8 Inspiring Leadership Behaviors That Boost Employee Motivation

Employees look to company leadership for direction, purpose, and feedback. Their commitment to the company and its mission depends on the treatment of management and whether they feel valued as a team member.

As a leader, it is your responsibility to ensure that every employee feels valued, motivated, and committed. These eight inspiring leadership behaviors can help you achieve that goal.

Value Every Employee through Praise and Feedback

Employees want to feel like more than just a number, and they want to feel valued by their employers. Praise and feedback can help achieve this goal.

Giving praise and recognition for a job well done will inspire employee loyalty by making them feel that their work matters and their employer values their efforts. This keeps employees motivated and committed.

Employees don’t know that they’re doing a good job unless they’re told so. Without praise and feedback, employees may assume their work isn’t good enough or valued by their employer.

Don’t wait for performance reviews to give feedback to each employee. Providing regular, informal feedback will make a difference in your employees’ mindsets and help create an employee development plan.

Treat Every Employee Equally

It may seem like an obvious thing to treat every employee equally, but it’s not always easy to recognize when you’re playing favorites. Maybe you developed close friendships with colleagues before your promotion to management, or perhaps you don’t realize that you’re regularly giving one employee more praise than others.

Leaders should be fair and consistent with the treatment of every employee. It’s a task that is easier said than done, but creating rules and guidelines for treatment can help prevent unequal treatment. Sending out an employee survey may also help you find out whether team members feel everyone is being treated fairly and equally.

Encourage Growth and Development

According to a survey from LinkedIn, 94% of workers said they would stay with a company if it invested in their development.

Encouraging personal and professional growth shows each employee that you see potential they may not recognize in themselves. Without your encouragement, they may never have had the chance to grow.

Providing opportunities for employee development and growth can significantly improve employee commitment and performance. Make sure that your team is aware of any employee assistance program or opportunity that your company offers.

Communicate Daily

Communication plays a vital role in any workplace. It’s what keeps operations running smoothly, and employees motivated. But many leaders overlook the importance of daily contact with employees.

Daily communication helps employees feel valued, recognized, and essential. It also ensures that employees understand their goals and expectations. Without clear and transparent communication daily, it will be difficult for employees to stay committed.

Focus on Purpose

To keep every employee motivated and committed, they must have a purpose. Contrary to popular belief, it’s not money that drives motivation – it’s the purpose and desire to make an impact.

Creating focus-driven goals will keep every employee on task, motivated, and committed. The purpose is what drives every employee to achieve goals and provides a feeling of satisfaction.

How do you create meaning in the workplace?

• Develop a company culture that celebrates and recognizes team achievements.
• Communicate the company’s values and goals.
• Find ways to show employees how their work impacts others. Events that bring customers and employees together is a great way to do this.
• Encourage employees to give back to the world.

When employees can see and feel their impact, they naturally stay committed because they get a reward and personal satisfaction from their work.

Be an Advocate for Your Team

Providing each employee with valuable feedback is essential, but it’s also crucial to be an advocate for your team. Upper management may not know what your team is doing daily, so it’s your responsibility to communicate their achievements and impact.

Advocating for the needs of your team and communicating their achievements to upper management will also make workers feel valued and improve employee relations. Your feedback may lead to promotions or necessary changes to enhance employee workflow and performance.

When team members feel that employee rights or employment laws are being violated, your communication with upper management is even more crucial for the entire organization.

Don’t Micromanage

Although done in the name of productivity, micromanagement rarely benefits employee commitment. It stifles creativity and makes it difficult for employees to truly take ownership of their work.

When employees have the freedom to take authority in their job, they tend to take more pride in their work and focus on quality.

Micromanagement makes every employee feel as if their every move is being controlled by someone else. It’s challenging to stay committed to a job and purpose when you feel as if you’re being suffocated.

Encourage every employee to complete tasks in their way. Allow them control over their time management and to make creative decisions.

Don’t Micromanage Me! Avoid Micromanaging Your Sales Team

Listen to Each Employee. Remember, each employee wants to feel valued and essential. After all, their work is what helps drive the company forward and achieve its goals. They should feel valuable and important.

Listening to your team’s needs is an important part of the employee engagement process. Employees should feel that their needs and wants are being heard. In many cases, their feedback leads to improvements that can boost performance and achieve their goals.

As a leader, it’s important to pay attention to what motivates your team and helps you understand them as individuals. Each person has a different motivation for showing up to work. Understanding their motivation and finding ways to keep that fire going will keep team members committed and driven. When you get to know your team, you’ll find a treasure trove of information that can inspire motivation on an individual level.

To improve employee commitment and motivation, leaders must take steps to make team members feel valued and essential. No handbook can help you achieve this goal. But instilling passion and commitment to the company’s cause can go a long way in keeping your team inspired and focused.

What inspiring behaviors keep your employees motivated and committed?

Author Bio

Thomas Quarry owns a growing treasure hunting business and has learned how to handle the struggles a growing business has first-hand from handling human resources to retaining employees. During his free time, he helps train managers and other business owners how to grow their businesses.