As a manager, one of your most important jobs is to keep everyone in your team motivated and focused on the task at hand. While for some people this may come naturally, for others it can take a little longer to find a managerial style which feels comfortable and works for those around you.

Worry not though, as skills such as increasing motivation and team spirit can easily be learned. Here are five ways you can keep your team motivated in the short and long term…

Be very specific when briefing the team

No one likes to have the goal posts moved once they’ve already started working towards a result, nor do teams respond well to confusing direction. Thus, you should practice your ability to deliver a clear and specific brief at the get-go.

Tools and techniques, such as project management tools, like Trello can be truly revolutionary within teamwork. Using these, you can allocate job roles and keep track of progress; overseeing without patronizing. This motivates your team members by giving them clear tasks to achieve and letting them bear witness to their productivity.

Reward effort, not just success

Of course, you should give credit where credit is due, and credit doesn’t always come hand in hand with great success. To keep your team motivated you should also reward hard work and effort, even if the end result wasn’t what you’d hoped for.

Understandably, financial bonuses come from winning business, so consider other ways you can reward your team without having to spend budget.

Encourage the team to bond

Team members who get on well out of work, generally also get on well when working together in the office. That’s why investing in team building activities and social trips should bond your workers together and increase their motivation and productivity.

Browse ticketsales.com to see what events are taking place in your city — book some seats at a football game or send your team to see a show. This kind of gesture can be particularly impactful after a time of hard work and stress, allowing the team to unwind and enjoy each other’s company beyond the office walls.

Let the team see you working too

A good manager is happy to get stuck in with the rest of their team; a bad manager hides in their office and allows everyone else to pick up the slack. So, to motivate your team, you should show transparency. Let them know what you’re doing to enable them to move forward; share your goals and objectives for the week ahead. Allow them to ask questions, gain clarifications, and you’ll all be working together on the same page.

Be open to communication and feedback

Communication is absolutely vital within a team; should someone feel over-stretched or under pressure, they must be able to come to their manager to tell them this.

A team which feels it can feed back to its superiors will be more motivated due to the trust practiced between its members. Communication will also reduce the number of issues you come up against, so your productivity will be greater.