motivate and engage your team

Motivate and Engage Your TeamStart with Inspiration

Lead With Purpose

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Motivate and Engage Your TeamModule 1: Start with Inspiration

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START WITH INSPIRATION

I think we can all agree, when you have a motivated and engaged team, not only does it improve

results, but it also makes work more enjoyable for everyone.

Did you know an engaged employee is more than twice as likely to stay late at work if something

needs to be done, help someone even if they’re not asked, and do something good for the

company, even if it’s not expected? Yet, sadly only 27% of Canadian employees are highly

engaged.

It seems that today more than ever, it’s harder for leaders to keep their teams motivated and

engaged. Many of us are working in a VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous)

environment. Change is constant. People are continually being asked to do more with less and

there are fewer results to celebrate.

As a leader, this puts even more pressure on you. So, how can you continue to keep your team

motivated and engaged in today’s business climate?

START WITH WHY

Great leaders inspire others and people choose to follow them, not because they have to, but

because they want to. According to Simon Sinek, leaders who start with why inspire those around

them.

WHY do you do what you do? What’s the purpose?

HOW do you do WHAT you do?

WHAT do you do?

Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle GREAT READ

1Employee Engagement Benchmark Study 2013, Temkin Group 2Employee Engagement: Leveraging the Science to Inspire Great Performance, The Conference Board of Canada, 2016

https://www.startwithwhy.com/


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WHAT IS YOUR WHY?

Consider how these “why” statements inspired the leaders and their organizations:

“To have fun in [my] journey through life and learn from [my] mistakes.” - Richard Branson

“To make a contribution to the world by making tools for the mind that advance humankind.” – Apple,

Steve Jobs

Take a moment to consider, why did you want to be a leader?

What is the legacy you want to leave? (The best way to think about this is to write down the highlights you

want to hear from guests at your retirement party).


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As you consider your role as a leader, reflect on these words from Benjamin Zander, conductor of

the Boston Philharmonic and a world-renowned leadership speaker.

Now, I had an amazing experience. I was 45 years old, I’d been conducting for 20 years, and I

suddenly had a realization. The conductor of an orchestra doesn’t make a sound. My picture

appears on the front of the CD, but the conductor doesn’t make a sound. He depends, for his

power, on his ability to make other people powerful. And that changed everything for me. It was

totally life changing. People in my orchestra came up to me and said, «Ben, what happened?»

That’s what happened.

I realized my job was to awaken possibility in other people. And of course, I wanted to know

whether I was doing that. And you know how you find out? You look at their eyes. If their eyes are

shining, you know you’re doing it. You could light up a village with this guy’s eyes. Right. So if the

eyes are shining, you know you’re doing it. If the eyes are not shining, you get to ask a question.

And this is the question: Who am I being, that my players’ eyes are not shining?

https://youtu.be/r9LCwI5iErE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9LCwI5iErE&t=14s


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WHAT IS YOUR TEAM’S PURPOSEJust as it is helpful for you to understand your own why, it is helpful for your team to understand

theirs. A well-defined team purpose engages team members by clarifying what’s important and

where to focus. It’s also a great way to build cohesion and ensure everyone is committed to the

same outcomes.

A team purpose serves as source of inspiration because it provides employees with a bigger

reason for doing their job – not necessarily defining what they do, but why they do it.

We make sure every one of our employees gets home safely. – Health and Safety team

Ensure all equipment is in good working order so employees can perform their work in

ways that are efficient, effective and safe. – Maintenance team

We provide strategic leadership that builds organizational capability and trust to enable

and inspire our teams to win. – Organizational Development Team

We’re here to put a dent in the universe. Otherwise why else even be here? – Steve Jobs

Here are a few examples ranging from highly aspirational to more familiar and focused:

DOES A TEAM PURPOSE WORK?

If not, consider what were the implications for the team?

The truth is that many teams create a team purpose, but never find a way to keep it alive. Finding

purpose and meaning is becoming more important to the next generation of leaders. So, it’s

important to figure this out.

Have you been part of a team that had a well-defined purpose? How did it help you and the team? What value did it add?


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What ideas do you have to be the champion of your team’s purpose? Do you discuss your team purpose regularly? What can you do to help team members connect their work to your larger team purpose?

Your team’s purpose should create a “pull” by inspiring passion and excitement around shared

goals and values. By engaging the team in the process of defining their purpose, motivation to

achieve will more easily follow. In Module 2, we’ll take a look at the conditions that help create a

climate of motivation.

CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE NOW COMPLETED MODULE ONE OF

MOTIVATE AND ENGAGE YOUR TEAM

Motivate and Engage Your Team

Create a Climate for Motivation

Lead With Purpose

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Motivate and Engage Your TeamModule 2: Create a Climate for Motivation

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When you are in a role that hits all three – you’ve found

your sweet spot!

Effective leaders create a climate in which people can do

things that have meaning (purpose), have the freedom

to make decisions based on what they believe should be

done (autonomy), and have the opportunity to enhance

their skills and gain confidence in their abilities (mastery).

CREATE A CLIMATE FOR MOTIVATION

Sweet Spot

What is the biggest motivator? Money, money, money. That’s what most people think, but we

have good news. In his book, Drive: The Truth About What Really Motivates Us, author Daniel

Pink challenges us with the view that extrinsic rewards do not motivate people. (This is good

news in today’s cost-conscious environment!)

Acording to Pink, there are three things that motivate

people: autonomy, mastery and purpose. Autonomy

Purpose Mas

tery

EXPLORE DRIVE BY DAN PINK

Check out this great

animated video that

covers all the major

points in 10 minutes.

or watch his longer

TEDTalk.

http://www.danpink.com/books/drive/

https://youtu.be/u6XAPnuFjJc

https://youtu.be/LFlvor6ZHdY


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WHAT ABOUT RECOGNITION AND CELEBRATION?

What have you recently celebrated with your team? In our non-stop work, we are quick to focus

on the next task and rarely pause to reflect on our achievements.

Celebrating individual and team wins is a great opportunity to inspire your

team to even greater success in the future.

While external rewards don’t motivate, people still want to be recognized.

And more good news - it doesn’t have to be a monetary reward!

Employees consistently find their most meaningful recognitions are

personal.

“Celebrate what you want to see more of.” - Tom Peters

Consider the message you send to your team when you recognize their contributions. And

more importantly, what messages do you send when you don’t make time to recognize them?

Celebrations build and maintain the social support and team spirit we need to thrive in stressful

times.

HOW CAN YOU FOSTER A CLIMATE OF MOTIVATION, ACHIEVEMENT AND RECOGNITION?

For each member of your team, consider what you can do to provide more opportunities for

autonomy and mastery. Then identify personalized ways you can recognize them.

DALE CARNEGIE

People work for

money, but go

the extra mile for

praise, recognition

and rewards

Name Autonomy Mastery Recognition

.TIP: Mastery isn’t always about formal training. Remember, the workplace, supported by great coaching is your everyday classroom!


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HOW CAN YOU CELEBRATE AS A TEAM?

How can you celebrate team victories (not just results) in new and different ways? How can you

build recognition and team celebrations into your schedule so that they happen with regular

frequency?

Here are some ideas to get you started:

• During meetings open the floor for team members to provide each other with “kudos” for

the contributions they are making

• Start off your meetings by asking everyone to share one positive thing (personally and

professionally) that happened to them the week before

• Provide recognition to team members for living out the team’s purpose and/or

organization’s values

• Have Senior Leaders stop in at the first meeting of a special project team and express his or

her appreciation of the members’ involvement

• Have members of the team create awards for each other. Invest in team mementos and

symbols of a team’s work together, such as T shirts, coffee cups or even candy.

• Send letters or emails to every team member at the conclusion of a project, thanking them

for their contributions. Consider thanking the team members’ families, as well, if the team

effort was significant.

What ideas can you add to the list?


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You can’t make people be motivated or engaged, but you can create a climate that encourages

it. And without financial resources, you can still recognize your team and celebrate wins. Even in

challenging times, great leaders find ways to inspire and motivate their teams.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE NOW COMPLETED MODULE TWO OF

MOTIVATE AND ENGAGE YOUR TEAM

Know Yourself

Motivate and Engage Your Team

Keep your Team Engaged

Lead With Purpose

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Motivate and Engage Your TeamModule 3: Keep your Team Engaged

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KEEP YOUR TEAM ENGAGED

We used the term VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous) to describe today’s

business climate. Did you know this term originated in the U.S. military? It was created to describe

battlefields and it is now being used to describe our business world.

Many employees feel like they are going to battle every day and too often work is draining, rather

than revitalizing. It’s one thing to create a climate for motivation, achievement, and recognition and

another to ensure you maintain that environment in a VUCA world.

HOW IS YOUR TEAM FEELING?

What is your team’s level of engagement today? Mark their position on the scale.

WHAT FORCES ARE IMPACTING YOUR TEAM?

Reflect on what is influencing your team’s level of engagement and motivation. What positive

forces are increasing motivation and what negative forces are causing it to decline?

WINS What is increasing motivation and engagement

CHALLENGES What is decreasing motivation and engagement

Rust Out Wait & See Overwhelmed BurnoutENGAGED

Reflection: It may be helpful to consider where individual team members are on the scale, as well as yourself.


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FLYING THROUGH TURBULENCELiving in a VUCA world can set people on edge. We all crave certainty. There are many factors that

impact your team’s engagement – it’s important to distinguish those within your control from those

that are not.

How can you create stability and build trust on your team? Look back at the list of forces impacting

your team and identify those that are within your control to address. What ideas does this spark?

What 3 actions can you take to improve motivation and engagement?

1. __________________________________________________________________

2. __________________________________________________________________

3. __________________________________________________________________

HINT: In the midst of all the pressure and chaos, it’s easy to lose sight of the basics

and stop doing the essential things that keep your team engaged: regular team and

1:1 meetings, recognizing people for their efforts, and making emotional connections.

Consider how your team feels when you don’t make time for regular communication and

what impact that has on their engagement and motivation.

PICKING YOURSELF UP

Your role as a leader is to champion and cheerlead the team, but what if you are feeling a little

deflated yourself?

Do you believe that as a leader you need to rise above it all and convey to the team that you can

handle anything? Or do you feel it’s more important to be authentic and let the team know “I am

here with you”? (Hint: There is no right approach).

What is important to remember is that you have to put on your own “oxygen mask” before

attending to the needs of others.


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Reflect on where you placed yourself on the engagement scale. What are some of the important things

you do to ensure you’re not feeling burnt out or rusting out in the workplace?

What is one commitment you can make to help yourself “return to center”?

We are all working hard and we may still not be getting the desired results. Business is tough and

your role is challenging because there are more and more demands on you to be a great leader.

It’s harder than ever to keep teams motivated and engaged. It’s important to ensure that you are

finding ways to recharge your own batteries and seeking opportunities to inspire, motivate and

engage your team. Even in today’s VUCA world, you can have a powerful and meaningful impact

on people and play an important role in ensuring their “eyes are still shining”!

CLOSING THOUGHTS

CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE NOW COMPLETED MOTIVATE AND ENGAGE YOUR TEAM

motivate and engage your team

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