Manager Tips to Motivate Teams

Do you work with a big team of professionals who could use a nudge from time to time?
As a manager you will know that keeping a team motivated and on track is a skill set all to its self. If you are a new manager, you may find it challenging to motivate your team, creating a stumbling block to overall success. How can you keep your team members on track and motivated to reach for the next objective?

Provide Challenging Goals
To start, your team needs to know what the goals and objectives are for that week, month and year. Pull together a team meeting to ensure that everyone is on board and understands what to strive for. If possible, include the team in the planning session when goals are set; at the very least let them have input into the strategies for achieving the goals. While you want a goal that will stretch team members, you don’t want a goal that is too overwhelming. Wise selection and communication of the goals is a key skill that management professionals need to take seriously.

Track Progress Visually
Help your team see their progress by coming up with a range of tools that show the goal and its progress. Remember high school fundraising posters that were colored in to show the progress made? Today, you can create similar graphic visuals using software including Visio, Miscrosoft, or Salesforce. Consider the use of digital screens or white boards strategically posted around the office that show new sales, numbers of clients or dollar figures achieved. These visual reminders will really help people remember that all tasks should be correlated with the goal at hand.

Use Fun Competitions
If your role includes management of a sales team, think about using competitions to keep your sales team excited about their goals. Sales professionals and other folks who enjoy social talking respond well to competitions and prizes. Determine a goal, and then make it fun to see who will achieve the goal first. Announce exciting prizes like a free lunch, a reserved parking space or even a weekend getaway. These kinds of prizes need to be big enough to inspire action. You’ve probably heard of a manager who oversees a car dealership using trips to exotic destinations such as Hawaii to reward the top salesperson that year. What kind of competition will work in your industry?

Getting and keeping a team motivated can be a daunting management task. If your past experience as a manager has not led to success, try out these three ideas to get your staff onboard with new goals. If you are looking for more information about how to grow these management skills consider organizing onsite training such as the Management Success program or visit our website for free resources.