- Give each person ownership of something – however small.
- As well as ownership of at least one thing, give them involvement in as much as possible. This means involvement in your decisions!
- Give people challenges to stretch them, as well as the work that they are good at and can do easily.
- Get people to set their own objectives – they will tend to be more ambitious than you expect, and will be more determined to achieve their own goal than one they got from you.
- Make sure that people feel secure. This comes from spending time with them, listening to them, explaining what the plans are, being honest with them, being supportive if they fail, and showing that you value them by thanking them.
- Praise and encourage people whenever possible. Your objective is to build them up, and criticism just reduces people’s performance. Thank every person who works for you, every week. Find something that they have done that’s good. If they don’t do anything exciting, you must still find something.
- Coach rather than criticise: if there IS a performance gap then you do have to address it, but constructively. Start by asking if they know what to do differently next time, then help them with this if necessary, and finish by saying (and believing!) that you know they can do it.
- Different people are motivated by different things to varying amounts. For some it’s learning & interesting work, for others it’s a feeling of progress & seeing results, for others it’s novelty, excitement & big dreams, and for others it’s friendships & security. Find out what makes each person tick, & give it to them.
- Money is not a motivator! Insufficient money, or mistakes and broken promises, are certainly demotivators. But money does not make people care about their work. Money will make someone do something, but it won’t make them WANT to do it. So: get the money right, but don’t rely on it to motivate people.
- Be aware of yourself as a role model. Are you always positive about the products, customers, and future? Are you positive when problems are reported to you? It’s fine to admit to problems, but you must also be certain (and project certainty) that they are going to be solved.
