Several years ago, I worked with a manager who knew how to touch the right spots in each member of his team to achieve results. Sometimes, he takes us out for lunch. Every year, he takes out time to celebrate the birthday of each team member. On some occasions, he took some of the team members for photoshoots on their birthdays. He keeps surprising the team and they keep bringing results for him. Motivating your team is not optional. It's the difference between a team that manipulates momentum and a team that moves towards goals with real conviction.
You cannot lead a demoralized army to win a war. Similarly, you cannot achieve results with a team whose members lack energy. History has shown us time and again the importance of motivation in a team, and the corporate world is no exception. See what Vineeta Bali did as MD/CEO of Britannia Industries in India. They did not wait for the parent company to design an incentive program for the Indian market. He understood his team's cultural context, the importance of family, and the value placed on personal development, and he created initiatives that met those specific needs. He created a culture where people felt seen and valued. Productivity increased, revenues tripled and retention also increased.
When Paul Polman took charge of affairs at Unilever, he didn't just focus on young talent. They rehired experienced employees by linking their work to a larger purpose, the Sustainable Living Plan. He gave experienced managers a reason to care again, a legacy worth building. People who were languishing suddenly found new energy because their work meant something beyond quarterly income. When your team members are motivated, they will improve their commitment to your cause. Motivation is the kinetic energy that an employee needs. You must be able to convert the potential energy of each team member into kinetic energy. This is what makes you a leader.
Think about this scientifically for a moment. Potential energy is stored energy, energy waiting to be released. Every person on your team has potential energy, skills, experience, intelligence, and creativity. However, potential energy does not move anything. It just sits there. Kinetic energy is energy in motion: energy that gets work done. Your job as a leader is transformation. You are not creating energy from scratch. You're uncovering what's already there. You are removing barriers, providing catalysts, and creating the conditions that transform potential into performance. Indra Nooyi did this very well at PepsiCo. He saw the potential in his organization to become more than a sugary beverage company, and he inspired his teams to adopt an approach of “performance with purpose.”
There are different ways to motivate your team. Find one that suits your team and implement it. Never leave your team without energy for results and performance. Some leaders inspire through vision and paint a compelling picture of where the organization is headed. Others motivate themselves through autonomy, giving people the opportunity to solve problems in their own way. Some are motivated through growth and investment in the development of their people. Others motivate through recognition, by celebrating wins publicly and meaningfully. Method matters less than consistency and authenticity. Doug Conant wrote over 30,000 personal thank you notes to employees during his tenure at Campbell Soup Company. I mean handwritten notes. This is no small feat, and they were written not just to officials, but to individual contributors. This was his way. It worked because it was real and relentless.
Motivation improves productivity. As a leader it is your responsibility to know how to motivate your team members, and this applies at all levels of the organization. This applies to you whether you're a department head or a line manager overseeing five people. The assistant manager in a retail branch needs as much motivation as the regional director. The customer service representative answering calls needs it as much as the chief digital officer needs the building system. Older members of staff also want to be motivated. The irony is that the older you get, the more you need inspiration.
When you unlock energy in your team members, you don't just get compliance; You also get commitment. Compliance means doing what you're told, but commitment means doing what needs to be done and even more because you believe in the mission. Look at your team today. You should view them not as spare numbers but as batteries of potential energy waiting for connection. Be the catalyst and find the trigger. Whether it's a listening ear for troubled workers, autonomy for a rising star, flexibility for an overwhelmed parent, time off for the stressed one, or special incentives for performing employees. Please look for it.
If you are not able to convert that potential into momentum, you are not leading but just walking.
Oluwole Dada is the General Manager at SecureID Limited, Africa's largest smart card manufacturing plant in Lagos, Nigeria.
