How to support your boss by motivating co-workers

Fast 40 Prozent der deutschen Sekretärinnen haben – mindestens vorübergehend – Personalverantwortung. Wer Personalverantwortung hat, sollte in der Lage sein, Menschen zu motivieren.Wie sieht es damit bei Ihnen aus?

Lesen Sie in Secretary Today, wie Sie Ihren Chef unterstützen, indem Sie Mitarbeiter motivieren.

Almost 40 percent of German PAs and secretaries are permanently or temporarily responsible for personnel, a recent Assistenz & Sekretariat study disclosed. Reason enough to think about how you can motivate your co-workers. As a secretary or PA you have a lot of influence on the morale in your team. Being able to motivate people is one of the most important leadership qualities. The prerequisite for being able to motivate others is being able to motivate yourself.

Define your personal 'motivation structure'

In what circumstances do you like or dislike doing particular tasks? For example, think about being asked to create a PowerPoint presentation or photocopy a hundred documents, make some complex calculations, organise a conference, and so on. Would you prefer to address these at a particular time of day, or day of the week, with or without help, and so on? What is your primary motivation for working?

Is it for the money, to meet people, because you feel accepted at work? Whenever you need to motivate yourself, think of these factors.

Think about your co-workers’ motivation structures

Find out what motivates your colleagues. If you know what certain people like doing and when they like doing it, it will be easier for you to delegate work to the right person at the right time. The quality of any given task depends very much on whether the person doing it enjoyed it or not.

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Offer an appropriate incentive

When you want to motivate people, give them an appropriate incentive.
For example: A colleague is well liked and gets on well with people. Other colleagues go to her when they need advice. She thrives on the feedback she gets from these talks. Recommend her next time you need a facilitator at a meeting or a gobetween in a conflict situation.

Talk to your colleagues about the results of their work. Offer praise. If you and your boss are not happy with the results, say so openly, but remain businesslike and objective. This means that you do not criticise the person, only the results.

Keep your promises

If you motivated a colleague by saying you will recommend her for further
projects, or for a training seminar, don’t forget to keep your promise. The trust you gain will be the foundation for future motivation.