A motivated team is an inspired team. It’s truly as simple as that. Whether in the office, remote or a mix of the two, if you can implement ways to give your team the attention they deserve, then you are on your way to achieving better results and creating a company culture that values teamwork.
So what are some effective ways to ensure your team is thriving and productive? Here’s how to be a world-class leader and motivator:
1. Flexibility And Work Life Balance
Working remotely sure has its perks! It slashes commuting time, restores scheduling and allows for the ability to work truly anywhere with a wifi connection. One of the downsides, however, is the tendency to feel disconnected from colleagues. Not having the option of being face to face can cause people to feel alienated.
So what’s the trick to achieving a peaceful divide between life and work at home or on the road? Truly taking into consideration a work life balance. Depending on the industry and nature of the role, there are a few ways to enhance motivation in this area:
- Flexible working hoursSwing shifts
- Time shifting
- Sharing a role
- Compressed or staggered hours
2. Face Time And Regular Feedback
It goes without question that seeing each other’s faces and connecting over video works to establish rapport. It’s the second best thing to being in person, after all. By setting up more opportunities to be with your team by conducting 1:1s and small gatherings via video conferencing, you can forge stronger working relationships that feel more personal.
Other ways to stay motivated and fight off the “down in the doldrums” feeling is by checking in regularly. Managers who have an open door policy and make themselves accessible by providing feedback in both formal and informal settings improve the dialogue between employees. Leaders who set up the time and space to have these conversations provide employees a chance to share their thoughts, something that may otherwise be difficult to do. Getting into a rhythm of feedback keeps the conversation open, and helps employees stay motivated.
As per the Harvard Business Review, here are a few questions you can pose:
- What impact did we have last week and what did we learn?
- What commitments do we have this week? Who is on point for each?
- How can we help each other with this week’s commitments?
- What are the areas where we should experiment to improve performance this week?
- What experiments will we run, and who is on point for each?
(alt-tag: Stylish man drinking coffee looking at laptop while woman taps on keyboard and shows him content on screen, seated at table with white flowers nearby beside window.)
3. Be Goal-Oriented
It’s so much easier to work towards something when you know what it is you’re working towards! Having goals that are concrete and that come with actionable steps to show exactly what needs to be done and by whom. The team needs to be able to know what’s in the pipeline so the day’s deliverables and resources can be planned out. When projects, tasks and online meetings are clearly outlined, each employee knows what’s on the agenda so their output can be maximized.
Filter goals and objectives through the acronym SMART which stands for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time bound. This will help team members be able to figure out whether a task takes priority on their own or they can open up the discussion to chat about it with other individuals or managers.
4. Create a Healthy Work Environment – Virtually and IRL
If physically going to the office is a thing of the past and you work amongst a mostly remote team, company culture may be something that’s been pushed off to the side. With a few hacks, however, you can have more of a virtual culture customized to motivate your remote team:
- Establish Core Values
What does your company stand for? What’s the mission statement and what words help people remember who they are, what they’re doing and where they’re going? - Keep Goals Visible
Whatever your team or organization is working on, get everyone on the same page when it comes to making goals and sticking to them. Run a challenge for a week, month or quarter. Get team members stick to their KPIs in between reviews. Discuss goals on an individual, group and organization level to create lasting change that leaves an impact. - Recognize Efforts
It can be as simple as shouting out someone’s birthday over Slack or setting up an app to reward a job well done. When team members are made aware of their outstanding efforts, they will feel appreciated and want to do more. - Socialize Virtually
Even in an online meeting or video chat that is work related, try setting aside some time to socialize besides just talking shop. It can be a few minutes before the meeting like trying an ice breaker to prompt conversation or an online game to welcome and introduce new employees.
If work is too busy, try setting up an optional social gathering online that invites team members to show up and chat or suggest “lunch dates” to set up inter department gatherings and get people more acquainted with one another.
(alt-tag: View of four happy team members seated at a long desk table working on laptops, laughing and chatting in brightly lit communal work space.)
5. Include The “Why”
There is a lot more power in providing the why behind the ask. Giving just a little more context can shape the question and have it land better to get a more solid answer that leads to better results. Every decision, action and block of time we put into something delicately balances on the why.
A lot of companies place more emphasis on the how or what, but when we dive deeper into the why, we can begin to make a difference and see what really motivates us. Taking just a few extra moments to share the reasoning and logic behind a decision will get a much higher check-in from employees.
To stay motivated, let employees know why they’re doing what they’re doing instead of only what needs to be done.
Ex: The “what” – “Please turn your camera on for this afternoon’s online meeting.”
The “what” plus “why” – “Please turn the camera on for this afternoon’s online meeting so our new CEO can see everyone’s face when she makes her first official appearance.”
Let Callbridge reinforce the ways your team stays on track and motivated, from home, at the office or anywhere in the world. Use Callbridge’s superior video conferencing capabilities to help you stay in touch with clients, and your team using state-of-the-art features including Screen Sharing, Breakout Rooms and Integrations for Slack, and more.
