination
One effective way to reduce motivation is to give in to procrastination. Understanding the reason for your hesitation can help you solve this problem. According to procrastination scholar Piers Steel, author of Procrastination Equation, most procrastination stems from three reasons: lack of confidence to achieving a specific goal, being uninterested in the task at hand, and impulsive – this diverts focus away from the goal and distracts from work. The equation for procrastination is based on four elements:
- Expectations: belief in the ability to achieve your goals
- Value: how valuable is that goal for you
- Impulsiveness: your ability to influence from the immediate desire to long-term desire
- Delay: how long will it take to reach the goal
One way to use this equation to help you stop hesitating and delay is to break the goal into feasible, achievable parts and make them truly achievable, specific and short-term.
10. Put pen to write down your goals
In an age of technology and gadgets, pen and paper can be a great tool for staying motivated. A study at Dominican University of California found that you’re more likely to commit to your goals simply by writing them down. Pick up a notebook and start writing down your most important goals, then carry it with you and periodically review what you’ve written to keep yourself motivated and help other employees.
