Let’s be honest: nobody is going to turn down a raise or a bonus.
Money is important. It pays the bills, it provides security, and it’s a tangible way to show someone they’re valued.
But if you think a bigger paycheck is the ultimate key to a motivated, engaged, and creative team, you’re missing the bigger picture.
Extrinsic rewards like bonuses are great for short-term boosts. But they don’t create deep, lasting commitment. They don’t inspire people to bring their best ideas to work, to collaborate enthusiastically, or to stick with you when things get tough. The motivation that comes from a paycheck is transactional. The motivation that comes from great leadership is transformational.
So, what do the best leaders do differently? They understand that real motivation isn’t something you give people; it’s something you unlock within them. They create an environment where people feel energized, valued, and connected to their work on a human level. They feel psychologically safe and engage in their work as if they were running the company.
If you’re ready to move beyond the bonus check and become the kind of leader people would run through walls for, here is your playbook.
Stop managing tasks, start giving ownership
This is where most managers fail. They focus on the task and not the people – they focus on the process and not the person.
One of the fastest ways to kill motivation is to micromanage.
When you dictate every step of a process, you’re not just controlling the work; you’re communicating a lack of trust. And nothing is more demotivating than feeling like your boss doesn’t trust you to think for yourself.
Imagine yourself at home, where your partner, family, is telling you what to do, how to do it, how you did it wrong, and why you couldn’t do better, etc.
How would you feel?
Drained, exhausted, frustrated? Or relieved, energized, happy?
This is the easiest process for poor managers. “If I control every part of the worker, then I will succeed” – terrible way to manage.
Imagine, you’re the partner who has to dictate how your family has to do everything, how they need to do it, and when they did it poorly, etc.
How would that feel?
Early managers believe this is the way to manager their team. It doesn’t reduce your stress, it adds to with because you’re communicating a lack of trust.
The antidote is autonomy.
When you give your team ownership over their work—the freedom to make decisions, solve problems, and take their own approach—you’re giving them a huge vote of confidence. You’re telling them, “I trust your judgment.” This sense of control and responsibility is a massive intrinsic motivator.
This week, find one task or project you would normally manage closely. Instead of dictating the how, clearly define the what needs to get done and why it’s important to the bigger picture. Set the goal, define what success looks like, and then say the nine most powerful words a leader can say: “I trust you to figure out the best way.”
Then, get out of their way and be available for support, not surveillance. It’ll take time for you to build their trust in your trust of them, but in time they’ll output work products better than you could have imagined, they’ll have internal pride in their work, and it’ll unleash their potential and your leadership.
Recognize the person, not only the work
Recognize the person, and not ONLY the work.
We fail at this often, we put people into a box (you ARE what your produce). This dismisses 99% of the person and creates distance and poor relationship.
Imagine if your family only contributed your value to what you produce?
How would that feel? Terrible, and if that’s been your reality, that is trauma you’ll have to heal.
I had a client who was struggling with taking time off – they were fully burned out – took sick days when they just couldn’t make it. They weren’t living paycheck to paycheck, but mid-level, financially stable person. Who attached their entire identity to what they could do for others, without that external validation they didn’t know how to behave of value themselves. This was harming them in all parts of their lives, from relationships at home, work, and personal/romantic, they were always the giver and never asked for anything in return because “they weren’t worthy”. As we worked together, they were able to heal from the trauma and started living a more balanced life and thriving is their career and life.
These things happen – we forget the person because we care too much about the effort.
Too often, the only recognition employees see is during a formal performance review once or twice a year. That’s not nearly enough.
As a leader, one of your most important jobs is to be a mirror, constantly reflecting your team’s progress back to them. People need to see that their effort is making a difference, not only results delivered.
Try this, in your next meeting – start off by Wins of the week.
At the end of your weekly team meeting or in a Friday afternoon, take five minutes to publicly shout out specific wins. It could be a big milestone or a small act of teamwork. The key is to be specific:
Instead of: “Good job, everyone.” Bland, doesn’t actually say anything, and shows you don’t care.
Try: “Huge thanks to [X] for spotting that bug in the code—she saved us a major headache.”
Try: “I want to recognize [X] for learning how to figure out the project timeline and budget, it was an uphill effort and they worked diligently to make sure we were prepared for a strong start to the project. Your effort will make all our lives easier. Thank you!”
This makes progress tangible and creates a culture of appreciation.
Translate the mission and share the vision
Are we there yet?
Before GPS, we had to ask “are we there yet?” And we’d ask more and more frequently when we didn’t know anything or missed the road signs. This adds to frustration, irritation, and become annoying after a while because it harms the drivers from having to keep say “No, we aren’t there yet..” and kept us blind that we didn’t know what was happening or what we’d actually be at our destination.
Leading your team is similar, they are buried in the day-to-day details. It’s incredibly easy for them to lose sight of how their part fits into the bigger picture. Most managers don’t see the benefits of sharing the bigger picture with their team, and I still don’t know they shy away from sharing the bigger picture. What would happen if the destination was known?
I ask all clients – where do you want to be at the end of our journey?
As we move forward, I keep sharing how every session we’re making progress to their desired goal, what barriers are coming come, how we can modify, etc. This helps the client, and your team, know there is progress and we will get to our destination.
Your job as a leader is to be the translator. You have to constantly connect their daily grind to the company’s mission and the leadership’s vision. No matter if you’re the CEO or the project lead – the bigger picture you see is helpful for your team to know how they are contributing to the mission and the vision of the future.
When people understand the “why,” their work transforms from a list of tasks into a sense of purpose.
To build a sense of purpose for your team, they need to know their work is part of something bigger. If it’s looking at spreadsheets day in and day out, everything just blends together and we start having Groundhog Day symptoms (the same thing everyday, the mundane of life) and it’s depressing. Getting your team to see the impact of their work on the bigger picture gives them ownership of their work and shows their effort has consequential meaning.
Try this – Tell a Customer Story.
Find a piece of positive feedback from a customer—an email, a review, a thank-you note. Share it with your team.
Put a face and a story to the data. Talk about the real human being who was helped by the work your team is doing. This is infinitely more powerful than just talking about hitting internal metrics. Don’t generalize, but personalize. One personal story can make a world of difference. Ask your team, how they see their work impacting the greater mission and vision? And elevate those words to your leadership.
Failure is an option
In leadership, if you don’t have this – you have a long road ahead.
But don’t worry, we’ll make sure you normalize failing and failing fast and forward.
Do you want your team to be innovative, creative, and proactive?
Then you have to make it safe for them to take risks. And taking risks means that sometimes, they will fail.
If your team’s first response to a mistake is to hide it or blame someone else, you have a fear problem, not a performance problem. When you have a fear problem then you have a communication problem, and that stems from trust issues, and that is a result of toxicity within the team, which stems from your colleagues don’t feel psychologically safe.
This takes active effort to correct and improve, but once you have psychological safety, you and your team become unstoppable. You’ll do more, have more fun, and engage with each other in a playful space where it’s hyper-productive and collaborative.
Psychological Safety is the shared belief that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking—is the bedrock of high-performing teams. It’s what allows people to ask “dumb” questions, challenge the status quo, and admit they don’t know something. It’s foundational to creating exceptionally team.
It all begins with courage and personal vulnerability. Share one of your own “productive failures.”
At your next team meeting, share a quick story about a time you tried something that didn’t work out. Talk about what you were trying to do, what went wrong, and what you learned from it. This sends a powerful message: here, we learn from our mistakes instead of punishing them. This will be a constant effort of sharing more about yourself and the team feeling comfortable to share more about themselves – building trust takes time and so does psychological safety. Make it okay for your team to share their failures as enthusiastically as their successes.
Invest in their career
Your employees are not just cogs in a machine to get a project done. They are people with their own dreams, goals, and career aspirations.
One of the most powerful ways to show you care—and to motivate them—is to invest in their personal and professional growth, even if it has nothing to do with their current role.
Investing in their career helps you build psychological safety, loyalty, and strengthen their dedication to the role because they know you can and you want to see them grow. This level of trust is built over time but it can help your employees to see you as a mentor and someone who has their best interest at heart.
When you actively care about their future, they will be far more committed to helping you and the team succeed in the present.
Your investment in them can look different, it can be more flexibility when they need it to more coaching style guidance to help them flourish, stretch assignments, cross-departmental projects, etc. When you know your team well, you know what will help them grow and where they are curious to learn more. Giving them permission and opportunity to engage on those ideas can unleash a fierce loyalty. And, if they choose to leave the team/organization, be genuinely excited for them and support them in the transition – because that shows you care.
This again, builds on top of the previous four ways to motivate your team beyond bonuses. You can have an informal discussion with your employees about their future, passion, and aspirations, or just like the annual, semi-annual review – you conduct a “stay interview”.
A “stay interview” is to find out what would make them stay. Sit down with each team member and ask questions like:
“What part of your job energizes you the most?”
“What skills are you interested in developing this year?”
“What can I do to support your career goals, whether they’re at this company or beyond?”
This conversation shows you’re invested in them as a person, not just as a resource.
Leading is about creating an environment
Great leaders focus on the environment and not being the best or brightest in the room. They are in charge of the soil that grows the team. What’s suggested aren’t easy fixes, and you may not see immediate results, but as you tend to improving the environment, you’ll see how people grow, how they start creating their independence and collaboration because they are motivated to keep growing.
The skills to build your environment comes with time, intention, impact, and practice. True leaders start by investing in themselves and the space they occupy – when the investment is there you not only change the person but the environment in which they grow.
If you’re ready to build these skills and become an inspirational leader with deep loyalty and amazing results, let’s talk. As a coach, I can support in your and your teams growth by providing an outside perspective, accountability, strategic guidance and help you transform your leadership style.
Book a free consultation call today, and let’s build your leadership style and get you in command of an unstoppable team.
