10 questions that will help you know if you’re successful at keeping your team motivated

How do I motivate my team? How to get them going after long holidays? Why aren’t they motivated to do a better job? Why are they so lazy? Are these questions familiar to you as a team leader?

Motivation is this “magical thing” that doesn’t happen overnight, and if it does suddenly appear in the case of a good salary bonus or some other nice and sweet benefit, it tends to be rather superficial and a temporary effect, which most likely disappears about as quickly as it came up. It’s very convenient for a crappy manager to think that employees are just lazy and incompetent, but is that really the case?

An energetic, inspiring and forward-looking motivational speech after a summer vacation period never hurts, but if you discover that the team still lacks motivation, the concern is much deeper than just superficial reasons such as an exhausting project, a recently finished vacation or gloomy weather. In the case of such shallow reasons, motivation does not make much sense, because we just have to get our stuff together and start acting. However, if the culture at work is poor, feedback is never really shared, opinions are hardly ever asked, and employees do not feel that their contribution really changes anything in the company, then the leader has to pick up the good old mirror, and start seeing the reasons from there.

What should I ask myself to figure out if I’m good at keeping my team motivated?

• When was the last time I asked what motivates them? Do I even know it?
• Have I created a safe environment where they can openly share if work processes don’t work, and should be changed and/or improved?
• Do I have a consistent and working system for happiness surveys in my team?
• Do I recognize, and praise them when they have shown particularly good results?
• Do I give constructive feedback when something didn’t go as planned?
• Do I inform them about the company’s plans and mission in general, or do I just focus on the details of their daily tasks?
• Do I let them do their work without constantly checking on them?
• Do I encourage them to make their own decisions, so they’d have enough responsibility?
• Do I provide them trust and faith in the form of flexibility?
• Do I offer them opportunities for self-development, and motivate them to take on new challenges?

Consider all of these questions honestly, and with a critical mind. I’m sure your answers will lead you to reasons, and therefore give you a direction to build or improve your team’s motivation. Also, don’t forget — good things take time if you want them to last.