How To Inspire Your Team, Not Demoralize Them

The company stocks have dropped, leadership has been called into more and more meetings, and there’s widespread confusion. Your boss calls your team in for a meeting about productivity and company direction. You panic, just as any reasonable employee would, about your future at the company.

It is in this moment that your boss has an opportunity to choose the direction of the meeting. They could demoralize and demean everyone, angrily spitting out negative numbers and belittling the team for missing goals. However, they could take this opportunity to use effective leadership communication skills to convey problem areas, ease everyone’s mind, and boost morale to obtain goals.

Effective Communication in Leadership is Essential to Team Growth

All companies go through periods of great success, as well as challenging times. It’s a part of the natural ebb and flow of economic reality. And when times are tough, great leaders find different ways to motivate their team to beat the slump and gain a sense of purpose. They need to use effective leadership communication and not beat their teams up to avoid negative repercussions. Imagine getting berated and demoralized by your boss. You would feel a lot less inclined to perform your job duties.

When times are tough and business is a little slower than usual, employees begin to worry about job security. This is the moment for a company leader to be strategic about how they communicate with the team. Employees may start looking around for other opportunities if they sense that the company is in trouble. Beating up on them and making them feel as though they aren’t making any meaningful contribution to the company is a sure way to watch them leave. This doesn’t help your company recover faster. It slows the process down by creating a need to invest in training new people. This is the moment for a company leader to be strategic about how they communicate with the team. Transparent communication gains the trust of your team, fosters a supportive environment, and creates a positive work culture. This can make your team feel valued and boost your team’s motivation to work harder and complete goals.

Three Ways to Inspire Your Team to Work Harder.

Instead, a great way is to try taking a balanced approach. Here are three things you can do, if you’re wondering how to inspire your team. Effective communication in leadership positions can motivate employees to work harder and communicate the urgency of the situation.

• Strike the Appropriate Tone. Hold a meeting where you paint a true picture of the challenges facing the company. With all challenges come opportunities. Be sure to point these out as well. Strike a calm, practical, and confident tone. Your team will appreciate your honesty. They will also still understand the need for everyone to give more than they have been giving.

• Value Everyone Equally. Make sure to highlight the good work that each and every department has been doing. Place equal emphasis on the value of everyone to the company’s success thus far. If your people begin to feel as if you don’t value their contributions or that they are easily replaceable, they will become demotivated and demoralized. You don’t need to paint any false picture of rosiness. Instead, use effective leadership communication skills​ to be sure that each member of your team understands their value to the continuing success of the company.

• Build in Accountability. Create specific, detailed benchmarks, goals, and objectives for each department and/or member of the team. Be sure to collaborate with each department and/or team member in order to ensure the goals are attainable. Also, make sure that there is buy-in and ownership on the part of your employees. As part of the goal-setting process, build in dates and times at which team members or departments will be expected to deliver on their goals. Have them report on their progress to the larger teams and receive regular feedback. This will create clear expectations and allow team members to have a roadmap for their own success.

The Leaders Have the Ability to Instill Fear or Reduce Fear.

Remember, when company leaders create an environment of fear and scarcity, employees will begin to act on that fear – fear of losing their job, fear of work drying up, etc.  Conversely, when company leaders create a positive work environment of hope, framed within clear expectations of hard work, employees will also act accordingly.

A motivated team is an efficient and successful team. Effective communication in leadership is the beginning of leading a successful team and reducing their fears. All companies experience shifting economic realities. And leaders have a choice – will you create fear and demoralize your team? Or will you LEAD them down a clear path of renewed success?

Ellen Patnaude is the founder of Pautnaude Coaching, a leadership and coaching organization that works to strengthen workplace interactions, reduce unhelpful assumptions, and support effective, resilient leadership. She is based in Detroit, Michigan and is an award winning author of several professional development books.