Motivation

Persuading someone to do a certain activity, whether this is coordinating an event, working out a budget for a particular product or item or telling somebody to keep up their efforts in a task all boils down to the need for motivation. There are two main types of motivation, extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. By definition, extrinsic motivation is the need to perform an activity in order to earn a reward and avoid punishment whilst intrinsic motivation is the need to perform an activity for its own sake and to gain personal rewards.

At work, it takes a lot of effort to motivate and persuade others. Entrepreneurs often use motivational techniques so as to help their employees stay on task, achieve an overall outcome, or ensure increasing rates of productivity and success. A proven motivator for students and employees alike is the need to earn a "badge" for committing to a certain task.

Trust your employees with their job

A vote of confidence goes a long way. When you allow trust to happen, you are essentially developing a relationship that becomes a solid foundation for mutual acceptance and solidarity. They will be less likely to disappoint you. Instead of belittling them or making disparaging remarks when problems occur, trusting them with their work will surely instil a greater sense of self-worth and encourage them to do their best. 

Set smaller weekly goals rather than large goals

Rather than setting large objectives which employees need to meet, smaller weekly goals are one way to ensure that larger looming deadlines are met and broken down into more manageable tasks. By setting small weekly goals, employees have a sense of accomplishment when these components are done but are not too put off by the thought of wider and more unrealistic goals. 

Provide an overall direction 

A good way to keep employees on track is to provide them with an overall direction and guide them along to make sure they are reaching certain milestones in their career. When employees understand they are making a difference through their contribution, they will feel more motivated to work harder and produce better results for the company. 

Avoid micromanagement

When employees are not given the freedom to learn from various methods, explore new ways to use technology to enhance their work, they are essentially being treated as though they are incapable of doing their tasks and are unwilling to enhance their skills. This links back to the previous point about trust becoming an issue, since an employee will start to develop feelings of mistrust. Great leaders never micromanage their staff, since they understand that by doing so, it leads to greater disengagement, a drop in employee self-esteem and an overall toxic work culture.