Andy Partridge

Motivating your teams through 2009

How can we ensure our teams are focused and motivated through this difficult time?

Consultants struggling to stay motivated are often either not clear enough about what they really want to achieve or where they want to go, or they’ve assumed that in order to be successful they must replicate the motivations of other successful consultants or managers.  Often consultants ‘plateau’ and are no longer motivated because what actually drove them to achieve a goal no longer exists once they get there.

Motivation only exists if there is an inner desire to accomplish a goal or participate in an endeavor, and unless you have a destination you’re trying to reach and totally own this, the motivation is always short lived. This can result in occasional and infrequent bursts of energy and enthusiasm only when you’re having a good day!

The key to better motivating your staff is to have a clear understanding of what your staff really want. What drives them, what gets them out of bed in the morning. What would motivate them to go the extra mile; what do they consider to be success?

Sometimes it might be the Ferrari, but often it’s a nice house, nice holidays, new clothes, a new car or more quality time with family. Whatever it is, the more your staff get in touch with it, the more they’ll aim for it. It will be real, owned motivation. And ultimately it will produce more revenue for the business!

Once the motivation has been established, the next step is to look at how to achieve this in terms of creating a more proactive environment and road mapping the journey with some clear goal setting and realistic expectations.  

This process in turn allows them to better understand the value of their time and work more effectively through those difficult times we all experience.

Top tips for managers to work with real motivation through the down turn.

1. Encourage your staff to identify what makes them tick and what they want from the job. Sometimes they won’t have an immediate answer
2. Once they’ve identified it, start to work with some SMART goals in order to make it tangible and achievable
3. Make sure they’re regularly in touch with want they want. That vision can help consultants work through the hard times
4. Work with both personal and professional goals. After all, how much better does someone work if they’re happy with their personal development?
5. Make sure you celebrate progress with them. They have to feel progress to maintain motivation
6. Demonstrate progress yourself. Inspiring leaders create inspiring environments and teams
7. Be prepared to look at any current processes that are preventing real progress on a day-to-day level
8. Continue to look at ways to help your team to progress. Often successful consultants ‘flat line’ and have simply lost touch with what motivated them in the first place. Or perhaps their wants and needs have changed?
9. The key is to establish what someone wants but to then focus on the journey to get it. The destination always changes. Motivation is all about progression towards something
10. Be consistent. Slow and consistent can sometimes be better than fast and occasional. Your ideal scenario is to have a team of people all demonstrating daily progres

Andy Partridge
+44 (0) 7976 262776
www.andypartridge.co.uk

Andy Partridge is a Recruitment Sales Trainer specialising in Motivation and is enthusiastic and passionate about helping people to reach their full potential, focusing on techniques to increase both control and confidence.