MOST people will agree that most Zimbabwe companies are suffering from fatigue and there is need for motivation especially to team players. I have chosen to use the term “team player” for a reason.
A leader should not see employees from a servanthood perspective, but should appreciate that he is being helped to produce or fulfil the purpose of an institute. It’s the game of the old where leaders are power bosses. But they should be people or team leaders.
Today let’s focus on seven ways to keep team players motivated. It’s not always money that keeps people upbeat.
The media has been awash with executives that are getting hefty salaries to the demise of the institute. If it is about money, those leaders should have produced great results.
People are triggered to perform because they want to promote change, improve their and other people’s lives, to build the community and make a difference. Here are seven points to motivate your team:
Fire the manager and hire a leader The manager has a tendency of maintaining the status quo. The times that we operate in; it could be in business, sport, church or in politics, we need leaders more than we do of managers. Warren Bennis, a leadership guru of our times writes:
“The manager administers; the leader innovates. The manager is a copy; the leader is an original. The manager maintains; the leader develops.
“The manager focuses on system and structure; the leader focuses on people.
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“The manager relies on control; the leader inspires trust. The manager has a short-range view; the leader has a long-range perspective.
The leader asks how and when; the leader asks what and why. The manager accepts the status quo; the leader challenges it. The manager does things right; the leader does the right thing” (Book: On Becoming a leader Page 45).
Your back is being watched as a leader A leader has to understand that as one leads, there are people following. Literally what are they watching? It’s your back! Keep your back clean and you will be trusted and entrusted with greater responsibility.
Some team players are watching their leaders’ back and instead of working, they are laughing because the back is not covered. Be transparent and trustworthy and that’s a good motivation to others.
Your relevance inspires others Your being relevant motivates leaders to be true agents of change and causes followers to grow to the level of leadership.
These days, people are dreaming big and want to achieve more and as a leader, be exemplary in doing so. Also encourage team players to enlarge their intellectual, relational and educational levels.
Cultivate a positive atmosphere There is nothing so demoralizing like being lead by someone disinterested, spiteful and negative. That cultivates a horrid, instead of a happy atmosphere. A happy environment cultivates hope and self-esteem.
Encourage team players to upgrade themselves We live in fast- paced and globally minded environments and mediocrity can’t produce what’s competitive on the market.
Anyone that does not want to upgrade is hard to be elevated to a top leadership position. Not only that, he is in danger of being irrelevant and eventually obsolete.
As a leader teach other team players to acquire new skill, experiment on new ideas, observe and absorb from competitors. Proficiency leads to mastery eventually high yields.
Every team player should have an e-mentality Whatever company one works in technology is as good as fish is to water. The information superhighway is a convergence zone and winners in the industry have mastered its effectiveness.
This is the place where we engage the global market place just at the click of the button and that triggers creativity, innovativeness and out-of-the-box thinking.
Incentives are the cream on the cake It’s very difficult to lead disgruntled people, let alone people without adequate resources to get the work done.
Reward people for the work done and in return they would always want to out-do their past results.
- Parting point Linda Kaplan in her book, The Power of Nice says: “Positive impressions are like seeds. You plant them, nurture them . . . and below the surface they grow and expand . . . breaking through the ground often exponentially.”
Your success as a leader, hinges on good team which has been well motivated to stay upbeat!
Jonah Nyoni is an author, success coach and motivational speaker. Tel: 0772 581 918. Email: jonWeb: www.jonahnyoni.wordpress.com
