Last week I touched on what actually motivates you and challenged you to set some targets for your business. If you missed it or need a refresher http://www.growthwise.com.au/what-motivates-you/

Motivating your business is a very simple thing to do. It starts with YOU. It starts with actually deciding what you want out of your business. What are some of your targets for the business? And when do you want to reach them by? Once you have worked the hard part out then it's just a case of firstly conveying that to the team and secondly setting smaller targets for everyone to reach along the way.

As always I like to look at other Businesses, and learn from them. The motivated ones all have fantastic leaders who are very focused on what they want to achieve....but they also have a team that is just as motivated and dedicated to the cause.

So here are some tips to Motivate your team:

  1. Make sure you lead by example
  2. Listen to the team
  3. Ask them for feedback
  4. Ask them what they would change in the business to reach the targets
  5. Train them! Be specific here and set a training program for your employees
  6. Try a profit sharing plan. Ie have a staff bonus pool of 5% of the Company profits. This then gets divided amongst the team
  7. Encourage the team to look for constant improvements. I.e Introduce a weekly or monthly award for the best improvement suggestion - let it be voted for by the team
  8. Give Feedback. Both positive and 1 thing to work on for the next month. This is best done over a simple cup of coffee one on one.
  9. Try some team building activities. Treasure hunts with clues pointing to an end destination are always fun & help build teamwork.
  10. Communicate. Let the team know how they are tracking & how the business is tracking
  11. Celebrate. Make sure you actually celebrate the wins

So there are some quick examples of ways you can help motivate your team to in turn motivate your business. Have any other examples of what has worked for you?

Still struggling to decide what it is you actually want to achieve? Struggling with some motivation yourself? Let us know and we can kick-start your thinking.