Praise – the leading way to motivate your team.
How much time are you taking to give members of your team pats on the back? Continually, studies show that the greatest way to motivate people is by showing them appreciation. This is different to the commonly held view that people require a pay rise or commission in order to do a good job.
So what you need to do is find the little things to thank people for. Find the things that often go unnoticed. These are the real gems. Everyone in the whole team knows when the big stuff has been done or achieved. When you find the little thing, the thing that shows the person did that little bit extra, put in just a little more, then you are on a winner.
Give only genuine praise. You must truly appreciate the thing that has been done. People know when you are being false, And giving false praise will prove worse than giving no praise at all.
Give praise in the manner in which the person needs it communicated. For instance, I love to buy people presents and you would think that this would endear me to people. Yet for some people this is not the case and they can even dislike receiving praise or thanks or a show of affection in this way. Some people like to be given things, some like a kind word, others like you to do things (my wife likes it when I do jobs around the house. Even simple chores like taking out the garbage, this is more important to her than me buying her a gift ), still others like a pat on the back or a hug. Try and work out what each employee likes and you will end up with a happy employee.
And guess what, as you start to find the good things other people do And give them praise, you too will be recognised and praised for what you do.
Why not start today. Set yourself a goal of praising ten people a day. Make one of them you.
