How to Motivate Your Team as a Leader

How to motivate your team is one of the first questions new managers ask. Leadership motivation has less to do with pep talks than most people expect, and more to do with who you hire and the workplace you build around them.

leadership motivation hero: a megaphone with gold sound waves

Motivation is a choice each person makes when they walk in the door, and nobody can make it for them. Your job as the leader is to hire self-motivated people who make that choice on their own, and then give them a healthy, supportive workplace and the tools they need to be successful.

Most people want to do good work. What wears motivation down is a workplace where people aren't clear on what's expected of them or don't have what they need to do the job.

In more than 30 years of leading teams, I've found that most of a team's motivation comes from the people you hire, what you give them to work with, and how you lead by example. Providing clear expectation, coaching and earned recognition does the rest.

Jump To: Seven Ways | Golden Coat Hook | Off Track | Example | FAQ

Seven Ways to Motivate Your Team

Knowing how to motivate your team doesn't require a large budget. Team motivation grows out of everyday habits, and each of these actions makes it easier for motivated people to stay that way.

Hire people who are self-motivated. Motivating employees starts before anyone is hired. The number one responsibility of a leader is to attract, hire and keep productive, self-motivated people. If you're on the fence about a candidate, trust your instincts and keep looking. If your company uses an introductory period for new hires, use it to confirm the fit.
Learn what each person values. People are motivated by different things, and the only way to know is to ask. The free My Favorite Things questionnaire shows what each person on your team values, and an activity like People Power is a fun way to learn more.
Share where the team is going and why. Many leaders keep their vision in their head. Put it into words your team can repeat, and connect each person's work to it so they can see how their part matters. Define roles and responsibilities so everyone knows where their focus should be and how success will be measured.
Give them the tools and resources to succeed. A motivated person without the right tools gets frustrated fast. Ask your team what slows them down, then fix what you can, whether it's equipment, a process, training or a clear answer.
Teach, Coach, Expect. Make sure people have been properly trained and know how success is measured. Follow Teach, Coach, Expect: teach the skill, coach until you've seen them do it well, and then expect it. Set goals that stretch people but stay within reach, and hold regular coaching conversations based on each person's experience and results.
Recognize progress. Praise good work and celebrate milestones, from a strong month to covering for a coworker or finishing a training. Every time you recognize someone, you show you're invested in their success. Recognition Ecards make a quick thank-you easy, and Sales Recognition Programs covers how to build a bigger program.
Lead by example and keep your word. Your team takes its cues from you. Do what you say you'll do, and when you can't, explain why. Show the effort you expect, and stay visibly involved in helping the team reach its goals.

The Golden Coat Hook

One idea I've shared with teams for a long time is the golden coat hook. Before you walk into work, picture a golden hook on the door where you can hang the personal baggage you're carrying that day. It's safe there, and it'll be waiting for you when the day is done. While you're at work, you must choose to be present and focused on the job in front of you.

It's a mental exercise you can share with your team at a meeting, and it gives people a picture for something that's hard to put into words.

It also works both ways. Some days the bag is too heavy to hang on a hook, and when that happens, you want your people to feel comfortable coming to you and sharing what's going on so you can provide some assistance.

When Someone Is Off Track

Holding someone accountable doesn't have to lessen their motivation. The words you choose, being supportive yet firm, can provide both the clarity and encouragement the employee needs to turn things around. Say Joe has been coming in late, and this is the third conversation about it.

FIRM BUT HARSH

"Joe, this is the third time I've had to talk to you about this, and it had better be the last, or you're fired!"

FIRM AND SUPPORTIVE

"Joe, your success here matters to me, so I'm going to be direct. I know you can move past this if you set your mind to it, and the choice is yours. I hope you realize that if I weren’t committed to your success, I wouldn't be having this conversation. So please understand that if we have to talk about this again, it will be a different conversation and that may mean parting ways so you can find a role that is a better fit for you. I sincerely hope that won't be necessary, but the choice is yours to make. Is there anything else you need from me to help ensure your success?"

The second version is just as firm. Joe hears exactly what happens if this comes up again, and he also hears that you believe he can fix it and that the decision is his. It takes a little more thought to say it that way, and it's worth it, because you want Joe to succeed.

How to Motivate Your Team: An Example

Renee manages a patient access team of nine registrars at a community hospital. After a new registration system went live, errors climbed, people started showing up late and the energy on the team dropped.

RENEE'S PATIENT ACCESS TEAM, 60 DAYS

What each person needed: Renee asked everyone to fill out My Favorite Things and then met with each registrar for 15 minutes. Two of them told her they had never been fully trained on the new system and were guessing on insurance verification.

Tools and training: She scheduled a 30-minute refresher for those two and had her most accurate registrar, Dana, build a one-page insurance checklist with the team. She coached both registrars at the desk the next week until she saw them get it right.

Why it matters: At the next team meeting, she showed how a clean registration means a claim gets paid the first time and a patient gets seen sooner. She also shared the golden coat hook idea and told the team her door was open on the days the bag was too heavy.

One firm conversation: Tony had been late four times that month. Renee used the firm and supportive approach, and he told her his bus route had changed. They moved his start time 15 minutes, and he hasn't been late since.

Measure	Before	After 60 days
Registration error rate	6.2%	3.1%
Late arrivals per month (team)	11	3
Average patient wait at registration	14 minutes	9 minutes

Over those 60 days, Renee didn't hold a single motivational meeting. Every change came from fixing something that was getting in the way.

How to Motivate Your Team FAQ

The questions below address what leaders most commonly ask about how to motivate your team.

Click on the (+) sign below to expand each question. Click the (-) sign to collapse it again.

How do you motivate your team?

Hire people who are self-motivated, learn what each person values and give them the tools and training they need. Then share where the team is going, recognize progress and lead by example.

What is leadership motivation?

Leadership motivation is how a leader influences a team to work toward a shared goal. It comes mostly from who you hire and how you support them once they're on the team.

Is it the leader's job to motivate employees?

Motivation is a choice each person makes, so a leader can't make it for them. The leader's job is to hire self-motivated people and give them a healthy workplace and the tools and resources they need to succeed.

How do you motivate an employee who has lost interest?

Start with a private conversation to find out what changed, since the cause is often a missing tool, unclear expectations or something outside work. Fix what you can, and be clear and supportive about what needs to happen next.

How do you hold someone accountable without hurting motivation?

Be firm about the expectation and supportive of the person. Tell them why their success matters to you, be clear about what happens if the issue continues and leave the choice with them.