Being boss doesn’t mean you get to demand results – it means creating the conditions for those results to be achieved. If you’re running your own business and are responsible for a team, you’ve probably cast a judgmental eye over some of the trendy quirks and gimmicks that your contemporaries in some of the better-known start-ups have applied to their workspaces. Yet, these environments became famous because the businesses are successful. The management at Google, Vimeo et al. recognize that staff motivation is a complex beast. No matter how devoted your employees might be, there are certain mental and physical limits that affect us all.
At this time of year, when serotonin is scarce, it’s more important than ever to ensure that your team’s work environment is conducive to sustained motivation. Perhaps you already have some reward system in place for when projects are completed, but have you considered the idea of daily rewards – before work is begun? A morning morale-booster, be it a box of donuts, a shared video or song can actually provide a dopamine hit for your staff, so that they plunge into work all the more motivated.
When you’re done with the donut solution, you can also attack from the other direction: exercise! If you have team members who like to hit the gym in the morning, do what you can to facilitate it: allow them a bit of extra time to get to work, or even consider making a deal with the local gym to get memberships as a job perk. It’s not because you want a team of buff jocks, but because exercise in the morning can actually improve motivation to work. As long as they don’t overdo things, getting the blood pumping is a good idea. This is also why you should ensure your team have regular breaks, and do what you can to help them be active on these breaks. We’re back in quirky work environment territory here: think about making a small, private space for quick bursts of activity, for example with a ping-pong table or exercise bikes.
Getting results from your team requires the use of your imagination, but it also requires engaging with the basics of how we work as human beings. Check out this infographic which covers some great motivation tricks for individuals – they’ll work for you, and with some of that innovative thinking that got you where you are today, you can use them to motivate the whole office.
John Cole is a digital nomad and freelance writer. Specialising in leadership, digital media and personal growth, his passions include world cinema and biscuits. A native Englishman, he is always on the move, but can most commonly be spotted in Norway, the UK and the Balkans.
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