Motivate Your Team - Mind Tools

1 Motivate your TeamiiMotivate your team | mind ToolsThis e-book is published by: mind Tools Ltd, of 2nd Floor, 145-157 St John St, London, EC1V 4PY, United mind Tools Ltd, 2008-2013. All rights publication is protected by international copyright law. You may use it if you have downloaded it directly from , or if you have been provided with it under corporate contact if you ve received this from any other image your TeamiiiMotivate your team | mind ToolsNo matter how talented people are, they will only perform well if they re sufficiently motivated. Motivated people also enjoy their jobs they have a positive outlook, they re excited about what they do, and they know that they re putting effort into something that s truly worthwhile. Put simply, high motivation is crucial if you and your team are to perform at its best. This is why having good motivation skills is vitally important, whether you re a CEO of a large corporation, you re a manager responsible for a small team , or you re simply thinking about moving into a management position as the next step in your , motivation is a complex subject, littered with myths and misconceptions.

2 This is why many managers find it difficult to Motivate people, and why so many well-meaning attempts at motivation fail. This workbook helps you cut through this complexity. In it, we ve interlaced motivational theory with simple, practical exercises, so that you can directly apply Motivate your team WorkbookIntroduced by mind Tools CEO, James ManktelowivMotivate your team | mind Toolsyour learning to your current situation. In just a few hours, you ll learn about the most important motivational theories, Tools , and techniques, which you can then apply immediately to get the very best from your team members, as well as from other people around you ve completed this workbook, you ll have a solid understanding of motivation, as well as a coherent action plan for improving motivation within your team and workplace . We ve split this workbook into three modules: Motivation Basics Setting the Stage for High Motivation. Motivation Theories Exploring the Nuts and Bolts of Motivation.

3 your Motivational Action Plan creating a motivating Work Environment. By developing your skills using this workbook, you ll have the knowledge and skills needed to build a high-performing team this is good for you, your people, and your using this workbook!James your team | mind Tools 1. Motivation Basics 1 The Benefits of a High-Motivation workplace 1 Motivation and Performance 2 A Flexible Approach to Motivation 3 Concluding This Module 5 2. Motivation Theories 6 Early Motivation Theories 6 Maslow s Hierarchy of Needs 6 McGregor s X/Y Theory 10 Herzberg s Motivation/Hygiene Theory 14 Sirota s Three-Factor Theory 18 Vroom s Expectancy Theory 22 McClelland s Human Motivation Theory 27 Concluding This Module 30 3. your Motivational Action Plan 31 creating your Motivational Action Plan 31 Speaking to team Members 32 4 . Moving 34 Contents1 Motivate your team | mind ToolsWhat is motivation, and why is it so important in the workplace ?

4 Put simply, motivation is what causes a person to take action. When you re working with other people, motivation provides the link between you wanting someone to do something, and him or her actually doing reality is that, in a 21st century workplace , you can t really make anyone do anything that they don t want to do. If you try to coerce someone into doing something, you re more likely to cause problems than you are to achieve positive results. For instance, you might upset people, so that they disengage from their jobs. You may drive away key members of your team ; and, perhaps, the people who are left will quietly undermine you behind your back. What s more, if you do force people to do what you want, it will likely be done is why you need to create a motivating environment, where people do what you want because they want to do it themselves. The Benefits of a High-Motivation WorkplaceWhen people are motivated to do things, organizational and team performance improve, often in a spectacular way.

5 By creating an appealing and motivating work environment, you significantly increase the likelihood that people will work hard for you. There are many other benefits too. These include: Less employee turnover. Less absenteeism. Less stress. Better productivity. More creativity. Better customer service. Improved quality. More trust. More professionalism. Higher morale. Motivation is not coercion or manipulation it s not something that comes from the outside. To be motivating means to enlighten people, and to help them discover energy and enthusiasm within themselves. So, when we look at how we can Motivate others, we re really looking at how we can set the stage for excellent Motivation BasicsSetting the Stage for High Motivation Motivation is the art of getting people to do what you want them to do, because they want to do it. Dwight D. Eisenhower, does this fit with your own, personal experience in the workplace ?

6 Do you naturally want to do your best in your job? And what, within the job, reduces your natural enthusiasm?How could you apply the principles behind the Lou Holtz quote to improve motivation within your team and organization?2 Motivate your team | mind ToolsAction:Reflect on the following quote, then answer the questions below. It s not my job to Motivate players. They bring extraordinary motivation to our program. It s my job not to de- Motivate them. Lou Holtz, American Football now know how important it is to Motivate people, and you know that the key to this is creating an environment where people can be motivated. Next, let s look at how high motivation leads to high Motivation and Performance Job Performance = Ability x MotivationThis simple equation shows the connection between how well people perform, in relation to their ability and their depends, to some degree, on education, experience, and training. Improving in this area is a continual, lengthy process. By contrast, you can improve motivation quite quickly, and there are a handful of very basic, common-sense strategies that you can use to do this.

7 These include: Positive reinforcement. Effective discipline. Treating people fairly. Satisfying employee your team | mind Tools Setting attainable work-related goals. Restructuring jobs when necessary. Giving rewards that are based on , then, isn t something that comes from a person or a department. It encompasses the entire scope of workplace activities. To create a motivating environment, you need to look at the type of work, who is doing it, how it s managed, and a whole lot more. A Flexible Approach to MotivationWhen many people start a new job, they re bursting with energy and enthusiasm, wanting to make the very best of their new role. And, even when settled in their roles, most people are naturally motivated to do a good job there aren t many people who decide to do terrible work! Factors around them have a strong influence on their behavior, however, and that s where you make a difference. So, when we ask, How do you Motivate people?

8 We re missing the fact that many people are already motivated; they just might not be motivated to move in the right direction, or they might not have the right type of broad question assumes that there is a one-size-fits-all solution for motivating people. The reality is, though, that motivation is very personal, and there is no secret formula for achieving it. For instance, factors such as job enrichment, incentive programs, more autonomy, and performance-based pay, often support a motivating environment. However, not all will work in all organizations, or for all people. A better approach is to ask the question like this: How should person X manage person Y to do Z? This question acknowledges the four main contributors to workplace motivation and performance. These are: 1. The Manager ( person X ): This relates to the beliefs, values, personality, capabilities, and so on, that influence the actions that the manager takes. 2. Management Methods ( manage ): These are the managerial practices and processes that the manager can use.

9 3. The Managed ( person Y ): This relates to the beliefs, values, personality, capabilities, and so on, that influence the way that the person wants to be managed, as well as his reactions to current management methods. 4. The Work ( Z ): This is the actual work that the person needs to do to achieve the organization s build a high-motivation workplace , all four of these factors must be aligned for every employee within the company. This is no small task!Do managers in your organization currently take a flexible approach to motivation, based on the four contributors that we highlighted on the last page? What could managers in your organization do better to make sure that these four factors are aligned?What impact do you see managers and executives having on motivation in your organization? List two managers who are best at motivation, and write down what they do that makes them list the worst two managers in terms of employee motivation, and write down what you think they need to improve on.

10 (Obviously, don t leave this page lying around!)4 Motivate your team | mind ToolsAction:To think about this further, answer the questions your team | mind Concluding this ModuleYou now know what motivation is, and why it's so important to create a motivating environment if you want your team and organization to reach peak also know why it's important to take a flexible approach to motivation; an approach that depends on the situation, as well as the needs of the people the next module, we're going to look at the core motivation theories that help you do your team | mind Tools2. Motivation TheoriesExploring the Nuts and Bolts of MotivationNow that we ve looked at the basics of motivation, and why it s important to take a flexible approach to motivating people, we re going to look in more detail at the best-known motivation theories. By learning more about these, you ll gain an understanding of how the current views on motivation have developed. This will help you separate out-of-date motivational approaches from those that are effective in today's workplace .