You Can't Motivate Your Team
“You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.” ~Old English Proverb dating from at least 1175
Leaders ask me every single day, ”how do I motivate my team?”
I’d be happy to tell them if I knew.?
The thing is that humans are generally unconvice-able (yes I know it isn’t a word). That is, we do what we want to do and we don’t let others change our minds. Of course, sometimes we are willing to go with the flow—but I am not talking about that. In general we are attached to our opinions far beyond logic—and so are your teams and team members.
There is no magical activity that we can do as leaders where suddenly our team members are motivated because motivation is an internal activity. No amount of knowledge will convince me to go exercise or eat right or code better. I must choose those things for myself and then the knowledge might make a difference.
This topic isn’t without hope though. I think we can turn the question on its head.?
What can you do as a leader to create conditions where your team members motivate themselves? How can you INSPIRE them to motivate themselves??
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Inspiration is one of the hallmarks of a great leader and it definitely requires something of you.
As a leader, the best thing you can do in this circumstance is to listen. Ask them what motivates them. Create an activity where you speak as a team about what motivates them. Help them to understand that the responsibility for motivation doesn’t land on the leader, but on each of them.
This alone will make a difference.?
You can also think about the most inspirational leaders you have ever known. Think about the most inspirational people you have ever met. What set them apart? What inspired you about them. My guess is that it included one if not many of these traits.?
So the question for you as a leader, is how do you display these traits or others like them. In the coming weeks, I’m going to dive deeper into each one of these traits as I believe they are the foundation of great leadership.
Until then—pick one trait or start with the listening activity and commit to practicing it with your team.
I’d love to hear your feedback, thoughts, and about your experiences in inspiring your team.
Life Coach helping complicated people get their act together and thrive.
2 年Your focus in this article reminds me of John Lennon's song Imagine. I hope many leaders read your post and take the suggestion to heart. We as leaders can upgrade the status quo and change the workplace for the better. The better for all participants.