At Shoppers, Inc. we are very passionate
about great customer service, measurement and teamwork. The article below from Jon Gordon about Motivation 101 and employee training
relates to our goals and passions. Hope you enjoy it!
You won’t find Motivation 101 in most business
schools; yet, the ability to motivate one’s team and organization is one of the
most important skill you must possess in today’s business climate.
Now, more than ever, a leader’s job is to motivate
and rally his or her team through challenging times. You can’t outsource
motivation. It is the leader and manager who must motivate. That’s why I often
say motivational speeches don’t work but leaders who motivate do. Many leaders
want to take the emotion out of business but that is a huge mistake. When fear
and negativity are the primary emotions people in your organization are feeling,
you have to counter that with an even more powerful emotion, like faith, belief,
and optimism. And your success in that depends on your ability to motivate.
In this spirit here are five strategies to motivate
your team from The Energy Bus and Soup to get the results you want.
1. Don't be too busy to
communicate. Where there is a void in communication negativity fills
it. Unless managers and leaders fill that void with clear and positive
communication, people will assume the worst and act accordingly. Don't let your
busy schedule get in the way of taking the time to talk with your team.
2. Lead with optimism. The engine
for America's growth and prosperity has always been its can-do attitude and
spirit. Unfortunately, in the past few years, optimism has been in short supply.
The most important weapon against pessimism is to transfer your optimism and
vision to others. Leadership is a transfer of belief and your belief inspires
others to think and act in ways that drive results.
3. Share the vision. It’s not
enough to just be optimistic. You must give your team and organization something
to be optimistic about. Talk about where you have been, where you are, and where
you are going. Share your plan for a brighter and better future, talk about the
actions you must take, and constantly reiterate the reasons why you will be
successful. Create a vision statement that inspires and rallies your team and
organization. Not a page-long vision statement filled with buzzwords, but a
rallying cry that means something to the people who invest a majority of their
day working with you. Then reinforce the vision so it doesn’t just exist on a
piece of paper. It must come to life in the hearts and minds of your team. Share
it, reinforce it, and inspire your people to live and breathe it and your
positive vision for the future will create powerful actions today.
4. Relationships build real
motivation. It's much easier to motivate someone if you know them and
they know you. After all, if you don't take the time to get to know the people
who are working for/with you, then how can you ever truly know the best way to
lead, coach, and motivate them effectively?
5. Create purpose-driven goals.
Real motivation is driven by purpose and a desire to make a difference. When
people feel as though the work they do is playing an integral role in the
overall success of the organization and the world, they are motivated to work
harder.
Which of the 5 strategies do you feel are the most
important to you? We want to hear about it?
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