Management forums are full of leaders struggling with unmotivated employees. Most of us can relate, spending too many hours working with employees who are going through the motions.

The best way to avoid this pain is to never let your team get unmotivated in the first place. There’s no guarantee you can execute a turnaround from unmotivated to motivated. Sustaining healthy levels of motivation and inspiration in your team is a) easier and b) leads to a better culture and environment, for you and for them.

Reenforce that their work is meaningful

Motivation needs direction. People need to be directed towards something. Does your team do work that’s important? Why does their job matter? Why does being good at their job matter? Take the time to connect your group to the larger meaning behind their work. “You’re part of something great! You’re helping to build/produce/solve something that has real meaning in the world.”

Use department meetings to show the results of the team’s work. Show metrics, give specific examples. If the work is important, then it’s worth highlighting the results. If you don’t pause to review performance, then you run the risk of unintentionally messaging “it doesn’t matter”.

Check-in with your team about their level of satisfaction/frustration

Have regular sit downs with your employees to check-in. Frequency will vary based on your department size and specific situation, but it should be consistent and a “norm”. You need time with your employees to assess two key factors: a) “how are you doing?” and b) “what’s the toughest part of your job right now?” There are obviously plenty of other things you can (and should) do with this time, but specific to motivation, you need to give them a chance to air any frustrations. A minor frustration today could turn into a major problem tomorrow if it isn’t addressed. One on one time is also a perfect time to individually reinforce that the employee is doing meaningful work.

Address de-motivators

Pay cuts, layoffs, soul-sucking work – all of these risk taking the fight out of your team and making them vulnerable to “is this really worth the headache” syndrome. Your job is to shield your team from these insidious de-motivators by addressing them proactively and minimizing the impact they have on your team.

Your team can’t advocate for themselves within the company. That’s your job. You need to make sure that compensation is adequate, they’re insulated from organizational drama, and that the work your department is doing is impactful to the rest of the organization. There’s no guarantee you’ll be able to protect them from every problem, but shielding as much as you can will make a difference.

Lastly, before you hyper-focus on the attitudes or motivations of your team, do a self-check. Are you feeling motivated? Do you feel like you’ve got a natural drive to do the work that’s in front of you? Attitudes are infectious. If you’ve been faking it more than usual, your employees will be able to tell. Make sure that your head is on straight before you worry too much about your employees.

Start with one of the habits above. Let me know how it works for you. Message me on Twitter or email me. Seeing results? Consider sharing this post with someone who could benefit. Good luck out there.

-Patrick

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