How To Motivate Your Team During High Stress Situations - Work It Daily

How To Motivate Your Team During High Stress Situations - Work It Daily Here's how you can ensure that your team members perform well despite the work-related tension... It's easy to motivate your team when there's no pressure, but it's an extraordinary challenge to keep them going even when the stress level is through the roof. Related: 5 Tips For Motivating Your Team It can't be helped. There will be times when the company demands more from you. You'll be asked to come up with something brilliant despite a deadline that's way too close. Suddenly, it's crunch time and, like it or not, you have to breathe down the necks of your team members to make sure that they deliver. Here's how you can ensure that your team members perform well despite the work-related tension... 1. Trust And Verify But Make An Effort To Make Work Fun Keep an eye on what every member of your team is doing, but don’t get caught up in micromanaging them. Let them do their work. You don’t have to be in their face all the time. That said there’s no harm in lightening up. For instance, you can make a game out of beating deadlines. Award a silly prize such as a stuffed animal or a Nerf gun to people who complete their tasks on time. 2. Practice Random Acts Of Kindness Just because you're dealing with a stressful situation, doesn’t mean you can take it out on your team. Make sure you let them know how much you appreciate their hard work. Saying “Thank you” goes a long way. There will also be moments when they need to take a quick break from what they are doing to rest, eat, or simply just breathe. Otherwise their productivity will go down and any work done from that point forward will be rubbish. Allow them to take these quick breaks, as it will recharge them. As Tony Schwartz, head of the productivity consulting firm The Energy Project, explained “Without any downtime to refresh and recharge, we’re less efficient, make more mistakes, and get less engaged with what we’re doing.” However, if your team has to pull an all-nighter at the office, a late night meal or even their favorite coffee drinks are good treats. 3. Intercept Rumors When the going gets tough, some tongues start wagging. There will be talk of heads rolling or unfounded assumptions about somebody being demoted. It's your job to make sure that your team doesn't start, add, or even listen to these rumors. Be straightforward and reassure your team that you will always keep them clued in. 4. Create Individualized Motivation Plans Not all your employees will respond the same way to a particular manner of encouragement. Some of them may need to hear you praise their work, while others thrive when you let them do their thing. Figure out what makes each member of your team tic. This way, you know exactly what to say when you have to “push” them. Be brutally honest to those who prefer a no-nonsense approach but be gentler on those who are more sensitive. You can say, “Can we try it another way? Let’s see if it works better.” Lead By Example Going on panic mode will not get the job done. Your team will take their cue from you. They’ll lose their heads if you lose yours. So, no matter what happens, show them that you can stay calm and not transform into a workplace bully even when the pressure is on. Related Posts How To Answer 7 Of The Most Common Interview Questions Top 3 Tips For Phone Interviews How To Ace The Panel Interview About the author Michelle Riklan gained extensive HR leadership experience at Fortune 500 companies such as Sony Entertainment and John Wiley Sons. With a combined 20 years of in-house corporate and targeted consulting experience, Michelle currently services large corporations, small businesses, and individuals in all aspects of Human Resources and Career Management. Connect with her on LinkedIn and Twitter or call her at 800.540.3609 for more information. Disclosure: This post is sponsored by a CAREEREALISM-approved expert. You can learn more about expert posts here. Photo Credit: Shutterstock Have you joined our career growth club?Join Us Today!