7 Techniques To Motivate Your Team

You can motivate your team members externally or internally. External motivation relates to the working environment. However, internal motivation relates the interests, aptitudes and dreams of your team members. Here are 7 critical motivational techniques to get the best out of your subordinates:

1- Reward and Punishment

It is the most popular technique being used by the managers. It mobilizes motivational energies in the team players. The reward can be in the form of special promotions, raises or words. However, excessive use of this tool may create jealousy amongst your subordinates to disturb the working environment.

Fear of punishment also plays an important role. You need to be careful here too. A wrong punishment at a wrong time may backfire. Just create a balance.

2- Setting of Goals

Setting of well-defined goals helps your team members to do their best. Set meaningful and justified deadlines to get the project finished within time. You need to work at two levels. First, set your objective. Second, divide that objective into goals and sub-goals.

3- Advisory Techniques

No one is perfect. Being a team leader you must always be ready to offer advice when your team members face some stumbling block in their performance. Encourage them to remove their weaknesses and continue what works for them.

4- Praise and Criticism

This motivational technique is similar to 'reward and punishment' technique. A word of praise or criticism shall have definite results upon your subordinates. However, like rewards and punishments, this technique should also be used carefully. Sometimes your team members will do better with criticism and other times they will stop working.

5- Success and Failure

To motivate your team members, you should analyze their successes in open and failures in your office. Most of the people like to continue doing what is working for them. Don't try to change their style unless you find them failing to achieve what you desire of them.

6- Competition

It is the strongest motivational technique to get the best out of your subordinates. You can use this technique very effectively when combine with setting of efficient goals. Competitive circumstances shall help your team members to perform the best.

7- Interests of Team Members

Do you know what interests your subordinates? Just find out those interests and entrust them with tasks that they love to do. It will increase their efficiency on one hand and speed of the project on the other. Random allocation of tasks may not be too helpful to all of them.

_______________________________

For more free articles of this type delivered weekly to your email box subcribe here
and immediately receive a bonus white paper report. Available at:
http://www.GainingTheEdge.com