You probably don’t even realize this but there are coaching lessons all around us. The most prevalent is in the sports world as there are many teams and players who have taught us, motivated us and inspired us in various ways. If a team isn’t doing very well in the standings or a player is having a bad season, what do the coaches do to motivate, challenge and inspire them to improve? It’s probably not as easy as it sounds as the coaches must confront tough issues and have tough conversations with their players and teams, but this shows the value of coaching. The same can be said for managers who are coaching their employees. They must give equal attention to both inspiration and motivation of their employees. With this, you will see effort and once you see effort, you know they are moving in the right direction, in the direction of progress. When they are making progress, they will want to continue to get better. They will not make progress just because the manager demands it but because they are motivated.
Here are five quick ways to motivate and inspire employees to make progress:
- Take the time to acknowledge a good job and be very specific on what was done well.
- Put a note on their desk.
- Send a letter or email to their boss.
- Stop by and bring them a cup of coffee or soda and let them know that they are doing a great job and you appreciate it.
- At staff meetings, take a few minutes to acknowledge the employees who have done good things.
Investing time in the acknowledgement of the good things employees do will produce greater effort which leads to greater performance. By coaching your employees and focusing on what your staff is doing well instead of what they are doing wrong or not well will motivate them to make progress and improve their performance. There is great value in coaching both in and out of sports. As a coach, you have to help your employees and athletes develop a sense of direction and motivation.
