5 Simple Ways Leaders Can Motivate Their Teams

The bad news: leading can be hard. The good news: most of us don't want to be bad leaders. The reality: there are a lot of bad leaders.

So how can we lead well while at the same time motivating people to do their best? Nobody wants to follow a passive leader or a dictator, but people do want to follow good leaders. And being a good leader often isn't about knowing how to be one, but being willing to be one. So in this post, I want to share five simple ways any leader can motivate their teams (whether or not you do it is up to you!).

1) Ask for their feedback (and implement it)

When people feel valued, they work hard. An easy way to make people feel valued is to seek their input. But you can't stop there. If people don't feel heard, they'll stop talking.

We all know that no one person knows everything, but many leaders lead like they are the exception to that rule. When people feel like they are contributing (and they will only feel that way if they actually are), they'll be much more motivated to see any of your organization's goals through. Good leaders rely on the experiences and opinions of others and implement the feedback they are given.

This is even more crucial in areas where they key leader is less familiar or experienced in. Not only is it detrimental to your team not to take their advice, but everyone can see when a leader is making their own decisions on things others know much more about.

2) Don't make all of the decisions for them

I'll admit, this can sometimes be frustrating for those seeking a decision from someone leading them. But to me, it's worth the frustration for the people you lead to know you trust them to make the right decision.

Certainly, we should give help, give input, and advise when asked, but we shouldn't always solve the problem. That won't train your people to learn to problem solve themselves, and it will also train them to always come to you for all the "big" decisions.

I would rather be accused of being to hands off than too controlling any day. In my experience, the more people know you trust and believe in them, the more motivated they will be to do the best they can.

3) Let them make a decision you wouldn't make

This may be the most difficult thing a leader can do, but a good leader will do it. I'm not saying we allow decisions we know will hurt the organization or other people involved; there are certainly times when we should step in.

However, there are also many times when there are multiple good options, and even if you know the best one (because sometimes this does happen), letting a decision be made that you wouldn't make goes a long way in establishing confidence and trust with those you lead. I know it can be hard, but it is worth it.

Sometimes it turns out you were wrong after all which is great. Sometimes the decision you would have initially made eventually is made after the original one didn't work out. I have had both of these scenarios happen many times. But when those you lead know they have the autonomy and freedom to make decisions over things they have been given the responsibility over, they will grow as leaders. And the better and more developed leaders an organization has, the better that organization will be.

4) Always explain the "why"

I have found that many people will get behind a decision, even if they don't fully agree with it, if they simply know why a certain decision is being made.

So often we spend a lot of time thinking through a certain decision (maybe weeks or months), then share that decision and get defensive when people who just heard about the decision have a lot of questions. When really, everyone who just learned about this decision have as many questions as you did in the beginning.

We often tell people what a decision is or how we will implement it, and spend so little time explaining why. If we explain the why behind it and allow people to ask questions, that is when you'll see the most amount of buy in.

Again, even if some disagree, when people see the thought and consideration that goes into a decision, they will at least know it was carefully considered. When people know why something is being done, they will be much more motivated to make it happen.

5) Genuinely care about their success and put their personal dreams and desires before your organization's

You can't fake this. People know if you care about them and want good for them and want them to be more successful than the organization. As leaders, this can be hard because we want our best people to stay forever.

Ironically, it is when we put their success and desires before our own that people are most motivated to do their best. Yes this may mean you will lose some great people as they pursue things that lead them out of your organization, but creating a culture where people know they matter will translate into your organization recruiting the best people.

I have a lot of flaws as a leader, but I could not be more passionate about this point. For me personally, I care more about the long term success and health of our people than I do about what I think is "best" for New City Church. I trust that God will take care of his church if I do my best to support our people.

Yes, this can be hard. It can be hard knowing some of your best people may leave. But the best leaders (and the most motivational leaders), always desire the leaders the develop success be greater than their own.