• All motivational factors only work if the leader is authentic and consistent with the attitudes he/she promotes and demands from the team.

• There is no magic formula, but we suggest 8 useful factors to achieve greater motivation.

• Objectives, Values, Communication, Reward, Investment, Avoiding incompetents, Pleasant environment and Socialising.

Motivating the team is something that every leader desires and does not always achieve… And it is a crucial factor for the success of any project.

There is no magic formula to achieve it, but I share eight useful ways to boost it:

1. SET GOALS that are clear, ambitious, realistic, segmented, measurable, and with specific milestones and dates. Let people participate in their development, communicate them well, train people to achieve them, and be flexible to adjust if necessary.  The feeling of achievement is a great motivator.

2. CONNECT VALUES to understand and connect with the meaning of the project they are working on. Get people on board who share the purpose.  And set goals and processes that are truly in line with these values.  If you get this connection, it will be a pure motivational factor.

3. REWARD EFFORT. Identify well when a team or one of its members has achieved its goal, and reward them while recognising them in front of others.  A bonus or a financial reward is useful, but it is not everything.  Combine it with a promotion, an award or special recognition.  Effort is the price of success and should be rewarded.

4. OPEN COMMUNICATION. Think of your team as a family: the more they know about the progress of the project (including the negative), the more prepared they will be to move forward and fight together.  It is necessary to report on the evolution, performance and challenges of the project.

5. INVEST IN PEOPLE. It si in tools or training they may need.   Be very attentive to the needs of the team.  If training helps to achieve objectives, it is always a good investment and creates a great motivational effect.

6. OVERCOME INEFFICIENCY. The priority is always to maintain a good atmosphere in the team, but if someone does not perform, it is necessary to act to act to prevent general contagion.  Sometimes it’s compulsory to quit someone, although it’s not always necessary to do so, and it’s enough with a warning, a calm and constructive conversation and/or a gentle nudge in the right direction.  But we must understand that sometimes,, who doesn’t add up, subtracts.

7. ENCOURAGE THE ENVIRONMENT to be friendly, clean and bright. The negative impact on productivity of an unkempt office or environment can be staggering, making workers feel slower, sluggish and unmotivated.  Atmosphere is key, and it is an easily adjustable factor that only depends on ourselves.

8. SOCIALISE and get to know your team. Avoiding mixing the personal and the professional life, it is clear that colleagues tend to feel more comfortable if they socialise and the leader makes an effort to get to know them.  Team building, lunches or “after-work” with the team are always advisable.

And always remembering that all these points only work if there is a basic premise: that the leader is authentic and coherent in all those attitudes that he promotes and asks of his team.