If you’re a sports fan, then today’s blog will provide you with the perfect analogy on how to run a successful business. It’s all about teamwork. And Toronto baseball fans are sure to agree. With the Toronto Blue Jays pulling off a three game sweep of the Boston Red Sox this past weekend, the team is now sitting just three games out of a “wild card” spot that could get the team into the post-season for the first time since 1993.
The Blue Jays, mind you, aren’t necessarily favored to make it into the playoffs, but they certainly aren’t down and out. Before the sweep of the Sox, however, it may have looked that way. Just one series earlier, the Jays themselves were swept by their heavy-hitting division rivals, the New York Yankees. So many a Toronto baseball fan may have assumed that the Jays were done for the season.
The moral of the story? Never call it quits and never assume it’s over until it’s over! TSN’s Scott Ferguson suggests that the recent addition of some new pitchers through a 10-player trade with the Houston Astros may have helped to boost the team’s overall morale. Team motivation, we would have to agree, always plays a major role in how a team performs.
What do you do to motivate your team? Surely, it’s not all about firing employees and hiring new ones. At MeloTel, we believe strongly in motivating your staff to provide them with senses of encouragement and appreciation. A happy staff is one that works better. We’ve seen this time and time again. On Media-Partners.com, Michele Eby writes that good leaders work on keeping their employees motivated all year round.
To assist business owners with having their teams be as strong as possible, Eby lists a number of ways that they can keep their staff motivated. And she’s not talking about “once-a-year pep talks” either. As well, it’s not always about providing a financial incentive. It’s about encouraging your staff in ways that will keep them self-motivated to always perform at their best.
Offer yourself as a person. Writes Eby, “let your first words to each of your employees be personal, not business-related. Make it brief. Make it casual. Ask how they are. Ask what they did the previous night. Ask about their families. Tell them about a restaurant you tried or weekend plans you’ve made. In a word – connect. Remember, your employees are people first and workers second. Treat them that way.”
Make sure they know that what they do matters. There’s nothing quite like a genuine “thank you” and a “job well done”. Be appreciative of your team’s efforts and go out of your way to show it. As Eby puts it, it is “human nature” to want to belong as we are all “social beings”. A good manager will always make his or her team members feel that they are important parts of a well-oiled machine. Making them feel valued will go a long way.
Communicate. Eby writes that research shows that employees need to feel “in on things”. Feeling important to the business is a major part of employee satisfaction. Provide your team with honest feedback and be sure to ask for theirs as well. Communication, as we all should know, is important tin any relationship. This is no different in the workplace.
We’ll explore Eby’s list of tips further in our next blog.