Positive Motivation 

In today's increasingly competitive business world, a team that is highly motivated is vital to the success of an organization. The art of motivating people begins with understanding and learning how to influence others to carry out the vision and mission of the company.  

Once you understand how to influence others, you will be much more likely to achieve the results you want more quickly and with much less effort.  

These 5 tips will guide you to achieving the best results and for tapping into the motivational forces that drive the members of your team. 

1. Ask your employees what motivates them. Research shows that individuals are motivated by many differing forces and that there is no "cookie cutter" method for inspiration and motivation.  

   By conducting surveys and face-to-face interviews with your staff, you can improve morale and help you and your company improve the quality of your processes. 
    

2. Use Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs as a starting point. Abraham Maslow believed that satisfying just the physiological and safety needs of an individual is not nearly enough to motivate achievement.  

   By using social needs (interaction with others and having friends,) esteem needs (being well regarded by others and appreciated,) and self-actualization needs (realizing individual potential, winning, and achieving,) as motivating factors, your individual team members will feel more satisfied, more ambitious, and will contribute more to the organization as a result. 
    

3. Motivate your team members outside of the workplace with sporting activities that require teamwork. Rowing teams, relay teams, soccer teams, and the like can create a sense of camaraderie, and your employees are much more likely to enjoy cooperative teamwork in the workplace as a result.  
    

4. Delegate! The ability to achieve rests largely on an employee having an enjoyable job and a large amount of responsibility. The greater the responsibility, the more an individual can feel the satisfaction of advancement in his or her career. Delegating tasks that carry responsibility can enrich the professional life of an individual, because the "onward and upward" urge to achieve is a basic human drive that most individuals share.
    

5. Recognize a motivated worker, and champion their achievements. A tidy, organized work space, a well-groomed appearance, a positive attitude, and timely task completion are sure signs of a highly motivated employee. Observe this behavior, and take the time to verbally recognize and champion him or her for this outstanding dedication to a job well done.