How to Motivate Others

Community Manager — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 12:14:00 GMT

Celebrity journalist Katie Couric's latest project is a book of collected wisdom from fellow celebrities the world-over. In the Best Advice I Ever Got, Couric offers wisdom from personalities as diverse as New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, "Eighty percent of success is showing up...early," to comedian Jimmy Kimmel, "when in doubt, order the hamburger."

Couric says her book is meant to inspire readers, to help them find "passion" in what they do. Couric is on to something. Motivating others to achieve peak performance not only feels good, it produces good work. Looking for ways to enhance productivity by motivating your team? Two excellent articles, Managing and Motivating Employees in their Twenties and Making Sure Your Employees Succeed offer concrete advice on moving employees from zero to 60.

Highlights include useful dos and don'ts such as:

Do:

Connect individuals' goals to broader organization objectives
Show employees that you are a partner in achieving their goals
Learn about and incorporate employees' personal interests into their professional goals

Don't:

Allow employees to set goals alone
Take a hands-off approach to high performers - they need input and feedback to meet their goals as well
Ignore failures - be sure people have the opportunity to learn when they don't achieve goals

How do you motivate direct reports? Have you benefited from any motivational techniques? Share your thoughts here and at the Pendaflex Facebook page.

Beyond Folders : motivation, communication

How to Motivate Others