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Motivating others is extremely important, but before you can motivate others, you must first be motivated yourself. You need to have a firm understanding of where you’re going and know your overall vision of success. If you’re aggressive about accomplishing your goals and excited about taking on the challenge, you’ll motivate others by your example. You must share your vision and your goals with your team so they can also see the big picture. Your job is to lift them out of mediocrity and help them become achievers. Your own motivation and enthusiasm will dictate your team's response to your vision.

Unmotivated people can affect more than you might think at first. When you’re on the job, a lack of motivation can have an adverse effect on the customer, create friction on the project, result in sub-standard output in quality, and in people quitting, being late, or just plain not showing up. All of these factors affect everyone around you. It’s a fact that motivated people are the most productive and will produce to their maximum abilities while unmotivated people can bring the whole company down.

To bring about a positive change in the behavior of others, leaders need to be aware of, and deal with, the different motives people have for performing their tasks. This is the most critical ingredient to a successful formula for motivating people.

Leaders should provide the environment that supports achievement, sets the tone of expectation for success, and takes into consideration the incentives for action, which differ from individual to individual. There are, however, dangers in the use of external pressure on others to perform. If there’s too much it can hamper their level of performance. You can increase internal motivation by including others while the company’s goals and the vision are being drafted and benefit from a more enthusiastic buy-in and commitment from your team. Be receptive to input from your team members and compliment good ideas and suggestions.

Learn how to ask questions and then listen to the answers. By asking questions your goal is to challenge the status quo, so the team can find ways to make things better. Encourage critical thinking, inspire other perspectives, and be willing to learn and change. You can learn to ask questions that don’t intimidate or put the other person on the spot; questions that aren’t threatening and will encourage dialogue such as, “Do you see any other ways to do this?” rather than “Why did you do it this way?” Ask, “How are you doing on the project?” instead of “Why aren’t you finished?”

Stress the attainment of small goals. Self-confidence is built on individual accomplishments. Look for gradual gains. Know your group. What motivates one individual might have little or no effect on another. Any motivational strategy you use should have realistic and attainable goals toward which the whole group (and the individuals within the group) can strive.

Practice and teach self-reinforcement. Nurture an understanding in your team of their own capabilities; in other words, let them know their strengths and weaknesses. Establish two-way communication; instead of telling people what they did wrong and telling them to correct it, ask them what they thought they did wrong, and what they’ll do differently next time. Two-way communication also results in better and more specific feedback, which enables people to improve more quickly. Keep in mind that the success of your team is a function of your approach as a team leader.

Motivating others isn’t a simple task. Each individual is unique so it’s very difficult and requires significant skill to execute fairly. If you’re not sincere, they’ll sense it. If you lack genuine care for others, they’ll find out. If you’re manipulative, they’ll become angry.

Some people can mentor, some can lead, and some can do both. Know your own limitations and strive to consistently improve your skills as a leader.

The above content is extracted from Mike Holt's Leadership Skills textbook.