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 seven critical
motivational techniques to get the best
from your subordinates.
1- Reward and Punishment
It is the most popular technique being used by
the successful managers. It mobilizes motivational energies
in the team players. The reward can be in the
form of special promotions,
pau raises or words.
However, excessive use of this tool may create
jealousy among your subordinates to disturb
the working environment.
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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 Goals
Setting 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 stumbling blocks 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 will have
positive effects on 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. Never
criticize a team member in the presence of others.
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 want them
to achieve.
6- Competition
It is the strongest motivational technique to
get the best out of your subordinates. You can
use this technique very effectively when combined
with setting of efficient goals. Competitive
circumstances helps many
team members
perform their 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 helpful to
most subordinates.
