Self-growth
Business & Career
Success
Communication
Healing
Relationships
Psychology
Happiness
Motivation may come naturally to some people, but staying motivated is a constant effort for others. Fortunately, the right tools can help you perfect your skills and maintain productivity.
Employees are particularly prone to procrastination at some point or another. Forming daily motivational habits at work is crucial to staying driven and succeeding. However, many employees fall short of a supportive management system. In this case, managers and leaders are responsible for motivating employees with special perks and positive interactions.
If you're a manager looking to maintain employee satisfaction, read this article to learn how you can motivate staff and increase team productivity through the power of reading.
For the teams and managers: You can sharpen your skills with the Headway app. We have a huge library (over 2,000 summaries of nonfiction titles) that will motivate you and even upgrade your skills!
📘 Download Headway to learn leadership strategies that motivate your team.
Quick answer: Five strategies to motivate employees that work
Build a positive work environment with clear expectations. Set clear goals from day one and actually treat people with respect. When everyone knows what's expected, employee morale goes up without you having to force it.
Offer perks and learning opportunities. Motivating employees isn't rocket science — give them stuff they actually value. Think educational subscriptions, professional development resources, and perks that show you care about their growth.
Support work-life balance through flexible scheduling. Let people work from home when it makes sense. Flexible scheduling cuts down on burnout and gives employees breathing room to handle life outside of work.
Provide development opportunities. Encourage people to keep learning and don't freak out when they mess up. Employees stay motivated when they know you've got their back in their growth journey.
Recognize achievements and prioritize needs. A little positive feedback beats constant criticism every time. Show people you notice their wins and take care of the basics — they'll remember it.
Top three inspiring books on leadership and motivation
Books can offer managers the opportunity to spruce up their one-on-one and teamwork skills and become better leaders in the workplace. As such, book summaries are a great way to improve your leadership qualities and increase employee engagement and team motivation.
Headway is an app that offers you access to thousands of non-fiction book summaries. To give you some insight, here are three leading books designed to provide expert insight and advice.
📘Download Headway on Google Play or the App Store to hear more from inspirational leaders and intellectuals.
1. 'Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don't' by Simon Sinek
'Leaders Eat Last' examines the biological impact of leadership on society and how hormones influence people's behavior. In this light, Simon Sinek offers a deeper perspective into the mind of a leader who cultivates a "Circle of Safety" to manage a workplace effectively.
As great leadership begins with establishing respectful and loyal relationships with followers, Sinek emphasizes the importance of practicing autonomy and empathy under leadership.
2. 'Dare to Lead: Daring Greatly and Rising Strong at Work' by Brene Brown
This book shows readers a daring insight into what it means to lead bravely in a high-performing professional environment. 'Dare to Lead' teaches four skills to develop a powerful leadership mindset by guiding individuals to learn to rise and overcome vulnerability. All in all, Brene Brown demonstrates what leaders need to be successful and inspires the belief that courage and bravery are learned qualities.
3. 'Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us' by Daniel H. Pink
'Drive' is a profound book that examines motivation through a psychological lens. Starting with the abolition of the carrot-and-stick approach, Daniel H. Pink shares a fascinating perspective on the history and theory of motivation. Throughout the book, readers can gain insight into what motivated early humans and how this intrinsic behavior continues to impact people in the 21st-century economy.
Ten employee motivation strategies that actually work
A successful company begins with how its employees are treated. Here are ten great ways to keep employees motivated and improve your team's overall sense of purpose and performance.
1. Offer motivational perks
When looking for a job, potential employees will often choose the one that will offer them the most benefits. As such, it is essential to enhance your company's offerings with exclusive perks available only to team members. This can range from an optimal health insurance plan to remote work to a multi-user subscription service with benefits designed to keep them motivated on the job in the long term.
As a manager, you might consider offering your team a premium group subscription to a book summary app that helps them cater to their personal and professional needs. In this regard, the Headway app can offer your employees unlimited access to over 2000 audio summaries of bestsellers in self-help and career and professional development.
📘Motivate your team by providing an unlimited supply of educational and self-development content in the Headway app.
2. Encourage respectful relationships
Healthy working relationships begin with a positive management system. Similar to how children look to adults when they are unsure how to react, employees often turn to their superiors for guidance and advice. Therefore, your responsibility as a good manager is to lead by example by maintaining healthy professional relationships.
When managing a team, setting clear goals, rules, and expectations is crucial. For example, it is essential to communicate that gossip or bad language will not be tolerated. You must also lead by example and treat everyone with respect and kindness. When your team feels respected, they can also feel motivated to perform their job duties efficiently and effectively.
3. Give your employees more flexibility
Nowadays, it is becoming more common for companies to switch from physical offices to hybrid workplaces. Some companies are even eliminating traditional office buildings and transitioning to remote work headquarters. As it becomes easier to offer your employees more flexibility, it may be beneficial to provide them with the option to work from home, accompanied by daily or weekly check-ins.
Many businesses report an increase in their employees' performance levels when they can work remotely. This is because some people find themselves more productive when in the comfort of their own homes and don't have to face a dreaded commute. It may also give people more time to be with their families and perform other tasks throughout the day, which helps to reduce overwhelm, avoid burnout, and boost mental health.
4. Shower them with praise
Managers don't always have to be the traditional stern and demeaning figure often depicted in movies. Being the exact opposite can have significant benefits on company culture and employee retention rates. Praise and positive feedback, as well as constructive feedback, from a superior often go a long way toward enhancing job satisfaction in the corporate world. It gives your employees the confidence they need to continue performing tasks and showing greater initiative that benefits the company.
You can show your employees that you appreciate their work in simple ways. For instance, appreciation can be shown by complimenting employees' work habits or offering rewards and incentives for their efforts and good work on a recent project. Creating a positive work environment where everyone is appreciated is key to maintaining your employees' happiness with the company. Knowing that you enjoy their presence and value their work will motivate your employees to show you their greatest potential.
5. Foster a continuous learning mentality
Even the most successful companies still have things to learn and opportunities for growth. This mentality of 'always learning' continues to help them succeed to new lengths. Let your employees know that the company vision includes a need for consistent improvement by encouraging them to adopt this mentality in their development journey and creating career paths.
When employees know that their management is serious about maintaining their success, they are more likely to adopt a mentality that aligns with their surroundings. In such a case, you can motivate your employees by instilling a desire to continue refining their skills long after they have mastered them.
6. Allow room to grow
As much as you'd like your employees to never make mistakes, you should remember that they are only human and that no one is perfect. Placing too much pressure on your team members and punishing them for misunderstandings or basic errors can create unrealistic expectations. This can make them feel overwhelmed and even increase the likelihood of them leaving the company, which in turn affects the company's employee retention rates.
Company leaders can increase motivation by allowing employees time to reset after they have experienced a downfall. This will give them time to accept their mistake and set subsequent goals to prevent them from making the same error again. As such, your employees may be more likely to prioritize self-development if they feel secure in making mistakes.
7. Prioritize their needs
What's the number one way of showing your employees you care about them? By taking care of their basic needs, AKA employee recognition. Besides that, people tend to focus better when they have a full stomach. Ensuring your employees are not skipping meals due to work will gain you their trust and admiration as a manager and raise the overall employee morale. Consider offering your employees complimentary food.
You can start small by offering free snacks and hot drinks, and then maybe take it up a notch with a free weekly lunch or takeaway coupons if they have to work late. Remember to check for any specific dietary restrictions. With perks like this, they will be more likely to go the extra mile to fulfill their responsibilities.
8. Recognize their achievements
Managers can form a habit of picking on their employees' weaknesses and shortcomings. Although this may be necessary at times, doing it too often can negatively affect your employees' self-esteem or perception of their job. It's essential to acknowledge both the small and significant achievements of your employees within their workflow. Most people can agree that encouragement and positive feedback feel much more motivational than criticism.
Simply letting your employees know you notice their growth and determination will motivate them to continue learning and performing tasks correctly. For example, if an employee is struggling to learn a new task, aim to congratulate them on their small victories rather than focusing on their negative qualities.
9. Have regular open discussions
Healthy, open communication is beneficial in personal relationships and can be a positive tool in professional development and the workplace. Fostering an open-minded work environment can help employees feel safe to discuss any concerns or issues. This can enable your company to evolve into one that prioritizes the well-being of all its employees. In turn, you will gain a better understanding of what your employees expect from you as a manager and strive to fulfill those expectations.
Consider hosting a weekly or monthly team building meeting to discuss any ideas, opinions, or issues within the workplace. This can be the designated time when anyone can bring up any reasonable request or offer employee feedback without feeling that they will be judged or shut down. Giving your employees a chance to feel heard and valued can help them feel motivated to continue showcasing their highest abilities.
10. Take steps to improve the performance review process
All well-managed companies should have regular performance reviews as part of their performance management agenda. Traditional performance reviews are often viewed as a meeting to focus on areas where employees need to improve. Still, they can also be part of your motivation strategy. Rather than making your employees feel like they are being interrogated, consider refining your performance review process to highlight their positive attributes.
With the right tools, the performance review can positively motivate your employees to improve their abilities. For instance, if your employee has been struggling to meet deadlines, this can be the starting point of a discussion that leads to how you can better meet their needs as a manager. By identifying their weaknesses as opportunities for growth and future success, your employee will likely feel supported and motivated in their problem-solving and self-development goals.
Motivate your team with a Headway subscription!
Leadership is about making decisions that benefit the whole company. This includes finding ways to motivate team members to feel inspired to perform at their best. Fortunately, Headway is a fantastic resource for companies looking to improve their work culture through access to career and skill-building audiobook summaries.
Looking for more career-driven answers? Check out these articles:
Headway allows companies to purchase a multi-user subscription that their entire team can access. With this app, you can track your team's progress, collect achievements, and improve employee relationships all in one place.
Your team will be able to listen to Headway's collection of audiobook summaries at home, at work, or on the go to improve their productivity and self-development.
📘Download the Headway app for unlimited access to a library of over 2000+ audio and text summaries.
FAQs about how to motivate employees
How do you motivate your employees?
Knowing how to motivate employees isn't easy. After all, you're managing a large team of people with a broad range of personality types, skill sets, and personal needs. Some of the most effective ways to motivate employees include recognizing their achievements and milestones, assisting with goal-setting, and providing them with opportunities to make mistakes.
What is the most effective way to motivate a team?
The best method to motivate is often a combination of strategies since everyone is different. First, create genuine respect, recognize achievements on a regular basis, and provide meaningful perks/benefits like learning opportunities. Next, incorporate flexibility in scheduling and open communication, ensuring everyone's voice is heard. When you focus on their needs and then create an opportunity for growth, motivation will follow.
How do leaders motivate staff?
Great leaders motivate by leading through example — treating everyone with respect, setting clear expectations, and then actually doing what they say. Their praise far outweighs the critique of failures; they provide opportunities for development and create a safe space for learning from mistakes. However, the greatest motivators listen to what their employees actually need and then take action on it — rather than just paying it lip service.
How to motivate a tired team?
First, figure out why they are tired (burnout is real). Consider more flexibility with a remote opportunity, and then, sincerely consider their basic needs (make sure they take breaks). Start by giving everyone some breathing room after a failure — a gentle way to refresh. Recognize the work effort as they began to struggle, unwind the pressure of unrealistic expectations on their time.
How to build a team-oriented environment?
It takes time to build a strong team environment, but the hard work starts with management and how the team interacts. A good manager will encourage intrinsic motivation and healthy co-worker relationships by modeling the behaviors you wish to see from them. Prioritize the well-being and needs of your employees. Team-oriented environments are built through various techniques, such as regular open discussions and team lunches.
