Dear Ellen,
I manage a staff of eight and I was wondering if you could give me some advice on motivating them. Thank you!
S.
Dear S.,
Motivating staff is an important component of effective leadership but the truth is, you can't motivate someone else. What you can do is inspire them to motivate themselves by creating a positive work environment. Here are five tips that you can implement today:
- Share information with everyone on your team.
- Encourage autonomy. Set the vision, but let your staff figure out how to solve problems.
- Replace the old hierarchy with self-directed individuals and teams.
- Let go, get out of the way, and let people stumble, fly, and soar.
- Be willing to listen to your staff and let them explore their thoughts and ideas out loud – they may discover that they have all the tools they need to be successful.
"Empowerment is the creation of an organizational climate that releases the knowledge, experience, and motivation that resides in people"Blanchard and Randolph (2009)
Good luck!
Ellen.
Do you have any burning leadership questions? Send them to us via Twitter, LinkedIn, email or in the comment section below.
Our team is happy to find answers to your burning questions. Thank you for joining the conversation!