Set clear and ambitious goalsIf your employees don't understand what they need to achieve, they will burn out quickly. Imagine you're running a marathon and the finish line isn't marked - when will you stop running? Certainly not after 42 kilometres.
What to do:
- Formulate the goal clearly: ‘increase sales by 20% in 3 months’ instead of ‘improve performance’.
- Break the big goal into smaller milestones - short distance victories fuels motivation.
- Periodically remind the team why they do what they do. People want to feel the meaning of their work.
Maintain a culture of recognition and appreciationUnderestimating a team's efforts is a sure way to lose morale. If people don't feel that their hard work is being recognised, they will start doing the bare minimum or leave for a place where they are appreciated.
How to proceed:
- Praise for specific accomplishments: ‘You coolly closed a project on time despite a force majeure.’
- Publicly celebrate successes in meetings or work chats.
- Give thanks for even small victories - sometimes a simple ‘thank you’ can give a person a positive boost for the day.
Be a leader, not just a managerThe team copies the energy of the leader. If you yourself burn out or show indifference, don't expect people to give their best.
What you need:
- Set an example: be involved, keep promises, work for results.
- Support the team in difficult moments, don't leave people alone with problems.