Change is rarely popular, and even seemingly trivial innovations in the organization can cause outrage among your staff. Often this is because people don’t understand what is happening. This can be avoided if you think through the change in advance and ask yourself two questions:

  You will then be able to consult those concerned and ensure they are aware of the benefits the change will bring. This process will ensure they stay motivated.

Change can be categorized as either “hard” or “soft.” Hard changes are usually well defined in advance. People can be told what will happen and what is expected of them. In a “soft” change, the details of the change are unknown, and only the direction of the change is clear. The organization has to search for a solution and everyone will have to work through the change together. Major corporate turnarounds often fit this category, as do large cultural change programs^*. The best way to cope with a soft change is to become involved, so you have a chance to shape both the change itself and the future of your team.

Be prepared for any kind of response to change and realize that those affected will respond emotionally, and may at times appear irrational. As a manager you can help them to adjust by:

More than half a century ago, the sociologist Kurt Lewin identified three major stages of change. These stages will help you to understand the timing of changes, and can be used as a guide for steering people through the process of change.

Different people react to change differently, but during major changes, they go through a series of responses that can be characterized as a “rollercoaster ride.” This starts with denial, moves on to blaming others, then themselves, which can lead to despair. Self-esteem and performance plummet. However, people then start to test the new environment and ways of working, build confidence, and move on to achieve success. Quite often, once the change has taken place, it is a matter of settling down to the new way of working. You will have to re-establish the culture, rebuild the team morale, and reassure individuals. When the change means employees are being laid off, make the process as painless as possible. Do everything you can to protect their dignity, and help them to take the next steps in their lives.

The change rollercoaster

For many employees, not working in an office is a dream. For the employer it can mean lower office costs and also better productivity, as staff don’t have to spend time commuting to work.

  However, the reality can be less appealing. If you work from home, you can feel isolated, making it hard to stay motivated. Individuals miss the buzz of the office, the companionship of colleagues, and the sparking of ideas when they meet other people. In an office, for example, when something goes wrong, you can turn to a colleague who will help you put the problem in perspective.

If a job role will be dispersed or home-based, you should look for certain characteristics at the recruitment stage. If someone lacks self-discipline, cannot manage their time well, or appears to need close supervision, they are unlikely to be suitable. You will need to instill loyalty to ensure they are motivated and focused on the goals to be achieved. At the interview, ensure the candidate is prepared for the working environment. At home this means having room for equipment and a quiet environment. For a dispersed team member, it is the lack of direct supervision and support.

A crucial aspect of motivating home workers is to take proactive steps to ensure they have everything they need to work effectively. Agree on targets and time scales and monitor them regularly to check that they are on track. Organize regular visits to the main office, such as monthly team meetings, and arrange one-to-one meetings to catch up on progress and to spot any problems before they become too serious. Make sure home- and locally based workers are kept up to date with any new developments, and remain in regular contact—not just by e-mail.

To keep your dispersed workers motivated, make sure they feel connected to and supported by the organization as a whole. Arrange a thorough induction at your main office and ensure your home workers meet the people they will be e-mailing and speaking to on the phone. You may also need to arrange briefing sessions on working from home. It is particularly important to ensure dispersed teams have all the equipment they need to work effectively. It may be tempting to provide more senior people in head office with the most reliable and expensive IT equipment, but for remote team members, any breakdown is likely to be highly frustrating and time consuming. A comfortable working environment is just as important when working from home or in a small local office.

  Depending on the structure, encourage people working near each other to meet up to discuss work. Include home workers and locally based teams in social activities if possible. Look and listen for any signs of stress. Set out precise procedures on who to contact if things go wrong. Make sure “out of sight” is not “out of mind.”

Everyone makes mistakes occasionally, and while it is important to respond to them constructively, if you do not deal with underperformance your entire team may lose motivation. Get to know what individual team members are capable of and take action when you notice something is going wrong. Watch out for a change in performance. If someone is making more mistakes than usual, you will need to take some action.

How you approach the situation will depend on the circumstances. If someone has made a few silly mistakes you may just need to let them know you have noticed, and ask what happened and how it can be avoided in the future. If problems continue, you will need a more considered meeting. Create the same conditions as you would for a performance appraisal meeting—ensure you have privacy, won’t be interrupted, and that the individual is comfortable. Prepare for the meeting, and make sure your facts are correct. Think about the problems and possible reasons for them and, if possible, consider them from the perspective of the individual. Try to remain calm and objective at all times and don’t digress by discussing other people or issues that don’t affect the individual’s own performance.

There may be deep-seated issues behind the obvious reasons for underperformance, and you need to uncover these—otherwise you will only be applying a temporary patch to the problem. Listen very carefully to what is being said, and then probe gently to get underneath the words. In these situations people often blame others or find excuses. Make sure they take responsibility for their own performance. For example, if they say problems are occurring because they are consistently receiving information they need too late, ask why they have not spoken to the person causing the delay.

Every project goes through stages. At first everyone is eager and excited to be involved. Then the work begins. At some stage, problems and setbacks will arise and individuals will become disillusioned and demotivated. This is a critical stage where you, as the project manager, will have to keep the momentum going and make sure people maintain focus and energy. Bring your team together. Remind them that in every project worth doing there are bound to be some setbacks. Bring to mind their earlier successes, explain why the project is still important, and work together to find solutions to the problems. If you still find that they are not giving their best to the project, carefully suggest that there may be someone better equipped to take their role—they will probably receive your message and change their approach.

Motivating a project team is often one of the most difficult tasks. You may not be the line manager of those involved, so you don’t have the usual authority and reward mechanisms at your disposal. You may have been given the opportunity to be the project leader, but you will need to share the success with others. If the other team members see you taking all the credit for the project, they will disengage. You need to manage this balance. If the project is successful, you will get recognized, so be generous with your praise along the way. People like their boss to hear good things about them and it only costs you a little time to copy someone into an e-mail saying thank you. Be careful of individuals who “grandstand” and claim greater responsibility for the success of the project than is justified by their contribution.

One of the most important motivators for a team is having a common goal that each individual has a genuine commitment to achieving. Paint a picture, either graphically or in words, describing what success will look like. Be enthusiastic about achieving it. Talk about your people’s role in delivering the success and allude to the benefits of being successful and what success will feel like.

The sense of “belonging” is a very important motivator and, while this does develop naturally when a team has been together over a period of time, a good manager will speed up the process and ensure it is maintained by, for example, celebrating success. Make sure that each member of your team knows how they fit into the working of the whole organization.

At times, seemingly motivated and well-established teams can become complacent. One way of avoiding this is to take your team on benchmarking^* visits. Find an organization that does something very well and go and visit them. You will find many organizations are only too happy to do this, particularly if they can “benchmark” with you in return.

Motivating people in the short term is relatively easy. But when you have to motivate people over the longer term, enthusiasm alone won’t work. To do this you have to create a culture that is conducive to success, balance organizational and personal goals, and ensure people are genuinely interested in the success of the organization. To keep people motivated over the long term, you must be trusted as a leader. You will need to support people by giving them the tools and resources to do the job, helping them overcome obstacles that may get in the way, developing their skills, and rewarding success. Being a good motivator will not only help your organization but will boost your career too.

All jobs in your organization are important—if not, they should be eliminated immediately. Ensure that every job is done well, from dealing with customers, to producing high quality products and keeping the facilities clean. Achieving this requires all managers and supervisors in the organization to engage, motivate, and direct their staff. As a manager it is your responsibility to make the organization a great place for people to work and to encourage them to contribute to the success of the organization.

Always ensure that you and your team are developing, learning, and moving on. You will achieve success only when your team has a positive perception of you, and the organizational environment is favorable and supportive. Use the scorecard featured here to track your performance in motivating people. Think about the elements of the scorecard as the links in a chain. Each link has to be strong to give the chain strength, so use the scorecard to guide where you need to focus your attention. It is important that you plan to strengthen any weaknesses that may appear. You could even use the scorecard with trusted team members or colleagues to help you develop your abilities and become a great motivator.