When we approach motivation as a leader, we should have several different ideas in mind in order to be successful longterm. Often times new leaders will use a single approach, and you will find you are getting a “hit and miss” results. Your top performers continue to be at the top, and the bottom stays at the bottom. Let's take a look at 5 Laws For Successful Motivation that will even the playing field for all.

The Law of Face-the vast majority of leaders use money or other tangible items as their primary method to motivate their team. But our number one law for effective motivation is that “Nothing will be more effective or mean more to your team members than to get in front of them and say thank you”!! Period. Far too many leaders feel that as long as they “pay for performance” and provide rewards for good behavior, that's all they need to do. Get in front of your people when they deserve positive reinforcement and say thank you.

The Law of One-simply put, every person on your team values different things. Leaders need to get personal with their people, getting to know just who they are and what they value. One size does not fit all when it comes to motivation. We should be using several different approaches to our motivation to maximize performance for all team members.

The Law of Repeat-at the core of motivation is the fact that we want to reward the behavior and performance that produces the results we desire and that is aligned with organization goals and objectives. Many leaders “assume” that every team member clearly understands what is expected of them. In reality, many leaders only interact with team members when they do something wrong. This “leave alone Zap” approach only defines the behavior we do not want. Our motivation needs to clearly show our people the performance and behavior we DO WANT.

The Law of Time-if you want to receive the biggest bang for your buck, place your reward as close to the behavior as you can. The longer you wait, the less people will relate the reward with the behavior you are looking for. The sooner you can reward, the more “followers” you will see begin to behave in a similar fashion.

The Law of Clarity-and finally, we need to make sure that our rewards and recognition clearly define why we are providing this reward. All team members must understand what they can do to join in on this recognition. If you have multiple job functions on your team, make sure the recognition adds clarity across each job function.

As the leader of a team, if you can apply each and every one of these laws to your approach to motivation, you will find new “top performers” over time because it takes everyone into consideration and clearly defines the performance you desire and reward.

Ever get frustrated because it seems that when one person in your office gets sick, everyone gets sick? The person next to you comes down with the flu, and the next thing you know you're at home calling your manager to let her know you will not be in today. Working so close with other people, we tend to catch everything that is going around. So how can you use this to your advantage as a leader? Do you know that people are taking home your 'attitude' every day?

There's a great leadership book titled 'Primal Leadership', that goes into great detail about how, as leaders, we share our behaviors, attitude, and enthusiasm with everyone around us. To emphasize this point, the book talks about a study that was done using subjects that are in an interview room. When a person comes into the room, filled with lots of energy and enthusiasm, the person across the table will actually begin to 'mirror' the same physical attributes. Heart rate, blood pressure, as well as external behaviors begin to change and more closely match that of this person. The same effect occurs when a very low energy, negative person engaged with the interviewer.

So what effect do you have as the leader of your team. Your team members look to you for guidance and support, and your behavior has more impact on them than any other person they come into contact with. If you are looking for ways to energize your team, make them more positive and productive simply by demonstrating the energy level and enthusiasm yourself. I've often times observed this happen when a new supervisor joins a team, and over a short period of time the team seems to be transformed.

We have what is referred to as an 'open system' that relies on external sources to determine our behaviors and emotions. We look to other resources such as people, books, etc to shape what and how we feel about things around us. As a leader, there is an urgent need to take a look at what you are sharing with those around you. Do you change people for the better? Do you excite your team to want to perform better? To support the customer well beyond what is expected? Or, do you tend to bring them down to a lower energy level?

Simple things like saying good morning to everyone when you arrive, smile every chance you get, and share positive, encouraging words with your team every day will spread a positive tone. Be what you want to see!! Find others that will share their energy with the team. One by one, encourage optimism and support of others. Build a team that uses the energy you share to become productive and positive every day. Make sure your team takes home more than just the flu bug!  More articles and short video coaching a www.LeadershipMentor.com