One of our friends asked the Salesby5 team to give recommendations on how he could inspire his team. Here’s what we all had to say:
Core Values: Set them, enforce them, and watch the team live them
Remarking about the remarkable: Upper management can give compliments; wall of fame; rewards and incentive ideas—like filling the bucket with something with every compliment, etc. Set a non-monetary goal that is through with remarkable service.
Fun & Culture: Have fun as a team! For example: My surprise birthday party here, going to a wine tasting at a quarterly advance, volunteering at Final Four, eating lunch together.
Be the Cheerleader: Always give positive reinforcement and encouragement.
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I think Increasing Communication is the best way to keep inspiration up. [This is of course after you have the right team and the right heart in the company.]
Talk with your team about strengths—or simply what they enjoy, and rearrange responsibility. Help people avoid the work they hate doing, or make it easier with them. Talk about what you could do to lighten that load.
Talk to your team about the things they do that impress you. Let appreciation be known. When your teams excels in a day or a week or a month, take them to dinner or offer a bonus with great thanks. Make them feel appreciated. I think this also makes people want to show their appreciation for others in return. Good work karma.
Encourage and reward positive energy.
Always be approachable in a position of leadership. Make your team feel like they could come to you with anything. Treat everyone on your team as if they are as important and valuable as you are. (Requires having the right team, but this is so important to make them feel appreciated. Then, comes inspiration.) Once you feel important and trusted, it just makes you want to further prove your worth, and never disappoint your leader(s).
Communication really gives way to a closer team, and that in itself is inspiring because your heart is in it. I’m inspired to improve the quality of the company and the lives of the team because my heart is in this. There is nothing we don’t talk about, and we always share our appreciation for each other. We learn from each other this way too.
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The best ways I have seen to inspire employees:
1. Do what you say.
2. Live your core values and promote or fire based on following them.
3. Live your company’s purpose every day; purpose captures hearts.
4. Ask every person where you can depend on them the most and least and include yourself. Hold them to it, as well as yourself.
5. Most important: Find out (ask) what de-motivates them and lead them to change this by putting a stop list on the wall. Frank language like “you’re de-motivating me” will result in the opposite: natural motivation.
6. Have a hassle log. Hassles de-motivate people. Some are as simple as a stapler that gets jammed with each use. These little things can make someone’s life easier.
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I would recommend that he identify what his brand promise, core values, and rules are, and hire people that fit. Often times, people worry that they have to hire anyone who walks through the door because of wages, location, or other things.
This isn’t true. There are people at every pay level that are looking for good places to work. Places where people of similar spirit work together to do what is needed.
Unfortunately, what happens all too often is that the great employees are so de-motivated by those who don’t carry their weight that they get frustrated and leave, or worse, change their behavior to mimic those who get by with be less than great.
Define who you are, what you will and won’t accept, and what your goals are, and you will be amazed at how you can use this to create a team capable of accomplishing things you alone would never dream of achieving.
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My first suggestion would be to have his managers complete this questionnaire Use this info and create strategy around ways he can inspire and compliment them in the ways that matter most according to their answers. Also, I would suggest doing a start/stop/keep list as well as a hassle log. Once these lists are created, make it a priority to fix as many problems as he possibly can (obviously, some require $ that doesn’t exist, etc). If he does this much, he’ll be 80% of the way there.
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photo by coolmitch
