Working as a police officer and eventually for a high profile person, Rory Steyn has had to work in and manage teams through extremely stressful situations. It’s easy to motivate a team and inspire courage when there is no pressure, but it’s an extraordinary challenge when the pressure is through the roof.
Here’s how you can motivate your team members to perform well despite work-related stress:
- Don’t get caught up in micromanaging
Micromanagement is exactly what it sounds like; someone trying to personally control and monitor everything in a team, situation, or place. It's discouraging and irrational because the need for control to make sure everything goes as planned only leads to long-term problems.
2. Practice acts of kindness
Make sure you let them know how much you appreciate their hard work. Saying “Thank you” goes a long way and being aware when they need to take a quick break from what they are doing to rest, eat, or simply just breathe.
3. Motivate individually
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. You can be brutally honest to those who prefer a no-nonsense approach, but gentler on individuals who are more sensitive. Rather say: “Can we try it another way? Let’s see if it works better.”
4. Lead by example
Going on panic mode will not solve the problem. Your team will follow your lead. If you lose your head, they'll lose theirs as well. Show them that you can maintain your composure under pressure and avoid being a workplace bully by doing so, regardless of what occurs.
On our podcast last week we had Rory Steyn, who served as a South African police officer for 18 years and retired early as one of President Mandela's protection team leaders, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel.
If you’d like to listen to the episode with Rory and Patrick, tune in on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1Ikq9wbAoAnsuxImDIFrFI?si=afc91a163d754760