Inspiring Your Team Beyond Money$$$
A leader’s role is important in the success of the team. Leaders have the responsibility of keeping motivation and morale high. If not, they suffer the consequences of what not doing so can have on the team and organization. The most obvious move many leaders think to make is dangle a monetary carrot like a raise or bonus. However, dishing out more cash is not always in the budget. Plus more money, depending on the person, is not always the optimal choice to get the most out of an employee. They are ways of inspiring the team beyond money and we will take a look at several in this article.
Purpose
One of the most fundamental ways to motivate people on your team is to understand their purpose. Why are they there? If you poll your team, you are sure to get many responses of “for my paycheck.” But even money is most likely NOT their true purpose but rather what that money does for them. For example, they are able to put food on the table for their family, pay their rent, pay to keep the electricity and water on, and so forth with the money they earn. Ultimately money, provides them their REAL purpose of feeling secure and safe.
Simon Sinek is well-know for his book Start with Why. Simon describes how most leaders and organization come from what they do or how they do it. However, the success they render is rarely sustained like those leaders that start with the WHY. You first need to understand each individual team member’s true motives and purpose. Just as important, each member must know your WHY as their leader, the organization’s WHY, and ultimately find value enough in them to be inspired to deliver on the collective vision.
Purpose Is Just the Start
Let me emphasis- purpose or WHY is just the START. Inspiring a team to great achievements and accomplishment should be though of as a culture. This means inspiration must be cultivated and continually tended. It is a never-ending process. As a leader, you should perpetually cycle through ways to engage and motivate your team. This is the essence of being the leader- to inspire.
Concepts For Inspiring Your Team
BE SINCERE AND GENUINE
The word “authentic” is thrown around a lot in the leadership development world. And rightfully so. Not much kills inspiration faster than a leader that is seen as fake. Always be honest. Say what you mean and always considering the perspective of the person on the receiving end.
TAKE AN INTEREST BEYOND WORK
People like to follow a leader they know cares. Caring goes beyond what’s happening at the job. Some of the most respected and like leaders are the ones that take the time to learn about their associate’s family. They remember wedding anniversaries and reach out when the kids are sick. In fact, the leader that really demonstrate care one the ones that KNOW the names of their employees’ spouse and children. Remember, for the team life is not just work so take interest in you team beyond the tasks at hand.
DON’T MICRO-MANAGE- DELEGATE AND DEVELOP
Employees prefer being in environments where they feel connected and can make meaningful contributions. They also like to work with organizations where they can grow, develop, and have opportunities to progress their career. When you delegate, and don’t micro-manage, this allows your team the freedom to execute their responsibilities which builds trust and moral. Likewise, delegating tasks, especially tasks that help them expand knowledge and skill, is ideal to helping them work towards their future career goals. Not to mention, having less tasks on your to do list allows you the ability to do the same.
Here is a great Novice Leader article about delegation, check it out here “Empower Your Team and Yourself—Delegate! And Never Stop!”
CREATE A CULTURE OF RECOGNITION AND SHARING SUCCESS
Yes, this is reiterating the point made earlier. Human beings loved to be praised. Teams that feel their work and contributions matter have a tendency to perform better, have better attendance, and generate higher quality results. Appropriate recognition from leaders and peers is a core component to maintaining a motivated and engaged work environment.
ENSURE YOUR TEAM HAS THE RESOURCES TO DO THEIR JOB
It’s really frustrating and demoralizing to be expected to do a job and not have the tools and resources need to complete it. As the leader, if you want to help keep a content team then you must make sure your team has what they need -all the time.
BE HUMAN- SHARE YOUR VULNERABILITIES
It’s perfectly fine if your team knows you don’t know EVERYTHING. They probably don’t even have that expectation of you. It’s alright if they know you make mistakes; they probably don’t expect you to be perfect either. Your team’s level of respect and appreciation will stay high if you stay open about your shortcomings, share how you leverage resources and colleagues to get past them, and what you learned from them that helped you grow and develop.
A Highly Inspired Team Starts With the Leader
These suggestions are not all inclusive. There are many ways to inspire and motivate your team beyond just paying them more money.
If you keep asking yourself the question “how can I inspire my team beyond just money?” you will continue finding answers and ways to have a highly engaged and motivated team.
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Leadership Book Suggestions
Start With Why by Simon Sinek is a great book to read for any novice leader looking to gain a powerful perspective to inspiring not only their team and organization but themselves also.
Find Your Why by Simon Sinek with David Mead and Peter Docker is the complimentary book to Start With Why. This book picks up where the first left off by illustrating to the reader how find inspiration in your work and inspire those around you. This is an excellent add on to complete the process of Starting, Finding, and living your WHY.
