Collaborate to Motivate

First, motivate yourself.

• Aim high.  
• Set measurable goals with intermittent milestones.  
• Focus on consistently achieving the small steps it takes to accomplish something big.  

Motivation has more to do with regular habits than with waiting for a moment of inspiration. Your motivation will grow steadily as you complete the tasks you give yourself and look back on what you’ve achieved.  

Enthusiasm Is Contagious   

You may be tempted to impose control over your team members but to properly motivate others you need to: 

• Lead by example.
• Be mindful of their feelings and aspirations.
• Set up a good support system and clear processes.
• Give them room to learn by doing.

In his book eXtreme Project Management, Doug DeCarlo recommends you focus on managing team creativity and the positive feelings between colleagues. Maintain robust lines of communication. 

Reward the Right Things 

Rewards can be intrinsic, like connecting employees to work in ways they find personally meaningful, or extrinsic, like a bonus for hitting certain targets. Ideally, you want a mix of both. Don’t reward people for fulfilling basic responsibilities, like coming to work on time.  

Give your employees measurable goals, but also give them the autonomy to decide how to achieve those goals. Show an interest in their motivations. Understanding what is meaningful to your employees can help you to motivate them in ways that feed their sense of purpose.  

A positive attitude, the certainty that the goal you’re pursuing can be achieved – even when at times the work is a grind – helps when motivation flags, and it’s catching. 

Find out more about inspiring through leadership: