research

When it comes to being a successful leader, one of the most important skill-sets is learning how best to motivate your team. Luckily for you, we scoured the internet to find some of the best advice out there. Below are 5 surefire methods for motivating your team, as according to research.

1. Show Interest in Your Team’s Career Advancement. According to Payscale.com, the number one reason people quit their jobs (45% of quitters) is because they feel like they had no mobility within their former job. Speak with your team members about the possibilities they have for personal and professional growth, making sure clear paths exist for them to work harder and achieve these goals.

2. Make the Work Challenging. Another top reason for people quitting their previous job is because they did not find the work challenging enough. It is important to provide work which is difficult enough to keep workers interested, preventing them from falling into the tedium of repetition.

3. Utilize Objective Based Team Training. In addition to providing challenging work, it is important to provide workers with clear, outlined goals. According to research from the Changzhou Institute of Technology, objective based team training should include two main components: clear individual goals, and company/team goals and visions. It is important that each worker understands both the company objectives on a grander scale, as well as their role in this goal. Providing training in this way will increase team spirit and motivation by outlining the importance of each individual’s role within the larger context of the company.

4. Emphasize the Unique Contributions of Each Member. According to research by Albert Bandura, team members work less effectively when they believe that someone else on the team is a “weak link.” Even if this belief is not accurate, misconceptions that someone else on the team is not pulling their weight leads to team members working unproductively. By emphasizing the successes and unique skill-sets of each team member, this will make each member of the team feel like everyone is a useful, necessary member. Furthermore, it will allow newer members a safe environment to to grow and learn without judgement.

5. Create Distinct Tasks for Each Person. The term social loafing was coined in the 1900s as a result of a rope-pulling experiment. In this study, participants were asked to pull against a rope either alone or with the help of another. Participants put in less effort when they were pulling the rope alongside someone else as compared to when they were pulling the rope only by themselves. Team leaders should thus avoid assigning one general task to multiple team members, because it allows each member to put in less effort when another person is there to pick up the slack. Instead, assign each person a more specific task within the larger task, holding each person accountable to their portion of the objective.

Thoughts or comments? Comment below! We love to hear from you.

Clark, Richard. "Research-Tested Team Motivation Strategies." Performance Improvement 44.1 (2005): 13-16. Web. 

Holub, Anne. "Why Most People Quit Their Jobs." Payscale. 30 Sept. 2015. Web.

Jiang, Xin. "How to Motivate People Working in Teams." International Journal of Business and Management 5.10 (2010): 223-29. Web.