As the new year unfolds, we often find ourselves invigorated with a holiday-fuelled surge of energy and motivation, setting ambitious goals and charting the course for success. Yet, as the months progress, sustaining that initial zeal becomes a challenge. With energy levels waning, it’s imperative for leadership to proactively seek ways to reignite the energy, drive and aspirations of their teams.
In our quest for sustainable motivation, we turn to the wisdom of four accomplished business founders and esteemed members of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization. They share their invaluable insights and proven strategies for revitalising and inspiring teams when the initial new year motivation begins to fade.
Now’s the time to get ready for a successful year by reigniting your organisation and boosting your team’s motivation, with a focus on revitalising that business mojo.
One of the first steps in re-energising your team is to take them out of their usual environment and head off on a business or strategic retreat. This provides a great opportunity for team members to reconnect, realign their interests, and even share any concerns or thoughts they may have been holding back. A change of scenery can do wonders for boosting morale and fostering a sense of unity among team members.
During these retreats, or even in day-to-day operations, there are several activities that can help re-energise the team and enhance motivation. Encouraging team members to create and share their vision boards can foster a sense of purpose and shared goals within the team. Conducting personality profiling exercises can also be beneficial, as it helps team members gain self-awareness and understand why others may behave in certain ways.
Another effective activity is the “Good, Bad, and Ugly” workshop, where team members are encouraged to openly share their thoughts on what is working well, what needs improvement, and any challenges or obstacles they are facing. This exercise promotes open communication and allows for constructive feedback to be shared among team members.
Additionally, taking a day to engage in charity work together can be a powerful way to re-energise the team and give back to the community. Giving back not only creates a sense of fulfilment and purpose among team members, but it also strengthens bonds within the team as they work towards a common goal of making a positive impact.
By incorporating these activities and approaches into your business practices, you can boost motivation and set the stage for a successful and productive year ahead. Creating opportunities for team members to connect, share, and give back can have a transformative effect on morale and productivity within your business.
Our team loves to get out of the office and do something social together therefore we try to tie in events that collaborate with one of our partners together with some team bonding. So far this year we’ve all attended a ‘women in business’ luncheon with The Melbourne Victory Soccer Club’s ‘Victory in Business’ group. Next, we are going mushroom foraging with one of our new suppliers, Fable, who produce vegan meat alternatives made from shitake mushrooms. This outdoor activity will have us in the wilderness learning about foraging for mushrooms, followed by cooking them into tasty meals that can inspire our new seasonal menu ideas.
We also love sharing our personal ‘weekly wins’ with the team each Tuesday morning at our ‘What’s Up’ team stand-ups. These inspire us with new ideas as we learn from everyone on the team what is working really well and perhaps where we can all put some energy to see what accomplishments we can achieve next.
Our team loves working on new products too, and there’s nothing more fun than doing the taste testing every month as we explore new menu ideas. We look to how these new products can improve health and add as many potent ingredients as we can to ensure each menu item is a total ‘health bomb’ full of goodness that spreads from the body to the mind due to the gut-brain connection. We love to keep up to date with new nutritional science, health trends and interesting flavours so that our menu is ever-evolving and improving.
It’s common knowledge that new year motivation starts to drop off after a few months. Here’s a few things we do in our business to completely re-energise the team:
By implementing these strategies, including the use of dashboards and curated Slack channels for real-time performance tracking, our organisation has succeeded in sustaining momentum beyond the initial surge of new year motivation.
If you find yourself in need of a fresh start, chances are your team feels the same way. By engaging in team-building exercises, fostering connections with clients, and realigning with goals, businesses can maintain momentum and drive success throughout the year.
As the initial excitement of the new year cools and our team gets busier, we have fewer chances to unite as a company. As a national and international hybrid workplace without offices in every city, we strive to keep our team motivated and energised. To do this, we bring everyone together at least once a year and regularly implement the following:
If the rejuvenating effects of the new year are wearing off, these are some simple ways you can offer a motivational boost to your team, alongside rest and increased connection. Celebrating individual and team achievements through ‘everyday wins’ or ‘weekly shoutouts’ builds a positive and inspiring work environment while offering opportunities for further growth and education can keep people engaged. Lead with enthusiasm for a ripple effect through your team.
Tim Tocco is the director of HTG Solutions and the incoming president of Entrepreneurs’ Organization Queensland.
