A business is only as good as its team. When people effectively combine their skills, knowledge, passion, and energy towards accomplishing a common goal wonderful things happen to a company. As a leader, one must understand what motivates their team, how to retain the top talent, and how to continually inspire those around you. In order to improve a team’s performance an environment that allows everything to collaborate, voice opinions, and feel heard is imperative. Leader’s hoping to inspire should first spend time reflecting on their own personal habits and behaviors.
First, in order to retain top talent and ensure a high quality of work companies need to pay people what they are worth. Avoid losing employees to the competition by failing to offer the flexibility, pay, and benefits that can easily be found elsewhere. Even the most engaged employees will leave their job when offered even just five percent more at another company.
Once you’ve begun to understand the importance of hiring and retaining the best people, you must foster a creative and collaborative culture. Encourage employees to participate by carving out time weekly for the team to get together and share thoughts and ideas. People are motivated when they feel valued, and heard. Taking the time to promote collaboration, and truly listening to what everyone has to say will boost motivated which in turn leads to productivity increases.
A large part of creating a comfortable and stimulating environment is to offer every team remember the opportunity for self-development. Of course, there should be structured training so that everyone stays up to date about the latest technology or industry news, however, mentoring programs should also be used in order to foster professional growth. Employees are more motivated when they feel as though they are advancing in their careers.
When motivating your team, avoid making common mistakes such as scheduling useless meetings, micromanaging, or second-guessing decisions. Keep in mind that you’ve hired this team because they are skilled and off fresh perspectives that can help your business achieve its goals.