Ten Ways Leadership Can Motivate Team Building and Performance

Managers, supervisors, and team leaders need to understand how communication and recognition can help motivate members to have better attitudes and become more productive. Many ways exist to motivate team members to build a better team and increase the group and individual performance.

Presented for consideration are ten possible ways for managers, supervisors, and leaders to motivate their team with little budget and resources that may not require higher-level management approval. Most ideas can be implemented merely by a change in accountability or the way the manager or leader communicates with the team and encourages the group to grow itself.

1. Be positive and set a good example for the team.
2. Share information on projects and business openly with the team.
3. When possible, let them work through their conflicts, but be ready to resolve negative conflict and bad situations before team morale is damaged.
4. Give feedback for improvement when necessary in a positive and thoughtful way.
5. Show appreciation for the work they do using different methods for rewarding the group and members.
6. If a team request or member idea is not understood, ask for clarification or examples.
7. Actively listen to team complaints, ideas, and improvements.
8. Allow the team to evaluate its leader and suggest improvement ideas to help them build respect, trust, and confidence in their leader.
9. Show confidence in the team by supporting their work and needs.
10. Do periodic team assessments with the members on how the group is doing as a way to increase awareness of what is right and identify opportunities for improvement.

Selecting from these ten ways to motivate teams, the team leader, supervisor, or manager can implement a strategy for building the team and improving individual performance as well. All it may take is changing the way the manager, supervisor, or leader communicates with and encourages the team’s potential growth, as well as the members accepting responsibility for their progress. The result should be improved team member attitudes, better group behaviors, and increasing work productivity.

NOTE: See also list of articles for “Ten Ideas to Reward Teams and Members,” “Evaluate Team Performance and Determine Training Needs,” “Eleven Responsibilities of Great Team Leaders and Sponsoring Managers,” and “Give Your Teams the Gift of Productivity.”