3 Ways to Increase Employee Engagement and Motivation

The most well-connected, successful people understand that in order to bond with and motivate others, you must be able to show them that you truly understand their position, fears, emotions, motivations and drivers before they will give you permission to help them move to a new way of thinking. It’s the key to admission into their world. Without it, you’re sunk.

So, how do you become the type of leader who is able to build a high-performance company culture where your employees are valued, trusted, motivated and inspired in the long run? 

Have a double vision

The best team leaders understand that organizational success starts with constantly walking a mile in their employees’ shoes, trying to see, feel and experience their perspectives as a means to a deeper connection and, most importantly, trust. When you trust, you allow yourself to be motivated and inspired by that person. When you don’t feel that your teammates are making an effort to have that double vision—to see things from your perspective as well as their own—and it seems as if they only care about you to the extent that they need you to get across that finish line to achieve their personal goals, your synergy is doomed.

In business and life, we spend a lot of time and energy trying to prove to the big shots how great we are as a solo player, but I think it’s much more important to prove who you are to your team. Instead of trying to impress your colleagues, focus instead on inspiring them. Trust me, if you do that, you’ll achieve both of those goals at the same time. Be the leader with a double vision. Be the leader who comes back and extends a hand. Be the leader everyone knows they can count on. That’s the kind of person I want to work with, do business with and live with. 

Understand that people work for people, not companies

We’ve all had the experience of staying with a particular company way too long because we were so tied in with a fantastic leader or a great team. Conversely, people flee from great companies with huge opportunities for advancement because they’d rather chew their own arm off than spend one more day with the circus that is their leadership or their team. Building a positive work environment and a high-performance company culture starts with who you are every day for your team. You set the vibe, you set the stage for how people are treated and you ensure that the people around you are valued, trusted and inspired. Every day you have to go into work being the person that your teammates hope you are, that they want you to be, that they trust to make good decisions and that they are motivated by. At the end of the day, they will work for you and for each other, not just for the company. The wise team leader always remembers that.

Motivating employees is about discovering and fulfilling core needs

Great leaders have a keen insight into what makes each of their teammates tick or come alive. 

They know what each team member is inspired by, what they pride themselves on and what they need in order to boost their motivation. Not everyone is inspired by a bigger paycheck. Some people are more inspired by the recognition, a greater work life balance, specific rewards, a heartfelt thank-you from the powers that be, or the opportunity for advancement or to move into a job that uniquely matches their talents. If we discover our teammates’ core needs, we have the key to motivating employees and inspiring them by finding a way to help them fulfill those needs.

For example, as the CEO of The Project Athena Foundation, I study every one of the people I bring on board to find the best fit for them within their organization based on who they are at their core instead of hiring them for a specific job description. The person is hired first; the job they eventually do longer term is based on their natural tendencies, passion, and interests.

The caring connectors end up working with our Survivors to coach them and facilitate their success. The entrepreneurial thinkers and natural spokespeople become our PR and marketing outreach specialists and the process-oriented work as race and event planners. I also make sure that their “bonuses” are customized based on specific needs and life goals of each team member. For some it’s a cash bonus, for another, a free trip to hike across the Grand Canyon with Survivors, and for another, a training package and entry fee to a triathlon.

Obviously, motivating and engaging employees in this way is much simpler in a small company, but even in a large one, you can create special awards and ways to recognize people that will make them feel that you “see” them and value their individual contributions. When people feel that they are “special” to the people they respect and love, there is no stopping them on their mission!