A good leader and entrepreneur build a harmonious relationship among his or her peers. Be a good entrepreneur. Encourage and inspire your employees, and yourself too!
A successful business or team is built through trust and the combined effort of everyone involved. As a business owner and leader, you cannot expect your teammates and/or employees to just follow you blindly. Especially today, you must learn how to win people’s trust and cooperation. You can do this by successfully inspiring and motivating them.
Here are some effective ways you can inspire and motivate your peers.
6 Ways to Encourage and Inspire Others
1. Start with yourself
Set an example. Walk the talk. As the leader, the boss, people look up to you more than you’re aware of. They keep a close eye and ear on what you do and say.
Based on their observations, they then determine how they act around you. Some may even go as far as mirroring how you act. So set a good example for your people. Be someone worth their admiration and inspiration.
Tip: Look for people, stories, dreams or places that you find inspiring and motivating. Read and learn from inspiring stories of fellow leaders and entrepreneurs. Follow motivational speakers and mentors. Be inspired and motivated yourself.
2. Appeal to people’s values
You and your employees are connected in more ways than one. One common connection is human values. If you find that connection, make sure you make utilize it. That can help set a common ground and build a mutually understanding relationship.
It’s also a way for you to know your people more deeply. It goes beyond the personal level since you’re trying to understand their core values. If you can appeal your efforts and work on their values, it may be subtle, but there would definitely be a change – more motivation at work, a better relationship, etc.
Tip: Have deep conversations every once in a while. Knowing their motto in life can help too! It may sound cliche but it does help you understand them better.
3. Acknowledge your people
A simple “thank you for your hard work” means a lot to your employees. Through an email, in a meeting, over a cup of coffee during break time or whenever you can, let your employees know that you appreciate their effort.
Something as simple as a “thank you” or “good job” can brighten up one’s day and that will reflect on how they go through the day, the week or even longer. Don’t take your people for granted. They are your assets and you should make them feel like it.
Tip: Organize a monthly “Top Performer” and/or “Most Improved” award. The best way to let your people know you acknowledge their effort is by recognizing and rewarding them.
4. Show your support
Hard times can pop out of nowhere. You must be there to support your people and encourage them as they fight their way through the hardships. That motivates your employees to do their best and overcome the obstacles. Isn’t it nice to know there’s someone who has your back as you go through tough times?
Tip: Having a downtime? Meet up for a stand-up meeting to take a breather. Brainstorm ideas on how you can resolve the issues they’re facing. That way they won’t feel alone.
5. Challenge them
A good challenge every once in a while can get your team pumped. Raise the bar bit by bit. Don’t bombard them with heavy challenges every day though. That will be counterproductive. You wouldn’t want them stressed out every workday. Give them enough room to breathe or else you might see them running away.
Set expectations. People have the tendency to rise to or above expectations set for them by people they look up to. Determine the skills and strengths of your employees and believe in them. Let them know about your expectations. Assure them that you have faith that they can accomplish what you give them.
Tip: Set up a monthly target which you can take up a notch after some period of time. Make them reach a concrete goal.
6. Practice good communication
Effective communication is an important factor in inspiring and motivating others. A good communication is a two-way process – listening and talking. There are two ways people usually listen – listening to understand and listening to be understood. People who do the latter only listen for the act of it. They only listen to the bits they find favorable.
Tip: You should always listen to understand. This is how you become mindful of what you say and how you talk. It shapes how people perceive you.
Tip #2: Speak up. Your people need to know your thoughts and where you stand. You know those horrible bosses who expect their employees to read minds.
Perfection is an overrated fallacy. To be a successful leader, you don't need to be perfect. You have to be effective. An effective leader can build an equally effective team. Inspiration and motivation play a big role in cultivating your people and team.
Try the suggested ways and tips above. Mix them up if you need to. See what works for you. Then continue to inspire and motivate others and yourself! Check out my blog for more inspirational and motivational articles.
I’m a 7-figure business startup consultant, best-selling author of “The Wealthy State of Mind,” and international motivational speaker, with a passion for helping entrepreneurs achieve success in business. Using the methods I’ve developed from helping businesses achieve success over the past 10 years, the Entrepreneur Academy was born. Inside, entrepreneurs are taught the fundamentals of building a successful and profitable business based on real-world tactics that are responsible for generating millions of dollars in business profits.
