"Help! My team is lacking motivation - What do I do?"

It might not be your fault, but it's your problem

Good morrrrrning, happy Tuesday,

If you’re just coming back from a long weekend off work I hope you’re feeling super fresh and ready to smash the week ahead.

I’m writing to you today sitting in a hotel room in sunny Sri Lanka, and it’s my last week away before heading home after SIX WHOLE MONTHS of travelling the world. Eek.

We left on Oct 7th 2023, and on Friday I’ll catch a direct 12-hour flight to Heathrow followed by a train up North.

I’m 50% gutted it’s all ending as it has been the most extraordinary, special and fulfilling experience of my entire life. But the other 50% of me is excited to get home, I can’t wait to hug my parents, catch up with my besties, and get my own cosy bed back.

But I’ll catch you up with everything next week, including a full India/Sri Lanka vlog on YouTube so you can see all the fun behind-the-scenes stuff.

But for now, let’s get into this week’s question, sent through in my DMs on Instagram:

"Help! My team is lacking motivation - What do I do?"

Firstly, don’t panic and convince yourself you’re the worst boss in the world and that you’re not cut out for the job. This is a super common and totally manageable challenge that every single leader will face at some point.

We must get your mindset right first…

If your team are currently de-motivated - you have 2 choices:

1. Blame others
   Maybe there’s been lots of change in the business recently so that’s why they’re unhappy. Or you can’t give people a pay rise and that would solve the problems, or maybe there is not enough resources so everyone is stressed?
   They’re all valid reasons and it’s the business’ fault (not yours) so when the team ask, just keep blaming the company.

2. Take accountability

   Change? Have you pushed back on your seniors and stood up for your team?
   Payrise? If you can’t increase the money, have you looked for an opportunity to increase their skills/training instead?
   Resource? When was the last time you did a full roles and responsibilities audit across the entire team, figuring out who’s strengths aligned with what work? And removing the bits that aren’t important, to ensure time is being used properly?

See what I’m getting at? Whatever you’re currently blaming the lack of motivation on, you need to take accountability for it. It might not be your fault, but it is your problem.

And the only way a problem can be truly fixed is if we stop trying to shift blame, we bring the matter back into our own hands, and figure out what is within our control to get it back on track.

‘Motivation’

To figure out how to motivate your team, we need to understand what it truly means.

At the root of the word motivation is motive. Motion, movement, moving forward.

• Motivation (v.), means "to stimulate toward action"

• Motive (a.) Related to motion: For instance, motive energy refers to energy associated with movement.

• Motive (a.) Causing or able to cause motion: An action can be motive if it leads to movement or change.

For our team to feel motivated, they need hard evidence of motive or forward motion in their work.

If my team weren’t motivated right now, here’s the 3 steps I’d run through to get them feeling that forward motion again:

1. Listen (properly)
   This is step one of almost every single people problem you will ever encounter in your team. Ask them directly and openly, how they feel and what is going on. But most importantly - you need to make sure you properly hear them.
   Take notes, ask questions then ask some more. Don’t just listen to respond, truly listen, be quiet. Don’t leave that room without a deep understanding of their biggest concerns. Then take them away.

2. Where’s the motive? Where’s the moving forward?
   The ONLY way your team can be truly motivated at work is if they are moving forward in some way.
   That might be their salary, their job title, their skills, something. But they must be moving forward. If someone (or the whole team) are completely lacking forward motion, I would be asking myself:
   - When was the last time they learned something new?
   - When did they last improve certain processes?
   - Have they been upskilled recently?
   - Has their pay increased in line with their value?

3. Act

   It's time to translate everything you’ve learnt in step one and two into tangible support.
   This could mean advocating for additional training budget from higher-ups or reshuffling job roles to inject excitement into certain tasks.
   While these discussions with superiors may feel daunting, they are opportunities for you to demonstrate true leadership. Embracing discomfort for the betterment of your team showcases your commitment to their growth.

   Remember, actions speak volumes.
   Show them that you're a reliable leader who actively pushes for their development.

Motivation isn't something that can be forced with false praise and pats on the back.

It's a delicate balance of difficult conversations, recognition, and meaningful work. By implementing these 3 steps, you'll be well on your way to re-energising your team and achieving success together.

You got this.

What question would you like me to break down next week?

P.S. This summer in the UK, I’ll be running a series of community events this Summer and I’d love you to be there - Get yourself on the waitlist to be first to hear about the details

P.P.S I’m looking for a company to sponsor the events, to get your name in front of 1000s of wonderful leaders through the power of event socials sharing online - Just reply to this email if your company might be interested, and I’ll send you the sponsorship info over!