3 Motivational Tactics That Make a Difference for Your Entire Team

Without motivation, leaders can quickly fall prey to working aimlessly and losing sight of their goals.

When it comes to being successful, motivation is essential - but not just for you. Part of your role as an entrepreneur is positively influencing your team so they're dedicated to achieving personal and professional success. A great motivator can ask their team to do even the most menial tasks and communicate how these small items play a larger role in helping the business improve. From my experience, I have learned three motivational tactics that I would recommend to anyone who is looking to take their team to the next level.

Define the Outcome

Clearly defining your goals and aspirations for yourself and others plays a significant role in achieving success. Eric Thomas, a motivational speaker, author, activist and minister, says if you want to achieve as much as you need to breathe, then you will find a way to be successful. While you shouldn't take his advice literally, it is still valuable to consider.

You should also think about exactly how much you want to achieve, in terms of specific metrics or a certain outcome, and then decide what you are honestly willing to sacrifice to succeed. Being an entrepreneur isn't easy; sometimes you have to surrender weekends, evenings and perhaps the occasional social event to achieve the goal you've set for company. Your employees should know exactly where they stand - what role they play, what outcomes they need to ensure and in the case of multiple tasks or projects, what needs to be prioritized. Your success is dependent upon their achievements, and your team can't work efficiently if they don't know what you expect.

Tackle the Most Painful Task First

One of the biggest challenges we face as entrepreneurs is becoming distracted or not concentrating on the important issues. Certain tasks might be particularly enjoyable, but if you can't dedicate enough time to achieve essential tasks, then your business is ultimately going to fail. Every task you carry out has to be analyzed. Is it relevant to the primary goal, and are the resources being used efficiently? If you can't justify the use of resources or the task takes you away from the ultimate goal, then you should look to abandon that work, even if it means telling a customer "no."

To help myself do this, I created a Trello account. Every morning, I set my top three priorities for that day. Every one of these priorities has to be critical to my company's success and should be completed before any other task. Out of those three tasks, I attack the most difficult item first. By switching focus and doing the enjoyable tasks last, I can have a better sense of accomplishment early in the day and remain motivated for other items on my to-do list. Needless to say, when I'm on-point, my team can be, too.

Overcoming the Obstacles

You and your team will meet many challenges on your path to success. Things will go wrong, but you just need to accept this and not let it negatively affect your outlook. The right attitude can go a long way in determining how a company deals with its difficulties and find ways to achieve their goals, even when things aren't going their way. As the leader, you set this tone for the company and your employees.

Proactively analyzing the scenario and defining actions that could make the situation advantageous is key. From accidents or mistakes, new products could be created, or you could gain new insights into customer feedback. Just because something has not worked out perfectly now doesn't mean it won't in the future. Consider these moments as alternative routes; you may not be taking the path you expected, but with the right attitude, you'll end up in the same place: professional success.