True leaders have the innate ability to motivate staff to achieve better results. Leading with a passion is what separates great leaders from the “wannabees.”
So how do you inspire your team to deliver superior results? Here are five ways to ignite the passion in your team.
1. Passion Starts With You
To inspire passion in others; you must first be passionate yourself. People follow someone who is passionate versus someone who is just going through the motions. First, believe in what you’re doing and that conviction will spread. You can’t ignite passion with a wet match.
2. Understanding Your People
It’s impossible to know how to motivate people until you know what motivates them. You can’t expect that everybody is motivated by the same things. You can’t expect that the same things will always motivate the same people. So, learn about your staff as individuals so you can become a better leader. Ask them about special talents, hobbies, and goals. Then tailor your behaviours accordingly.
3. A Positive Work Environment
Nobody likes to go to work and face an endless stream of tedious tasks, day in and day out, with no inspiration in sight. Most people want to do the best job they can and are practically begging for somebody to bring back the spark.
Creating a positive “buzz” in the office radiates energy and makes people enjoy coming to work. Banish negativity and you’ll increase productivity and motivation at the same time.
4. Ongoing Training & Coaching
The best leaders regularly provide their teams with opportunities to improve skills, maintain team spirit and provide input into aspects of training and the working environment where they see opportunities for improvement.
It’s very important that your team is fully prepared and able to deal with any issues that customers may have. If their training is insufficient, they may feel inadequate. This can cause problems in the level of service and allow negativity to creep in. Encourage an open door policy with the team so they feel that they can ask for training or coaching without feeling stupid or inadequate.
5. Encourage A Level Of Autonomy
Nobody likes the feeling that a boss is looking over their shoulder all the time. While you have the responsibility for the work that’s being done, allow people to do their job and don’t micromanage them all the time. Give them the opportunity to take ownership of a project and receive the accolades of doing a great job.