The most effective leaders understand that each individual they manage is unique. What motivates one team member may not always motivate another. With that in mind, here are five ways you can motivate the individuals on your team and boost performance.
Now, let's explore how these motivate your team and improve performance.
It’s important to know each individual’s strengths just as well as you know your own. When you focus on growing someone’s strengths, they have the potential to improve by up to ten times. Continuing to improve upon something you’re naturally good at is not only highly motivating – it also increases performance.
Each member of your team is unique, so a one-size-fits-all approach will lead to failure. Instead, individualize your approach by taking the time to understand the strengths of each individual you’re coaching, recognize these strengths as you see them in action, and work together to set goals for growth. One of the most important parts of your job is helping others realize their potential.
Of course, goal setting is fundamental, but the way goals are framed can make a significant difference. Setting clear, specific, and achievable goals—both short-term and long-term—helps keep your team focused and motivated. It also provides a roadmap for measuring success.
Feedback is essential to increasing performance. The best leaders are actively involved in a team’s day-to-day actions and interactions. Getting out in the field, observing what’s really happening, and providing timely feedback is a difference maker.
Focus your feedback on positive behaviors. It’s much more helpful for someone to know what’s right, not what’s wrong. Letting someone know what they’re doing right and giving them feedback on those behaviors encourages them to repeat the behaviors. It’s also important to provide your feedback as close to in-the-moment as possible, while the event is still fresh in everyone’s minds.
According to Engage 2024, only 59% of employees feel they receive appropriate recognition at work.
When people receive recognition for their work, they have an instant desire to repeat the positive behaviors that led to success. It creates a chain reaction with two specific results: increased productivity and increased performance. Failing to recognize and reward your team can have detrimental effects. It leads to decreased employee engagement - meaning lower productivity, faulty two-way communication, and higher turnover rates.
Data-driven motivation can be a powerful tool. When your team has access to performance metrics and can see how their efforts contribute to overall business goals, it adds a little extra motivation “boost.”
The pressure to meet targets and deliver results can be intense, but the solution to sustained success doesn’t lie in increasing that pressure alone. It lies in building a team where motivation is intrinsic, performance is recognized, and growth is continuous.