Back in the saddle Maintaining motivation for the year ahead

By Timmi Aplin-Barrett

With the Christmas break rapidly disappearing in the rear-view mirror, it’s time for everyone to sink their teeth back into work.

However, that can sometimes be difficult –especially if you and your company have been away from the office for a couple of weeks. Finding the motivation to power through those first few weeks, and months, back is vital.

Harvard Business School Professor, Teresa M. Amabile and independent researcher, writer and consultant, Steven J.Kramer suggest focussing on progress.

Their piece, “Starting the New Year with Progress” in the Harvard Business Review, says research shows fostering progress in meaningful work is the most important way to keep people highly engaged at work.

“We call this phenomenon the progress principal; it works because people want to feel that they are contributing to something that matters. The new year represents a great opportunity for managers to put the progress principal in action,” Teresa and Steven say. However, this is something that can come across as “more easily said than done”.

Teresa and Steven say first, you should note the progress made by your team or organisation over the past year.

“The major accomplishments and the same wins, too. And, communicate the list broadly. All too often, progress gets ignored as people move from one task or project to another,” they say.

“Don’t stop with enumerating the years accomplishments. Celebrate that progress and recognise all those who contributed to it.

“People who work hard deserve the opportunity to celebrate and rejoice in what they have accomplished,” they say.

To continue on from celebration and move upwards, it’s important to then map our goals for profess in the upcoming year and say why that progress matters.

Teresa and Steven say you should be sure to include both broad, aspirational goals and smaller, interim milestones.

“For people to be fully engaged, they must feel they are making steady progress, not just slogging away in hopes of a major breakthrough.”

Lastly, you should ensure you are supporting people’s progress each day in the coming year.

The pair say for the progress principal to work, people should experience progress more than setbacks.

“Give them the goals, resources and the time they need to succeed and remove or reduce any obstacles to progress,” they advise.

Starting this kind of motivation and enthusiasm can be difficult enough. Maintaining it is the next step and business.govt.nz has some useful tips on maintaining motivation within your business.

It suggests ensuring you know what motivates the people within your business and understanding each person who works with you from more than just a surface level aspect.

“Knowing your team personally will help you find the right motivators for different people and how to apply them,” business.govt.nz says.

“For example, an outgoing team may value being thanked in front of the team. A more introverted employee may prefer an email or private word of thanks.”

Managing your expectations is another vital step and can make the difference between happy employees and unhappy employees.

According to economists at Warwick University, being happy at work makes people 12 percent more efficient while unhappy people achieved 10 percent less! So, keeping your business happy is vital.

You can do this by giving clear briefs when assigning projects and tasks.

Also, be clear about how you’d like people to behave; what is and is not okay in your business culture?

Being unclear about the rules and expectations fosters feelings of confusion, inadequacy and disrespect.

According to business.govt.nz, giving people ownership can be a great motivator.

“You can ask people to take part in business planning and strategy development, let them make decisions and take on more responsibility, such as leading a project or managing a new store.

“You can also encourage them to share ideas like new ways to approach health and safety.” However, it’s important not to give employees more responsibility that they’re ready for. This can make people feel as though they’re failing because they’re overwhelmed which, in turn, whittles away at their passion and motivation.

A big point that business.govt.nz makes is ensuring your employees are paid at market rates.

“Keep an eye on job sites or talk to recruiters to see what other people are paying,” they say. “Your employees may feel undervalued if they’re underpaid.”

Finally, make sure you’re available and ready to have conversations with members of your company. Studies show that attention from employers is very motivating.

Motivation really is the key to company progress so enjoy the new year and good luck! CT