WHAT CAN WE DO TO MAINTAIN COMMITMENT AND MOTIVATION?

When we have someone in our team who really contributes, that is, who knows and wants to do their job well, it is something we have to value and take special care of. We should not take it for granted that they will remain like that forever. In addition, they can be a great support for any leader, our right hand in many cases.

“There’s no point in hiring smart people to tell them what to do; we hire smart people to tell us what to do” (Steve Jobs).

When we recruit talent, it is normal that at the beginning they are motivated and that in a short time they reach a high performance. If we want to keep them that way, we will have to follow the following guidelines:

Participatory definition of objectives. We must adequately define objectives following the SMART format (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound). Let’s take advantage of our team’s talent in the definition of these objectives. When I work with my clients and their teams, the first work sessions are dedicated precisely to this, that is, to define their objectives together and reach a consensus on their definition, how to measure it, whether or not it is achievable and what deadlines to set. This has a great impact on commitment and motivation. Having clearly defined objectives is not exclusive to those with talent, but is crucial for the whole team. Everyone must be clear about what is expected of them and what their contribution is to the company’s mission, vision and values.

Co-creation of action plans. Once the objectives have been defined, instead of telling our team what to do, it is much more powerful to co-create the action plan, especially if they are trained professionals with high potential. This can be done both individually and as a team with a good group work session where ideas are generated, evaluated, the best options are selected and finally it is defined what to do, who is going to do it, when and how. It is a good way to take advantage of all that talent.

Autonomy and freedom, which is especially important for high-potential, high-performing employees. Micromanaging or not giving them room for maneuver can ruin the talent of these team members. 

Continuous training, so that they can continue to develop their knowledge within the company and can nurture all that potential. It is essential to invest in the training of the team, so that they have the opportunity to renew their knowledge. This has a double benefit: on the one hand, our employees acquire new skills and on the other hand, they generate commitment and motivation when they see that the company invests in them.

Keep your promises, if you offer something that you don’t deliver, you will create distrust and disappointments that can undermine the motivation of your team. Sooner or later it will take its toll.

Create a good working environment, where people feel comfortable working, this favors talent retention. There are people who especially value working at ease with their colleagues, especially millennials.

Two-way communication. Communication within a team is fundamental and should never be neglected. Give clear and constructive feedback, both on what is being done well and what needs to be improved. This is important to keep the team motivated and in line with the expectations we place on them. In this way we will reinforce productive behaviors and be able to rectify those that are less adequate, and at the same time ask for feedback on how they feel as part of our team. This will allow us to detect in time and prevent a possible risk of talent drain.

Listen to suggestions and take them into account, this does not mean that all the ideas have to be implemented, but if the team sees that their ideas do not get anywhere, there will come a time when they get frustrated and stop contributing them. Someone who has talent can surely contribute great ideas that will make the company progress.

Healthy and motivating leadership. According to situational leadership theory, there is no one-size-fits-all leadership style; the key is to choose the one that best suits the situation. It is often heard that people don’t leave their jobs, they leave their bosses. That is why it is important to invest in leadership skills training for our managers. A Leadership Development process can help enormously in these cases.

Professional development. Encourage talent development, not only with training, but also by assigning them new responsibilities and challenges. If they perform well, we could reward them with promotions within the company when possible. There are professionals who leave their company because they have reached a plateau and feel stagnant. That is why it is so important to understand their career aspirations and make a plan that allows them to evolve. 

Taking an interest in their needs and building a development plan together certainly gets our people on board.

Recognition, this is perhaps one of the factors that can motivate the most and that does not have to have an economic cost. The great forgotten factor in our companies. It is important that our team feels that their contribution is valued. In addition, surely someone with talent achieves achievements that deserve recognition. 

Fair salary in accordance with the value of our collaborator. This point is important, although surprising as it may seem, in some cases it is not the most relevant factor. Especially above certain salaries. I have met many professionals who, once the basic economic needs are covered, give it less importance. There are even workers who, despite having a decent salary, decide to leave for other reasons, since the economic factor does not compensate for other shortcomings they may have in the company.

The ideal is to create an ideal environment where our entire team works at ease, fostering healthy and motivating leadership, clearly defined objectives and making our people feel that their contribution is important to the company.

In conclusion, when we have someone with talent in our team it is important to keep in mind that we must let them grow and 

develop professionally, offer them challenging goals that will help them to improve themselves and at the same time keep them motivated. As they have a high potential, if they feel that they have stagnated, they could consider looking for growth elsewhere.

Although we must also be careful not to overload too much, sometimes we are not aware that we tend to assign too many tasks to those who are more productive (because they are the ones who “deliver”), and we can reach extremes where that person ends up totally exhausted or stressed by the overload of work.

We have to find the balance between challenging objectives and workload, and how do we do that? Well, with good communication and by observing the warning signs that sometimes speak for themselves.

Motivating a team is not necessarily about a pay raise. Most of the time what really motivates them are: clearly defined objectives, a healthy and motivating leadership, the feeling of being an essential part of the organization and that their work is valued and considered necessary.

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Did you like this post? You can find all this and much more in my book "KEYS TO SUCCESFUL LEADERSHIP". You can get it in both paperback and ebook format.

Inma Ríos

Expert in Leadership and Development of High-Performance Teams, is dedicated to guiding Leaders and Teams to achieve their goals, through Training, Mentoring and Personal Development. Engineer with 15 years of experience in multinationals in several countries. Top Women Leaders Award 2022. Speaker and Agile Coach Professional Certified.

More information at www.inmarios.com and Linktree.