How to motivate your team during tough times

One of the benefits of working in a team is “Support” and this extends to being able to lift each other's spirits when times are hard. When someone within the team is facing a challenge, it is easy for such a person to fall out of place, struggle with tasks and find it difficult to maintain a positive attitude toward work. Being in a team exposes you to a period of accountability and responsibility which means that you can lend a shoulder to a team member who is unmotivated and unwilling to be active at work for several reasons. If you are a team lead, then this is an activity you must perform consistently to keep your team solid. Here are ways to go about it:

Remind them of the good days

Everyone on your team may have different preferences when it comes to motivation, however, people love to hear that they have, at a point, been excellent. The period may have succeeded in weighing them down but they need to understand that they are good at what they do and that whatever they are experiencing is not going to be for long. While they may have lost sight of the bigger picture, help them see it; revisit the times they aced a presentation, finished a project, suggested an idea that worked, and every other cool thing they have done. Reiterate their awesomeness and let them see that they are the big deal. 

Give positive feedbacks

The team is already discouraged about something; the best way to boost their morale is to throw in positive feedback for every effort they make. While you may be tempted to simply say “good job,” be explicit, for instance, you can let them know how their marketing idea worked and converted to sales. Also, it is important that you are sincere and timely with the feedback so that every team member can be available to savor the moment. 

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Provide Support Resources

Support resources could be free lunch, free ride home, or game sessions. All of these would help to reduce stress and promote the good mental health of the team members. You can also make a flexible work arrangement, order pizza, and have a slight brainstorming session over it. Try team-building activities that can get the team members out of their sulking; be sure you are offering ideas that pull them out of mental stress.

Lead with Empathy but Preach Resilience

While trying to be exceptionally kind and understanding with a team, talk to them about ways to remain focused and unshaken even in the face of challenges. Be attentive to their emotions and needs, and decide how to get them to understand that regardless of what the problem is, it is possible to bounce back.

Ask your team for ways you can help

Asking your team members for ways you can come in gives them a sense of belonging and makes it easy for them to come out of whatever is getting them worried. Tell them to share the challenges they are facing currently, and while they do, listen attentively and try not to discard their concerns. Suggest solutions to them and check if it works fine or if there is something you can include or do better. 

Model Excellence

Team members can get inspired and encouraged by what a leader does better. A culture of excellence displayed by a team lead can help team members trust and believe that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Your attitude to work and how you can pull things off even when it seems hard motivates the team and helps them see the different ways in which they can also improve their performance.