It’s a topic that comes up a lot in the training room with managers wanting to know the magic formula for being able to motivate their staff. It’s fascinating that the ability to motivate is often viewed as a ‘silver bullet’ or a ‘one size fits all’ approach. If I had the magic formula for being able to motivate staff with the simple wave of a wand, I would be incredibly rich! But the reality is, there is no simple answer, but I do know what managers tend to do wrong and what the potential solutions are:

Mistake #1: Managers tend to motivate others, the way they like to be motivated.

Sounds obvious and simple right? Wrong! Most of us are incredibly blinked by the way we view the world, and we think everyone experiences and sees the world as the way we see it. The same goes for motivation. Managers often fail to recognise that everyone is motivated by different things, and without a clear understanding of that managers will struggle to flex their approach accordingly.

Solution #1: Take time out to get to know your staff and what makes them tick. Every individual is driven by unique factors and have different things that are important to them such as career aspirations, goals, values, and behavioural preferences. Taking time out to understand your people is time well spent.

Mistake #2 Lack of integrity and trust 

I see a lot of managers who say they are ‘open, honest, fair, consistent, transparent, make time for their staff, etc’ but their behaviour is the exact opposite.  This essentially sends the message that they either lack integrity, lack self-awareness or worse they don’t care about their staff. This in turn could lead to a lack of respect and trust all round, a toxic mix for eroding culture.

Solution #2 Spend some time exploring your behaviours more accurately as a manager through self-reflection and getting feedback from others. A great leader is one who truly understands their strengths and areas for development and will own up to areas they need to work on and is good at developing their own authentic style. This will have a positive impact on others around you and the team are much more forgiving if they see elements on integrity happening, as in ‘do what you say you are going to do’.

Mistake #3 Limited communication and feedback 

Effective communication is fundamental for motivation. When managers fail to provide regular feedback, recognition, or clear expectations, employees may feel disengaged and demotivated. Moreover, a lack of open communication channels can hinder employees from expressing their concerns or seeking guidance, leading to a disconnect between management and staff.

Solution #3 Its worth assessing how effective your communication is across your team and reflecting on the strength of the feedback culture. Also think about how effectively you delegate tasks to the team and the clarity with which you give direction. Feedback to your team really will help improve performance so it’s important to ensure it is given regularly and in a timely manner.

Mistake #4 Inadequate reward and recognition 

Recognition is a powerful motivator that reinforces positive behavior and encourages employees to strive for excellence. However, many managers overlook the importance of implementing robust recognition and reward systems. Without timely acknowledgment of accomplishments and contributions, employees may feel undervalued and disengaged.

Solution #4 From a simple thank you with positive reinforcement to a more robust reward and recognition system, a little can go a long way with your team. It’s worth reflecting on the reward and recognition systems you have in place (if any) are they working? If not, why are they not working and how can you find out?

Mistake #5 Micromanagement 

This is incredibly toxic demotivator and can be detrimental to employee motivation as it undermines trust, stifles creativity, and fosters a universal sense of dependency on you which can be overwhelming. Managers who struggle to delegate tasks or grant autonomy to their staff risk demotivating employees who crave autonomy and opportunities for growth.

Solution #5 Commitment to developing your own self-awareness is fundamental here. I hear a lot of managers say, ‘I don’t micromanage’ and when you analyse their behaviour the opposite is happening. Only you can understand the impact you have on your staff and team by committing to self-reflection and getting feedback. You also need to work on developing your management style, and exploring who are your more capable team members that you can empower more, to ensure you are not stifling their growth.

Mistake #6 Unresolved issues not dealt with

We’ve probably all heard of the term ‘elephant in the room’. Many managers are afraid of addressing issues for many reasons, one of them being fear of conflict. We may talk ourselves into the fact things may get better in time. The reality is the opposite can be true and any niggling irritations or fundamental issues will only get worse if they are not dealt with or resolved.

Solution #6 Whatever your reason for talking yourself out of addressing unresolved issues, the reality is, it won’t get better until you tackle it. Take time to work through what the issue is, how you will address the conversation, how you will deal with the emotion in the situation, and what you want the outcome of the conversation to be. It can also be an opportunity to reset the relationship and draw a line under past issues.

Mistake #7 One style of management

Managers can often manage people the way they like to be managed and this is a fundamental mistake. This may work for some people but not for others. Managers are then often confused as to why their management style isn’t working for everyone and can be quick to write people off.

Solution #7 Self-awareness of your management style is fundamental here, and you need to invest time in more accurately understanding yourself. Once you understand yourself, you can then start to work understand others and more importantly how to flex your management style to get the best out of your team. Explore with your team members, what makes them tick? How do they like to be managed? What style works for them? Combine that knowledge with understanding their level of competence and their behavioural/ communication preferences then you can figure out how you might flex yourself accordingly. And as you flex your style ask for feedback and evaluate the impact of this with your direct reports.

Mistake #8 Lack of role modelling

Whether managers like it or not, staff will always look either consciously or unconsciously how to behave within a team. If you are demotivated, negative, hypocritical, inconsistent in your behaviour and lacking in integrity, this will very quickly erode trust and breed negativity and cynicism within your team.

Solution #8 Be honest with yourself about the impact of your behaviour on others. Are you aware of your behaviour? Do you consider what it is like to work with you, be managed by you? Are you aware of your language, tone of voice, body language and energy you bring every day at work? It’s worth spending time to get an accurate understanding of your behaviour on others. Then you can figure out the type of role model you want to be.

Mistake #9 Poor working cultures and morale.

A toxic work culture characterized by negativity, conflict, or favouritism can severely impact employee motivation. Managers play a crucial role in fostering a positive work environment where mutual respect, collaboration, and inclusivity thrive. When employees feel valued, respected, and supported, they are more likely to be motivated and engaged in their work.

Solutions #9 If there is a toxic work culture in your team, try and find out the root cause of it. Consider how you might find this out and make staff feel psychologically safe that they can tell you the reasons why this is happening and be open to feedback for you too. There may be much outside of your control here in terms of wider organisational issues but work with what’s within your control and seek to collaborate with your team to explore and develop a healthier team culture.

At Practical Training Solutions we are passionate about development, and we know motivation is a huge topic to unpick. Get in touch with us today as we’d be delighted to have a chat about your learning needs for your leaders, managers and aspiring leaders of the future. Please either click on the book a call button or email us at: enquiries@practicaltrainingsolutions.co.uk

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