How to Cultivate and Motivate a Team That Desires to Work

A good leader inspires a team to not just work, but to desire to work. Nurturing an outstanding and high performing team is no small task but one that is extremely beneficial when done right. Throughout this blog, we want to provide you with key insights pertaining to what influences the motivation of employees and helps create a driven team.

Uphold Your Values and Soft Skills

To become a truly excellent leader you must have both hard and soft skills.

According to a recent survey, respondents consider the most important leadership quality to be the ability to rally people for the sake of achieving a common goal (more than 50%). In second place is professional competence (49%).  Third, the ability to make quick decisions (45%). This is followed by qualities such as responsibility for the team, justice, a high level of emotional intelligence, and charisma. It is interesting that only 5% of the participants in the survey found a high  IQ to be important in the leader.

Teams should be governed by leaders who have strong values and expectation for themselves.  You can pretend to be a bright, intelligent, and charismatic leader as much as you like, but sooner or later, the employees will see that it’s fake, they will see double standards, and they will leave. Therefore, there is a lot in any company that is at stake and dependent on true leadership.

Frequently Give Your Team New Opportunities to Learn

Forward-looking companies emphasize the development of professional qualities and the leadership potential of their employees. One of the main trends in 2019 for human resources management is the ongoing training and development of employees. Only a self-learning organization can develop and keep up with the modern world.

In our company, Swan Software Solutions, there are different forms of training for various target groups. We combined these training programs together to create Swan University where both external and internal training is applied. External training is connected with the increase of professional skills and abilities. For example, if changes in legislation occur, we train our employees to work in a new legal field. We also give our employees internal opportunities to learn. In our company, senior employees transfer experience to prospective employees and those, in turn, are trained on the ground. We also teach top and middle management skills such as planning and organization, the ability to build communication at all levels, and leadership. Training is important for ensuring continuous advancement at all levels, understanding culture, and retention.

Clearly Define Stages and Criteria for Career Development

Team members would like to be made aware of what is expected in the role they wish to fulfill. At our company, Swan Software Solutions, when a new employee starts working, a career development matrix is drawn up. This matrix is used to assist the employee in understanding their capabilities. For example, if an employee comes into the position of a junior developer, they are given a clear idea of when and by what means they should progress and move to a role as a senior developer or a team lead.  

Regularly Communicate and Receive Feedback From Your Team

Monitoring working conditions is another important way to help motivate your employees. We visit our offices and collect feedback from employees on a regular basis. Team members will perform better if they know their concerns will be dealt with and resolved. Perhaps the office needs better lighting or the computers are too slow to be productive. People should be comfortable in the workplace, and the company’s task is to provide them with this comfort. It is in the company’s best interest to provide a work environment that their employees can truly succeed in.

Give Feedback Often

It is very important for people to understand whether they succeeded or not. Additionally, it is helpful for them to know what went wrong, what went right, and what they might do better the next time. We all want to know that our work matters. The employee must always understand where they have grown and where there is room for improvement. This kind of communication can happen through meetings, intentionally working with strategic goals, monitoring their implementation, and/or usual daily communication with your team.

Provide Your Team with a Thriving Culture

The DNA or culture of the organization is the reason that employees choose to work at your company rather than a competitor’s. Create an atmosphere that team members will want to be a part of. Employees want to know that you care. But, you can’t just go halfway or fake it. People can tell when it’s fake. You have to be intentional about creating this culture!

The most important marker of employees who feel comfortable in the company’s culture is the willingness to recommend it as an employer. It is a strong culture that helps companies to maintain sustainability even in turbulence.

What motivates you? What do you think are some of the most important non-material motivators for employees? We at Swan Software Solutions would love to hear your thoughts.