By Dana Phillips.

How often have you said to yourself, “I can’t get my team motivated? They don’t want to work.”  It’s a frustrating thought, and we often blame ourselves for not being a good motivator or leader. Most leaders have similar ideas at some point in their careers, and I did, too.

One of the most important things I learned during my leadership journey is the difference between inspiration and motivation.

Inspiration is the external things you do for your team, such as giving recognition, sharing testimonies, communicating the vision of success, and showing the benefits of leadership and how it changes lives. You have control over how you inspire your team.

Motivation comes from within and is directly connected to someone’s what and why.

You have no control over anyone’s motivation to do anything. It has to come from within them.

So, if we can’t motivate anyone, what can we do as leaders?  It begins with finding out your team member’s what and why. That becomes their internal motivation. Your role is to help them stay connected to it to stay motivated. You can do this by asking questions like these and writing down the answers:

  • What do you want from your business? (If they say money, ask how much and what they will do with it)
  • What makes that important to you? (You’ll discover the emotional tie which is the real driver of their motivation)
  • Describe how you will feel when you make this goal? (This helps them feel what making the goal will be like)

What I’ve found is that motivation is fragile. It can come and go quickly. When you see the motivation floundering, revisit the importance and feeling of achieving the goal with them.  ASK: “Is this still what you want, or has it changed?’  If it’s still the same, reconnect them to it.  If it has changed, reset it to what they want now.

Remember, motivation comes from being very clear about the what and why and staying connected to it. When you do, it will become the driver for making dreams come true!

Want to learn more about motivating your team?

Being a leader is more than managing sales and recruiting. Being a leader tests your self-concept and relationship skills. The Direct Selling Leaders Network is the Facebook group known as a safe place to share questions and answers about growing your business. Leaders are curious. This is a great group to find out some answers.

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