Get Inspired to Improve Team Motivation

Supervisors set the tone for engagement, yet motivation can dip when workloads rise or priorities shift. It’s up to you as a leader to not only maintain healthy levels of motivation and productivity but also anticipate these dips and have a plan in place to address them.

During our most recent Supervisors Community of Practice session, we spoke with Javier Lopez, Executive Coach & Organizational Consultant, The Gov Geeks, LLC, about practical ways to re-energize and inspire your team.

Read on for helpful takeaways from that session. You can also view the entire recording below on demand.

1. What are the first things you start to notice when your team’s motivation begins to dip? Lopez said disengagement was an early indicator, leaving gaps when individuals used to be “a little bit more involved, excited, more willing to take on certain things, and willing to ask questions. If we’re not feeling that vibe, that excitement about what we’re doing, focused in on whatever the work is, if we’ve all of a sudden been knocked out of that, it’s bad for motivation for ourselves and for others.”
2. How do you learn what motivates each person on your team? One of the most important things is to already have a trusting relationship, and to learn what motivates all of us, not just when everyone is busy, Lopez said. “It’s kind of like this concept, the best time to grow a tree or plant a tree is 30 years ago, the second best time is today. If you have that established already, you know what the motivations are before busyness really comes into play. I think that’s about creating spaces for trust-building conversations.”
3. What feedback or recognition have you seen make the biggest difference for your team? Lopez believes “it’s the platinum rule. So, the golden rule is ‘we treat others the way that we would like to be treated,’ but the platinum role is to treat others the way that they would like to be treated.” He said it’s essential to find out “what’s important for them? What do they care about? Where are we recognizing where they were vulnerable earlier and have striven to actually have an accomplishment? How do we recognize and see the hard work that they are doing? When we have those sorts of conversations, it’s really important.”

Want more tips to become a stronger leader? Join us for our next Supervisor COP session on Monday, March 30, from 4-4:30 p.m. ET/1-1:30 p.m. PT to hear from an expert as we discuss easy-to-use active listening techniques you can use every day.