Trouble is so many managers and leaders believe, often incorrectly, that money is a motivator. Yes, people need to feel like they are fairly rewarded for what they deliver. However, as research shows, money in itself is not a long term motivator.

So how do you find out what motivates people? Well, you could simply ask them. After all, it’s important enough to ask at the time of recruiting, why would it not be useful to check with people you have not employed periodically?

Once you have an idea what motivates people, you might want to:

1. Regularly praise people when they have done a good job.
2. Learn to see challenges and problems from their perspective and acknowledge their point of view.
3. Give them new challenges or opportunities to build their skills.
4. Get them to deputise for you at a meeting or while you are on holiday.
5. Make time for staying in touch with your people rather than just being tied to your desk.
6. Understand and help them to achieve their career aspirations.

The reality is that a lot of motivation is common sense. Sadly, it is often common sense which is not all that common.

Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps accountants and health professionals to achieve success and realize their professional potential through being highly effective leaders and managers. For more information and to sign up for his free audio e-course click here

Tip 1: Set clear goals

Everyone wants clarity about what they are expected to deliver. Make a point of setting crystal clear goals.

Tip 2: Listen more and speak less

People understand that decisions have to be made. At the same time, they want to feel like they have had the opportunity to contribute. Listening to the ideas of others can be hugely beneficial to motivating others.

Tip 3: Praise regularly

Make a point of praising people, not just for achievements but also for effort. Sometimes just having a go leads to confidence and motivation being lifted.

Tip 4: Encourage others

Managers who take the time to encourage and support others get that time returned in bucket loads.

Tip 5: Show them they can count on you

Sometimes, when things are not going well, the team will find themselves under incredible stress. At these times, you as the manager or leader need to show the team that you can be relied upon to stand up for them.

The bottom line

The truth is motivation is rarely about money but about doing some simple things well.

Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps accountants and health professionals to become highly effective leaders and managers. For more information click here

So what would be my top tips for keeping people motivated in these challenging times?

Tip 1:  Make time for people

Yes you might have so much to do that you think you cannot sit down with individuals and your team to discuss challenges and what you can collectively do about them.  The reality is that a short regular meeting can go a long way to keeping spirits up.  It takes little or no time and the payback will be significant.

Tip 2:  Listen more

You might have heard the phrase a problem shared is a problem halved.  In other words sometimes people just need you to listen to and acknowledge their worries and fears, even if they know that there is no immediate answer or solution.

Tip 3: Say thank you

It never ceases to amaze me that managers forget about the cheapest and sometimes most powerful form of motivation which is to say thank you when people have met the deadline, pulled out the stops and generally done that little bit extra to deliver.  Even a two line e-mail can have a positive impact.

At the end of the day keeping people motivated is a key part of your success as a manager right now.  Let me have your thoughts and tips on what works when it comes to keeping people motivated. 

Tip 1: Give effective feedback

We all like to know how we are doing.  What we are doing well and what we need to work on.  Without feedback we are in the dark.  Effective feedback will not only praise the results but also highlight the traits or behaviours that are making them happen.  On the flip side, it will let people know what attributes or behaviours are not getting results.

Tip 2: Supportive leadership

Teams follow leaders that they know they can rely on.  Supportive leadership is about being there for people when things are tough and helping them to move forward.  It is about standing up for the team when they are coming under attack.  Like any form of leadership, you need to “walk the talk” or put more simply make sure your actions and words tie up.

Tip 3: Delegate

Yes it is great to hold on to things that we like doing but should not be doing.  It gives a message to staff that you don’t trust them.  Delegating is probably one area that leaders at all levels struggle with.  Yet if you are going to exploit your full potential you need to be ready to delegate both task and responsibility.

Tip 4: Allow risk taking

Let’s be clear, I am not talking about recklessness, but allowing staff to take some risk.  The benefits you get include:

• Staff feel more creative

• They find new ways of overcoming barriers

• It spurs them on when things go well

• They learn a lot when things do not go as expected

Tip 5: Train and develop

Yes there will always be people who are quite happy doing what they are doing and have no aspirations.  The vast majority of staff however, want to learn new skills, gain new experience, build their personal attributes and take on new challenges.  Make sure this opportunity is not lost.

Tip 6: Generate high expectations

When you set high expectations you inspire people to reach out and meet them.  The challenge is to ensure that your expectations require effort and some discomfort but are not completely out of reach.  Generating high expectations will mean that you will achieve a better result even if it is not the ideal.

Tip 7: Set goals

Goals are outcomes that you and your team want.  Setting goals gives you a clear destination to aim for.  It allows you to plan and set strategies in place to get there.  Think about goals a bit like a car journey.  Where you want to get to is the destination.  The mode of transport, the route and stop off points are the strategies you employ to get there.

Tip 8: Acknowledge achievements

Do you ever find yourself dismissing progress because you have not quite achieved the outcome you wanted?  This is easy to do and a simple technique to use is to remind the team of where you started, the progress that has been made and to celebrate achievements.

Motivating staff is challenging, but by adopting these 8 simple steps, you can start to move forward to greater success.