I have worked on software development teams for thirty-seven years and led the teams for the last twelve years. We created software for the Navy on tight budgets and deadlines.

In my opinion the best motivation is respect. Honest respect for the men and women that support you is superior to incentives, lunches, and bonuses. It has to be from day one. From the minute an employee walks in the door they should know that their opinion counts and that their lives matter. That doesn’t mean that they get to do anything that want and come and go as they please. In my experience if you treat people like professionals; they’ll act like professionals. A professional will understand that everything revolves around the deadlines and milestones. When it is crunch time; it is crunch time.

A manager also knows that during normal operation there should be room for latitude. If an employee needs to be home a little early to pick up a child from school; that should not be a problem as long as the time is made up. If you see an employee the is dragging his or herself in sick because they don’t have the leave and can’t afford to lose the time; send them home and fight with upper management for support. If your people know that you have their back; that will mean more than anything that you can put in their pocket.

Another important point is to keep your people in the loop on the big picture. Let them know when things are going right and when things are going wrong. Yes there is a risk that someone may bail out in the middle of a project because they think they are going down with the ship, but for the most part it is another sign of respect. In my opinion it is a must do. No one wants to feel like a mushroom. If you haven’t heard it before a mushroom is someone that is kept in the dark and fed bull****.

There can only be one manager and you cannot abdicate the responsibility but and manager must give their staff his or her trust if they expect their people to be happy.