Tip #284: Motivation: The Key Ingredient For Success

Are You A Motivator?

As a leader in your business, part of your job requirement is to be a motivator - that person who creates an intangible spark for people to get things done. In order to motivate someone, however, you have to understand what will motivate them.

8 Tactics To Motivating Your Team:

1. Everyone Can Be Motivated - It should never be a matter of if you can motivate someone, but rather how you can motivate them. Every employee can be motivated on some level. As a leader, you need to find an employee's motivator and tap into it.

2. WIIFM - Ultimately, "What's In It For Me?" is the question that drives every employee. Everyone has a personal agenda, and appealing to that is a surefire way to motivate him or her on a very fundamental level.

3. Positive And Negative Reinforcement - Positive reinforcement motivates employees with the promise of reward, recognition or incentives. This may NOT work on every employee, however. Some may require negative reinforcement - motivation generated by the threat of corrective action or job loss.

4. Provide Employees A Reason - Leading a team by telling them "because I said so" is not an acceptable motivator. Most employees want to feel involved, respected and part of the solution.

5. Understand Your Team - No one wants to come to work feeling like an outsider, like just another cog in the company's process. Sometimes the most persuasive motivator is one where you show an interest in your team. You should know what their goals are, what makes them tick and what issues they face.

6. The Power Of Pride - While employees should always take personal pride in their work, particularly outstanding and exemplary accomplishments deserve to be recognized. This will help bolster their pride and sense of place on the team, which will motivate them to keep up the good work.

7. Words - Word selection has a profound impact on people, both consciously and subconsciously. Words convey the strength of your conviction, or reveal the truth of your uncertainty. Even when flying blind, leaders are expected to make hard decisions and to paint a picture of certainty and confidence.

8. Do As I Do, Not As I Say - It is easy to yell out orders and expect the work to be done. Nevertheless, what separates the average leaders from great ones is their ability to lead by example. The passionate leader will be the first to get her or his hands dirty and establish a behavior for the rest of the team to emulate.

Summary: Some people are more motivated than others and some people are motivated differently than others. But everyone can be motivated. The trick is to learn each employee's individual needs and wants. For some, that could be reward, recognition and a sense of pride in their work. For others, it may be a friendly reminder that their job security depends entirely on their performance and how successfully a project they are working on turns out. Whatever technique you may need to apply, the 8 tips mentioned above should always be in the back of your mind.

Tip #283: The Power Of Positive Attitude

What is attitude? What does attitude mean in the workplace? Essentially, attitude is the mental state through which we perceive the world and respond to those perceptions. Attitude lays the groundwork for how we think and act in the workplace, and as a result is a crucial element to our job success.

Having A Positive Attitude Takes Practice.

For some, a positive attitude comes naturally. For others, positive attitude is something that needs to be consciously worked on and maintained. For those who need to apply practice to the theory of positive attitude in the workplace, I have outlined five steps to help you develop and maintain a positive attitude, and in the process achieve success.

5 Steps To Develop A Positive Attitude In The Workplace:

1. Learn If You Are Part Of The Problem - Most people who contribute to negativity fail to realize they are doing so. Their bad attitude is rarely a conscious thought, but rather a blind spot in their personality that holds them back. Hard-earned success is the direct result of when an individual recognizes their shortcomings and actively strives to rid themselves of those flaws.

2. Remember To Look Before You Leap - This can be applied to any obstacle in life - especially in the US workforce, where the tireless call for efficiency has put a big red "rush" stamp on all our foreheads. Simply put, slow down. In the grand scheme of things, it is far more efficient to execute something without a hitch the first try than to execute something satisfactorily on a second or even third attempt.

3. Stop Worrying About Everyone Else - This is another prevalent issue in the workplace: Employees who are overly preoccupied with their colleagues instead of themselves. Attitudes tend to be infectious, so the fastest way to see changes in others is to exhibit change in yourself. Focus on your own faults before you focus on the faults of others.

4. Practice Being Grateful In The Workplace - It is easier to see the negative than the positive, since the negative always seems so much more glaring. But chances are there are more things you appreciate at work than find fault in. Try to actively recognize and emphasize the good. Draw up a list of all the things you are grateful for at work and weigh them against the negative. This is a huge component to having a positive attitude in the workplace.

5. Always Look For Opportunities To Be Positive - Every bad moment has its upside. The trick is to find that upside. All it takes is the effort to look. Whenever you perceive something as bad initially, take a moment to consider things from all sides until you find something positive to take away from it.

Summary: Attitude is the difference between "work" and a "job." The former carries with it a sense of begrudging acceptance, of grind and the mundane. The latter, however, does not. A job is performed; work is completed. Positive attitude in the work place is a matter of seeing the glass half full instead of half empty. While your gut reaction may be to see things the other way around, applying some of the tricks I outlined above will help condition you to see things more positively, which will improve the quality of your work life sevenfold.

Tip #282: 5 Tips To Establishing You & Your Business' Credibility

Whether you are in sales, product development, R&D, operations or even customer service, establishing credibility with someone is an important component in any relationship. Sure, discussing what you do and how you do it can help, but there is a lot more to consider when you are looking to establish credibility with a person who does not know you.

5 Tips To Establishing Your Business Credibility:

Tip #1. Ask Questions And Listen Attentively To The Responses - After you ask a question, look whoever is responding in the eye when they answer your question. Stay focused and do not get distracted by external elements, such as art on the wall, people walking by or the view from the window. The person answering may perceive your distraction negatively and think that you do not have their best interest in mind. While listening to someone speak, it is important to recognize his or her needs and wants.

Tips #2. Focus On The Benefits - When talking with someone, focus on the advantages your department/organization can offer and how they will directly benefit the person. Be as specific as possible and tie the benefits back to their needs and wants. Steer clear from the temptation to only talk about what you do (e.g. features).

Tip #3. Tell Success Stories - One of the fastest ways to establish credibility is through past results - how others have benefited from your work. Use visual aids like charts when possible and, if you are in sales, even client testimonial letters. What is really powerful is to call a current client/co-worker while at someone's office to provide them some immediate feedback on your track record.

Tip #4. Relate Success Back To The Person You Are Talking To - Suggest to the person you are speaking with how they can receive similar benefits of something you did in the past. Show them what the ROI will be on the project by using a model with financial data they supply to you. If you use a tool like Excel, use it in real-time so you can alter the data based on their criteria. If you can offer an online ROI calculator via your website, it would be an excellent tool to share with your prospects.

Tip #5. Ask This Simple Question: What Do You Think Is Broken? - Asking for the sale, project, referral or whatever it is you are looking for can be difficult for most people. If you want to start a business conversation, ask this simple business question: What do you think is broken? Doing so will help you discover their real needs and then allow you to introduce the appropriate feature/benefit to fix it for them.

Summary: Remember, your credibility can make or break you at a business meeting since so many people make decisions on their "gut instinct." We suggest being supportive and sincere, but not overbearing or self-serving. Always put the needs of your contacts ahead of your own. By following these tips, you will be well on your way to establishing credibility.

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Tip #281: Nonverbal Communication In The Workplace

Good communication is the framework for any relationship, whether personal or professional. Sadly, most people fail to understand the complexity of communication, especially since 50% of all communication is done nonverbally. What makes this troubling is that nonverbal communication tends to reveal more about a person's real feelings than what they are actually saying.

50% Of All Communication Is Nonverbal.
Facial expressions, body language, gestures, even a speaker's proximity are all major components to their communication skills. For most people, nonverbal communication is a subconscious act, an external reflection of their internal thoughts and feelings. And those who are perceptive to body language can learn a lot more about a person's attitudes by observing their nonverbal communication. In fact, major airports have security personnel whose only job is to watch and analyze people's body behavior prior to going through security.
The 7 Key Areas Of Nonverbal Communication:
1. Facial Expression - When it comes to expressiveness, nothing tops the human face. Facial expressions are a cultural icon for emotional states - just look at the range of smiley faces online used for "emoting." A person's expression is the easiest way to gauge their emotional state.
2. Eye Contact - Eye contact is the first thing speakers look to when gauging the level of interest or disinterest whomever they are speaking to may have. Most of us rely heavily on the visual sense, so it is important to capitalize on that when engaging in communication.
3. Speech Patterns - A person's tone, pitch, volume, inflection, rhythm and speech rate all carry hidden messages behind the words actually spoken. Sometimes more can be divined about a person's state of mind from the manner in which they speak than the words they produce.
4. Body Posture - How someone walks, sits, stands and how they hold themselves are subtle forms of nonverbal communication, ones often overlooked by all but the most discerning eyes. Most of us absorb and process this information subconsciously and file it away. For those looking for a better command over communication, however, body posture needs to be consciously absorbed.
5. Physical Gestures - How much more do you nod or wave "hello" and "goodbye" to another person rather than actually say "hello"? Probably a surprising amount. Day-to-day gestures make up a significant chunk of nonverbal communication, such as waving, pointing, beckoning and gesticulation during speech.
6. Physical Interaction - This includes handshakes, tapping someone's shoulder, hugs or a pat on the back. Placing a reassuring hand on someone's shoulder can sometimes say more than words. A skillful communicator knows when physical interaction will be a more powerful form of communication and how to employ it effectively.
7. Proximity When Speaking - Something as simple as proximity - how close you are standing next to the person you are speaking to - can add to the experience. Invading someone's personal space may read as an act of aggression, or perhaps as an illustration of intimacy.

Summary: The human body is an engine for communication, beyond just speaking. While writing and speaking will undoubtedly remain the king and queen of communicative methods, a lot more can be ascertained by observing the subconscious messages people send out through body language. The ability to interpret these signals will not only give you a leg up in the business world, but also in life.

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