One of the biggest challenges you face as a leader at work today is motivating and engaging your team. Luckily, there are five effective ways to do this. These approaches are easy to implement, but they’ll make you look like a rock star in front of everyone in your organization. Here are the top five ways to motivate and engage your team

Know Why They’re Here

As a leader, one of your most important jobs is communicating why you’re asking your team to do something. The clearer you are about that, the more engaged and motivated they’ll be. This can be as simple as explaining how their role will contribute directly (or indirectly) to company goals, or even creating surveys that gauge whether they understand what those goals are. But there’s no getting around it: If your team doesn’t know why they’re doing something, or feels like their work isn’t making an impact, it can be impossible for them to care about what they do. No matter what leadership position you hold—from CEO down—it never hurts to take time out of each day to connect with your people.

Have Clear Expectations

It’s easy for misunderstandings to happen when members of your team don’t clearly understand what their responsibilities are. That’s why you must always have clear expectations of your team members. Make sure they know exactly what they need to accomplish, how much time they have, and any resources they may need. When everyone knows where they stand, you can keep them motivated and engaged.

Be Honest

If you want your team to be truly engaged, it’s a good idea to let them know what’s going on. This may sound counterintuitive but sharing details about sales projections and product roadmaps gives your employees a sense of ownership over your business—even if they aren’t heavily involved in making key decisions. If you’re able to show them how their work is tied into your company goals, you can motivate them more effectively than any team-building exercise ever could.

Provide Positive Feedback

Everyone wants to know that they’re doing a good job, managers need to recognize their team members when they do something right. Giving out positive feedback allows you to communicate that an employee is doing a great job while motivating them to do even better next time. It can also help you turn any bad workaround before it snowballs into something bigger.

 Promote From Within

One of the most effective ways you can motivate your team is by promoting someone from within. According to Gallup, employee engagement rises by 15% when a person is promoted from within. The lesson? Promoting from within sends a message that you value your employees and gives them more opportunity for growth than if they were hired externally. When recruiting for new positions, make sure you find talented internal employees before going outside for candidates. They might be just what you need to get motivated and engaged!

Conclusion

Follow the above five ways to improve employee morale. As a manager, you play a vital role in improving employee morale. If employees aren’t happy at work, they are likely to look for jobs elsewhere.

Nathan Garries Quadrus, CFP®, EPC®, CIWM®, FCSI® has been involved in financial advising, financial planning, and wealth management for over two decades, carrying on a family tradition of three generations. Nathan Garries Edmonton achieved the highest award of excellence for financial advisors in 2002, through his employment with TD Bank when it merged with Canada Trust, he transitioned to Freedom 55, a division of Canada Life.