How to inspire and motivate employees. How to inspire people to succeed? Advice from professionals

We all know that praise inspires people to achieve success. And before inspiring people, choose the right tactics.

How to learn to inspire people to success

Let's tell you a little story: one day, our friend came to visit us, and at the moment when the friend entered the room, the daughter quickly put all her toys in their places, my friend said just a few words:

“What a well-mannered daughter you have, she immediately puts everything back in its place after she’s played.” And she added that there are very few such well-mannered and smart girls.

These words were enough for the little girl; it was not much, but sincere praise did the trick. After all, after that, every evening she collected all her toys and put them in their places, although before that it was very difficult to get her to do this.

That is, the miraculous effect of praise on the face. At the same time, there are a lot of such stories, in particular in the lives of celebrities who have achieved great success.

Try to express approval at the slightest success and celebrate their every success. Try to be sincere in your assessment and generous with praise.

So how do you inspire people to succeed?

Do not skimp on praise, say everything you think about a person’s abilities (positive, of course), and this applies not only to children, but also to adults. Sometimes there are teenagers who are very difficult to get along with, and it is difficult to get such children to do anything. It is with the help of praise that you can influence such children.

Support not only with words, but also with deeds if you want to inspire people to success. After all, having taken on a serious matter, a person feels the importance of support, and at such moments kind word plus moral support can open up a second wind and, of course, lead to success.

Therefore, do not wait until they ask you for help, act yourself. Offer your help to a person close to you, feel free to express sincere admiration, and praise him for what he has already done.

And even if you think that this event will not end entirely successfully, do not rush to dissuade the person from his plan with the help of harsh phrases, especially if you do not have really serious reasons as an argument. And if this person is not going to back down from what he has planned, just help him as much as you can.

You can tell him stories like this famous people or friends who have achieved required result. Remember, with faith and support loved one you can do the impossible!

Any organization or enterprise has encountered this issue at least once in its activities. After all, the success of the entire structure as a whole directly depends on the solution of this problem. Unfortunately, there is no single means of motivation. But there are several universal rules that should be followed.

You yourself, as the head of the enterprise, must be interested and passionate about your work. Think and write down what could motivate you personally to new achievements. Only after this, from the developed personal plan, choose what would be suitable for inspiring your employees.

Awaken each employee's interest in the goals and objectives of the company by relating them to his personal aspirations. Direct participation in accomplishments and positive results are the best motivation for work.

Through a written survey, find out what motivates and inspires each employee to work individually. Information about how they see the structure of the organization and what they would like to change in it would also be useful. All this will help to create an overall picture of motivation, based on which you can subsequently choose ways to encourage employees to personal growth.

The atmosphere in the team is also a very important component. It must certainly be positive. On your part, this can be facilitated by incentives.

Pay attention to what motivates a particular employee at work: money, personal growth, or the benefit of the entire team. Each person is unique and is always guided by something of his own. One of the tasks of a leader is to find this “one of our own”. Based on the knowledge gained, give everyone what they need. On the question “how to inspire employees” individual approach simply necessary.

Remember that criticism should always be constructive. You can point out shortcomings in the work performed, but then be sure to praise and highlight positive points. It is important that this psychological technique was present on a permanent basis in the arsenal of every leader. Don't make decisions for your subordinate. It’s better to suggest the vector of development along which it would be preferable for him to move in his work.

However, even the most creative manager would benefit from the ideas of line employees. Who knows, maybe an ordinary sales manager is hatching sensational ideas, the implementation of which will create a sensation in the market. But how can we encourage an employee to share his creative ideas if the statement “Initiative is punishable” is firmly in the minds of many? How to overcome these fears and create an atmosphere in which specialists would like to voice their own proposals?

In the right place, at the right time

It is possible and even necessary to require an employee to take initiative. It is only necessary to place emphasis so that employees understand when and where it is appropriate to offer their innovative concepts.

It is no secret that there are organizations where a specialist waving a company promotion plan in front of the boss’s office is nonsense, which, to put it mildly, is not welcomed by management.
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“It is difficult to try to fix something, to make any proposals in the work of a company in which there is a clear, well-functioning mechanism of all its connecting links: management, personnel, work principles, relationships in the team. If there is no particular need for this, there is no need to take the initiative. Extra fuss will not bring any benefit to such a company,” comments Ella Mikhailova, leading consultant at the Penny Lane Personnel recruiting agency.

In addition, there are categories of specialists who are not allowed to take initiative according to their job description.
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“Not all areas of the company’s activities, in principle, involve deviations from strict procedures and sequences of actions. For example, it’s hard to imagine what kind of initiative an employee, a subway train driver, or a controller can come to the management with,” says Ekaterina Krupina, general manager of the Unique Specialists Personnel Agency.

Therefore, before demanding any rationalization proposals from an employee, it is necessary to show that this is encouraged and volunteers are not threatened with any punitive measures.
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“In order for employees to show initiative and come up with ideas, certain conditions must be created in the company. The microclimate in the team, the very spirit of the company, should be conducive to the fact that employees want to improve something and come up with ideas,” says Ekaterina Krupina.

It’s another matter when management not only creates the appropriate atmosphere and delicately hints that ideas need to be shared, but directly asks to show at least some initiative. And if such calls go unnoticed, it is necessary to take appropriate measures.

Under the pressure of fear

Initially, you need to understand why employees are afraid of initiative. Firstly, the fear of being misunderstood by management often overwhelms the desire to become an innovator. Secondly, there is the option that the implementation of the idea will be entrusted to its author, and through the use of exclusively personal resources and capabilities.

Ekaterina Krupina confirms that employees’ fears regarding taking initiative may be due to the fact that they will be entirely responsible for the execution of this project. The saying “Initiative is punishable” from Soviet times is still alive in the memory of specialists.

Vladimir Yakuba, senior at Tom Hunt, says that it happens when an employee himself does not want to take the initiative in proposing innovations: “The reasons lie, perhaps, in the lack of a creative component, in a lack of special knowledge, in disinterest and reluctance to take initiative. Many people consider themselves performers - and nothing more.”

How to overcome all these fears and inspire employees to voice suggestions and ideas?

Idea's generator
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“Management should combat such reasons by organizing educational and motivational trainings and meetings in order to apply the “carrot and stick” method within reasonable limits. You can tell the employee: “What results do you want to achieve in our company after 3-6 months? Gaining relevant experience, skills, maybe a promotion? Then work, offer ideas, take initiative in achieving the overall goals of the company!” You need to set a task for a person, use the so-called “weak?” technique: if you can overcome a certain barrier, step over yourself to some extent, begin to act actively and enthusiastically for the benefit of the company, then based on the results of your work, management will reward your efforts,” — advises Vladimir Yakuba.

Vladimir Yakuba argues that it is also possible to overcome employees’ fear of taking initiatives, for example, by announcing the worst possible result: “You should explain to your subordinate that if he fails to cope and does not implement the idea, first of all, he will not be fired. Secondly, he will gain valuable, irreplaceable experience. It is necessary to provide moral support and set the employee up to achieve high results.”

To organize the process of generating ideas by employees, HR Director of Ozon.ru Valeria Minenkova recommends using elements of PR: “For example, you can choose the most proactive and share their success stories with everyone - publish these stories on the corporate website, in a magazine, tag these people on corporate holidays, make small films and so on.”

Ella Mikhailova summarizes that it is necessary to especially note successfully completed tasks, and not to focus on failure. It is better to calmly analyze difficult moments and look for ways to solve them. The expert believes that with this approach, employees will not be afraid to take initiative.

Carrot or stick?

Let's assume that employees are convinced that offering their ideas is possible and important. And they are even ready to take on the implementation of the invented concept. What's next? Is it possible to punish an employee if he fails his own project and this, at first glance, good idea failed?
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“Under no circumstances should you punish a specialist if he has not implemented the idea in the proper form. Perhaps he is only at the beginning of his creative path, and management's overt display of dissatisfaction with its failure may create uncertainty about future projects. A demonstrative debriefing will not bring any fruit. And a personal conversation, during which one should “work on mistakes” and analyze the mistakes made in the work, will help to avoid failure in the implementation of subsequent ideas,” assures Vladimir Yakuba.

It is clear that initiators (especially successful ones) need to be somehow encouraged so that other employees strive to follow their example. If the reward is just one dry “thank you,” then even the most restless employee will soon give up on all rationalization ideas. It’s easier to work quietly and not create problems for yourself in the form of all sorts of creative ideas.

Experts agree that, no matter how you look at it, the best reward is money. Material motivation is a kind of engine of ideas.

Valeria Minenkova believes that bonuses can be awarded for the implementation of an initiative: “If the bonus is earned fairly, on terms that are understandable to all employees, why not introduce material incentives? There's only one important point: For those who have not yet received a bonus, it is important to understand what they can do to earn such a bonus. If a company provides transparent bonus conditions, this will motivate.”
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“Of course, it is necessary to encourage the initiatives of employees, even those who have not reached the realization of their plans. If some idea was put into practice and began to bear fruit, then, firstly, it is necessary to convey to all employees of the company who the author of this idea is, and secondly, the innovator must be recognized in some way financially. For example, an employee of our agency submitted for consideration an idea that the company’s management had been thinking about and nurturing for a long time, but there was not enough executor who could help technically implement it. It turned out that the employee came up with the idea at the right time, and he was ready to take on the implementation of this project - in the end he headed it,” Ekaterina Krupina gives an example.

But no one has canceled non-material motivation either. Recognition (both personal - from the manager, and public - from the team) is an excellent incentive for generating new ideas. This can also include prospects. career growth: whoever shows initiative moves up the career ladder. The most important thing is that it all works, and that the promises given to employees are not empty words.

Vladimir Yakuba believes that moral encouragement is necessary - it will make the employee feel necessary and important for the company. The attention of management helps many to assert themselves in the team. But still, according to the expert, it is the system of monetary motivation (or the possibility of promotion career ladder) in most cases, “does his good deed” is much more effective than verbal praise.

What is “learned helplessness” in business and can it be overcome by replacing it with “learned optimism”? Why is employee productivity in the workplace not very high? What prevents training participants from implementing the acquired knowledge in their work? How to ensure that corporate training brings a 100% return on investment? Why are optimists more effective? The book talks about how new tool– MQ (mental quotient) – helps with this.

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The given introductory fragment of the book Positive business. Tools of corporate positive psychology (Nadezhda Bondarenko) provided by our book partner - the company liters.

2. Positive psychology for business. How to increase employee productivity?

Not a single director is ready to pay a salary “for beautiful eyes" When an employer hires a person, he buys his skills, abilities, and potential.

How productive do you think your employees are and how optimally they use their skills and abilities?

As a result, the employer keeps his promises, but most employees do not.

It’s not because they don’t want to work, they don’t know how to do it differently. What is the reason and can this be changed? Erich Fromm said that “productivity is a person’s ability to use his strengths and realize the abilities inherent in him.” Take a pencil and write down your answer, “My employees are _____% productive.” Congratulations if you wrote 100%. You can put the book down as your employees realize 100% of their abilities and talents in the workplace.

However, there are other opinions:

Here are the results of a quick survey at a webinar for HR specialists and managers:

30%, 50%, 40%, 20%, 10%…

There were different numbers, but everyone wanted the percentage to be higher. And please note that not one wrote 100%. Although you might say that this is from the realm of science fiction...

All HR specialists in the world are struggling with how to make employees motivated, so that their eyes sparkle and they work for results.

Let's remember the definition of the concept of “human resources”.

Human resources = number of people (human resources) + human potential (competencies, experience, intelligence, ability for continuous improvement and development). (Source – wikipedia)

To what extent can these resources be revealed, and how can they be developed so that our employees are effective, productive and achieve their business goals?

Why do people only work in the zone current development, in the zone of developed habitual skills, why don’t they use their talents?

Why can’t people “leap” into the circle of their potential capabilities, into the zone of proximal development?

What are these barriers that prevent the manifestation of existing abilities?

Here's what HR professionals say in the survey "Why don't employees use their potential talents and skills?":

- No motivation.

– Low level self-esteem.

- Afraid.

- Routine and routine.

– Lack of motivation + ignorance of one’s abilities.

– Emotional burnout.

– Low salary.

– Administrative resources.

– Fear of doing something wrong.

- Lack of self-confidence.

– Influence of the leader.

– Avoidance motivation.

– It’s not clear where to go.

– Habitual passivity towards one’s own life.

– Management does not want to develop employees.

We see that these reasons can be divided into administrative barriers that are directly related to the company's management, and barriers related to the personality of the employee himself.

Almost this entire list is about internal obstacles that sit in people’s heads and give rise to negative emotions: anger, despair, irritation, disappointment. This negativity is not at all conducive to productive work.

In order to gain the upper hand over your competitors, you need lively, motivated, positive employees.

Are they really needed? Are we mistaken?

Here are the research results on how important it is for people to experience positive emotions At work.

“I want it to be good at work.”

9 out of 10 people say they are more productive when they are around positive people.

The #1 reason for changing jobs is that a person doesn’t feel valued.

A bad boss can increase your risk of heart attack by 33%.

Source – T. Rath, D. Clifton, “How full is your bucket.”

Cash rewards are a good motivator for managers in the short term. If the company is focused on long-term relationships with clients, non-material motivation tools are needed.

How to inspire employees to be productive? There are many ways. Let's talk about some of them.

In the sales department Russian division 75 managers work. To help them strive to work more productively and want to earn rewards, we have developed three non-material motivation tools. They differ in frequency, selection principles and awards.

Best article of the month

If you do everything yourself, employees will not learn how to work. Subordinates will not immediately cope with the tasks that you delegate, but without delegation you are doomed to time trouble.

We have published in this article a delegation algorithm that will help you free yourself from routine and stop working around the clock. You will learn who can and cannot be entrusted with work, how to correctly assign a task so that it is completed, and how to supervise personnel.

Corporate Oscar

The first level of non-material motivation is quarterly rewarding of several best employees.

Selection principles. At the beginning of each year, the company determines three or four areas of development that are priorities for the current year. All employees receive information about this and learn what needs to be paid more attention to. Four times a year we sum up the results and select the best from all the sellers of the Russian division - one for each declared direction. We celebrate those employees who have concluded the largest deal. For example, in 2015 the following directions were chosen:

• largest transaction with an existing client;
• largest deal with a new buyer;
• the largest transaction for the sale of IT services;
• the largest deal in the global teamwork category.

In the last paragraph we're talking about about the situation when our division cooperates with foreign offices of the company and, due to this, enters into a contract in Russia with an organization that is already a client of other divisions (in other countries).

Ceremony. All employees of this office gather for the awards ceremony, which takes place in the Moscow office of the company. Sellers from other Russian offices participate in the event via video link. The commercial director presents certificates and special prizes to the best managers - figurines reminiscent of an Oscar, only black and with our company logo. During the presentation of prizes, the emphasis is on recognition of merit.

A certificate is not enough - the prize must be such that it can be picked up. Managers usually keep both certificates and statuettes on their desks in the office. Since employees work in an open space, all colleagues see the rewards - this further encourages salespeople to increase their efforts. Managers from the regions join the meetings via video link, so we can also congratulate them immediately, and these employees receive the prize later from the hands of the commercial director or another top manager of the company. We all regularly visit regional offices and take the time to personally present the prize and congratulate the winner. As at the Oscars, during the awards ceremony the winner says short speech under camera flashes.

Dual goals: rewarding and emphasizing. Of course, the main goal is to recognize the merits of the best managers and motivate other employees. But it’s also important to remind everyone what’s most important for the company this year (for example, you need to focus on selling cloud services). Competitive spirit and rewards work better than a simple newsletter.

• Motivating sales managers: effective ways
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"Start of sales"

The second level of non-material motivation is the annual awarding of the best managers of the Russian division, Sales Kick-Off (English: “start of sales”). It is held in a solemn atmosphere in January as part of the annual conference in Moscow dedicated to the company’s strategy and goals for the next year.

Sellers and everything, everything, everything. All employees of the Russian division associated with sales come to the event: salespeople, lawyers, marketers, employees of customer service departments - about 350 people in total (of course, the company reimburses the cost of the trip for regional employees).

Nominations and awards. One winner is awarded in each category. Announced annually new list nominations, it is known in advance and is also associated with priority areas development. There are three or four nominations for the sellers themselves; lawyers or marketers have their own nominations. For example, in 2014, sellers were awarded for the following achievements:

• the biggest deal of the year;
• better teamwork;
• the largest deal concluded with a new client;
• best sales manager (by total transaction volume).

The winner is not announced immediately. The host of the ceremony comes from afar: he starts with how long this person has been working in the company, for which his colleagues value him. Such information is collected in advance from the manager’s immediate colleagues after the names of the winners are determined (in December). He gradually recognizes himself as he listens to the presenter.

The winners go on stage and receive diplomas and prizes. Sometimes these are modern gadgets, sometimes they are certificates for their purchase. All winners also receive an Oscar. Top managers of the Russian division present the statuettes. Representatives of European leadership also come to this annual event - best managers get the opportunity to communicate with them. The event also includes training on the services we offer to clients.

Club of the best of the best

At the annual conference, the winner of the next level is also announced - one from the entire Russian division. This level brings together employees from all over the world. The winner becomes a member of the international corporate club Orange President Club. Prize-winners from different countries presence of our company go on a prize tour. Winners from different departments spend a week together: share experiences, study, meet with top managers of the company and relax.

Criteria. The rules for selecting club members change slightly from year to year: they are selected based on the totality of KPI achievements. The key ones are financial: sales volume and profit that the sales manager brought to the company. But other indicators are also taken into account, such as readiness for teamwork. In order for a country's representative to enter the club this year, he must overcome a certain threshold - a minimum sales volume. It is installed at the headquarters, for each division it is different (taking into account the economic situation, products that are sold in this country).

Prize tour program. The trip lasts five days. All club members can invite one person with them (they often travel in married couples). The 2014 winner from Russia became a member of the club in January 2015, and in April went to Florence. Members of our club lived in a hotel in the city center, they were treated to walking tours, a walk along the famous Ponte Vecchio bridge, and visits to museums. A tour of Tuscan vineyards in vintage Fiat 500 cars was organized for them, with a visit to the winery and Chianti tasting. But the program is not limited to entertainment alone - the emphasis is on communication with colleagues from different countries and the exchange of experiences. Every evening, the club members shared their working methods and successes over a pleasant conversation, and the experience of the Russian employee also aroused great interest. In addition, master classes and meetings with world-famous business trainers on leadership were held for club members.

The final chord of the event was a gala dinner, which was attended by the Senior Vice President of Orange Business Services, responsible for the Europe and Russia region. The merits of each participant were noted individually and each success story was told. All winners were awarded commemorative statuettes. The opportunity to personally meet executives at a level to which managers typically do not have access is also impressive.

Motivation for long distances. Becoming a member of the club is a great honor. Next year, another employee will go on the prize tour, but the one who has already entered the club is in a special position. The rest of his colleagues look up to him and hope to “overtake” him. And he himself is forced to “keep the bar.” Such measures work well in the long term, and the specifics of our business are such that we do not need momentary breakthroughs, but stable high level sellers' efficiency.

The impressions that the winner receives during the trip are important not only for his own motivation. He always tells his colleagues about the fantastic experience he had, and highly appreciates and entertainment program, and the opportunity to learn (from business coaches and, most importantly, from colleagues from other countries). So the trip also affects the further motivation of all other employees.

Stories engage and inspire us, they make us move. Director of Communications and Consumer Research at Procter & Gamble and popular speaker Paul Smith wrote the book The Story Master. This book will teach leaders and business coaches how to tell stories that support a good relationship in a team, inspire and energize your team

Let's start with the basics. As you know, any compelling story consists of several parts, each of which requires attention.

The beginning

The plot of a story is a part of the narrative that executives often omit entirely or give little importance to. As a result, stories become confusing and uninteresting.

The plot makes it possible to understand the background of events. When done correctly, it also grabs the audience's attention, convinces them that your story is relevant to them, and creates interest in listening to the rest of the parts.

Pay attention to four important components of the plot:

1. Where and when? The place and time of action are of fundamental importance. By learning where and when an event occurred, listeners can determine whether it is true or a fabrication of the storyteller.
2. Who is the main character? Even the most inexperienced storytellers usually include some character in their stories. The most important criterion: the hero of your story must be easy to identify. This is necessary so that someone in the audience can see themselves in the main character and have the opportunity to achieve the same result: “Hey, that could have been me!”
3. What does the character want? What is he trying to achieve? What is his passion or purpose? Save the world? Beat your competitors? Win in sales? Or does he just not want to get fired?
4. Who or what is stopping you? It is an obstacle or enemy in your story. It could be the boss who cheated you out of your promotion. The role of the villain can be played by a company or another department with which you compete on performance, like in softball. This could be an inanimate object, such as the mountain the hero is trying to climb, or the copy machine that is taking revenge on him. It can also be a situation that hinders the hero. Or the routine of writing a monthly report.

Action

This is the part where you talk about what happened to your main character. The most important thing: in this part the hero fights the villain. A conflict arises. In trying to find a solution, the hero faces failure.

The ups and downs of the character's journey keep listeners on the edge of their seats.

Unlike Hollywood scripts, a corporate story doesn't need to go into too much detail. Of course, it's good to have a catalyst, a first turning point, a climax, and a final confrontation, but it's not necessary. More importantly for a leader, lessons can be learned from this.

Result

The result is the final stage of the story. In addition to telling how it all ends, you should explain what the right lesson is for listeners to learn.

There are different opinions about when to state the moral of a story. Some argue that if a story is told well, the moral is obvious and does not need to be emphasized explicitly. Additionally, by giving your listeners the opportunity to understand and discuss the main idea themselves, you allow them to draw their own conclusion. People love it.

On the other hand, there is a danger that with repeated stories the moral may be lost if the narrator himself does not point it out. Thus, a story about failure without an obvious moral can be perceived as a basic complaint without any lessons. However, a great story will not be spoiled in any case. Decide for yourself.