Motivation Through Leadership

By Todd Mitchem VP Business Development and Phil Geldart CEO

What motivates us? Is it money, encouragement or power? In your company what motivates the people who work for you, with you or around you? Leadership often believes that people must “self motivate” but is that truly the best course?

A key component of leadership is the responsibility to motivate others. However, too often the leader assumes that motivation need only be done “when required,” or at previously determined times. Not so. People require frequent motivation to move towards the objective. This motivation needs to be heartfelt and the leader must be held accountable to this motivation.

As leaders provide words of encouragement, coaching or positive guidance, the individual is able to remain focused and clear about the value of their contribution. The nature of motivation is that it sustains momentum; consequently when you anticipate that momentum is lagging, it is a clear sign that motivation is in order. This takes rigor and discipline to accomplish on a daily basis and in the face of daily pressures. The necessary motivation must be at the forefront regardless of these pressures.

Given that it must be done frequently, several approaches are necessary to avoid repetition. There are five specific approaches which you can take to provide this motivation.

1. Repetition: Remind the individual often of the original objective and the important part which they play in it.

2. Celebration: Individual, group or team successes should be celebrated. It is an effective and fun way to recognize milestones and to motivate teams.

3. Compare: Consider how the individual and the team are doing compared to others, not only in your own workplace but in your marketplace and their past performance. When the comparison is made there will be opportunities to learn, grow and discover new ways of doing things.

4. Measurement: As individuals are able to track their progress and see it measured, the results can be highly motivating when success is reflected by these measures. When measurements show a shortfall, a skillful manager will draw lessons from this so that improvements can be made.

5. Validation: When possible, make others aware of the progress of your team or individuals on your team. This way, you have not only served to motivate, but also to educate those around you who depend on the team’s results for their own progress.

A strong part of motivation involves creativity. Sometimes a word or a handshake is sufficient, or occasionally a more elaborate event should be planned. The type of motivation used will vary, but the basic principle behind it remains the same: motivating others requires speaking the truth, speaking passionately and speaking with compassion. The power of motivation should never be underestimated.

Check out the video below on how FIRE kindles FIRE by our CEO Phil Geldart!