Motivation by Appreciation

So your team just seem flat and you've tried a few things and now there is no budget to do anything else. How do you lift your team and get them going?

Amazingly, leaders tend to overlook the obvious for motivating their teams. The obvious of course is what motivates them most. Traditionally, focus seems to be on monetary reward or perhaps on whatever has been observed in the past. A new leader will often use the same methods they have seen employed by other leaders and not know the real value of targeted motivation.

We are all different and we all get motivated by different things. Let's face it; we also get motivated by what we need at the time. If we're hungry we want something to eat. if we're cold, we want the heater on. If we're tired, we want sleep. Can you imagine how demotivating it would be if we get given the wrong thing? Water instead of sleep, A cooling fan instead of a jacket, A sandwich instead of a drink.

Missing the point on motivation is just like messing up the needs of our team members. Not only do we fail to motivate, we look incompetent and uncaring even though we may have offered something.

Motivation by Appreciation

One of the best ways to motivate without a budget is to focus on showing appreciation to our team members. The work done by Dr. Paul White and Dr. Gary Chapman in their Appreciation at work studies help show some of the best ways to motivate on little or no budget.

The five languages of appreciation are:

• Words of Appreciation
• Quality Time
• Acts of Service
• Tangible Gifts
• Appropriate Physical Touch

Each person will have one of these areas as their primary 'language' of motivation by appreciation. They will also have a 'language' that will least likely motivate them. If you don't know which is which you could end up wasting effort and lose face. You can find out by a bit of trial and error - or you could just talk with each team member and ask them what sort of appreciation they prefer.

Words of Appreciation - here is where you sincerely express thanks for something they do. this needs to be specific. for example, saying, "Thanks for what you did today - really appreciate it" is not specific enough. They may be left wondering what you are thanking them for. Something like, "Thanks Paul for all the effort you put into that report. You really covered everything I asked for perfectly. It must have taken you a considerable amount of time. Thank you" is much more specific and sincere.

Quality Time - spending time with a team member is what is needed here. It may be that you grab a drink with them, sit and talk before the day starts or work on a project together. You need to be 100% present with them though - no multitasking.

Acts of Service - do something for this person. Perform a task for them that they don't like doing or offer to assist them complete something. If your team member is the sort of person that doesn't like surprises, you could check with them first. Try a simple question like, "I see that you have a lot on today and that report is looming. Can I give you hand for an hour to help you get through?" 

Tangible Gifts - yes, this may involve money - but doesn't have to be expensive. A voucher, a cake from the bakery on the way to work, even an afternoon off as a thank you for extra effort would be considered a gift.

Appropriate Physical Touch - this one has interesting connotations. Of course, in today's world, sexual harassment charges seem to be common place, so use with caution. However, for some people, a fist bump, a high five or a strong handshake may be what they need.



It's important to understand what your individual team members will respond to best otherwise you will miss the mark and your efforts of appreciation will be seen as empty or misplaced.

Top Ten Ways to Motivate Through Appreciation

Although motivation should be targeted to the individual, Dr White compiled a list of the ten most common ways to show appreciation to anyone:

• Give a verbal compliment (say “thanks for ...”; tell them, “I’m glad you are part of the team.”)
• Write an email (“I just wanted to let you know …; “It is really helpful to me when you ….”)
• Stop by and see how your colleague is doing. Spend a few minutes just chatting and checking in on them.
• Do something together with your co-worker (like eating together.)
• Do a small task for someone spontaneously (hold open the door, offer to carry something.)
• Stop by their work space and see if they need any help getting something done.
• Buy them coffee, a drink, a snack or dessert.
• Get them a magazine related to an area of interest they have (sports, hobbies, a place they would like to visit.)
• Give them a “high five” when they have completed a task (especially one that has been challenging or they have been working on a while).
• Greet your colleague warmly, with a smile and a handshake. (Say something like “It’s good to see you!”; “How is your day going?”)

Before you pat yourself on the back for all of your inspiring leadership skills, just check that you have understood your team member's individual motivators. You may be surprised at how easy it is to increase productivity and engagement through simple appreciation methods.

About the Author:

Derek Good has been a General Manager for a number of years and since 2002 has been involved in corporate training and consulting. He has won the North Shore Business Award for Customer Service Excellence and the TUANZ Award for innovation for general education.

These days Derek's focus is on researching the changes in training trends and developing his online micro video training organisation LearningPlanet which is currently accessed by thousands of users across a number of countries.


For more information visit www.learningplanet.me and his Amazon page for leadership books