10 ways to motivate and inspire your team (even remotely)

I spoke at the Board of Advisors Mastermind Q2 2021 event, which is a select group of the nation’s most disruptive business owners and entrepreneurs.

My session was on 10 ways to motivate and inspire your team (even remotely).

I had gotten an email that said, “Dave, I’m really struggling to effectively manage my team remotely.” You manage people differently remotely than you do in an office setting.

So here’s how we’ve kept our team motivated and inspired:

Incentivize them
1. Spiffs (Daily, Weekly, Monthly)
  1. Simple to elaborate
  2. Self vs Self
  3. Doesn’t have to be money
2. Individual to them (Weight loss, vacation, new kid, etc.)
3. Do you want top talent? Pay them!
Empower them
1. Trust them enough to make mistakes
2. Ask for their Input & Feedback (2 different things)
  1. Talk about it Tuesday
  2. Suggestion channel in Slack
3. Give them ALL of the credit and take none for yourself
Invest in them
1. Regular Training for ALL of your staff
2. Send them to seminars and conferences
3. Find out what they are passionate about
4. Pay for their audible account or book membership
5. Get them a mentor
Surprise them
1. Fly to Vegas overnight just to drop $1k on Blackjack
2. Hire an attorney to represent them on a spiff grievance
3. Random guests who drop by
4. Rap Battles
5. Get them a Christmas tree
Support them
1. What tools or resources do they need to do their job more effectively?
2. Remove the obstacles
3. Let them know if they’re winning or losing sooner rather than later
Appreciate them
1. Tell them!
  1. Say thank you!
2. UberEats, Dinner & a Movie, Starbucks
3. End of season, launch, year party
4. Send them a handwritten card
Celebrate them
1. Bonus.ly
2. Recognize work achievements
  1. Top Gun Award (Weekly, Quarterly)
  2. Wall of Fame
3. Recognize NON-work achievements
Inspire them
1. Share Your Vision
2. Run good, productive, and positive morning meetings
  1. Motivational Mondays
  2. What’s Good Wednesdays
3. Quarterly Meetings
4. Open up, be vulnerable, and share with them
Energize them
1. Morning Hype video
2. Throw out a CRAZY goal
  1. Shave your head
3. Virtual Happy Hour
  1. Blackjack dealer
4. Pay instantly when you can (Venmo)
Question them
1. Big 3 Meeting on Monday (Set the tone of the week)
  1. Quick check-in’s Tues – Fri
2. Inspect what you expect
3. Own it, everything is YOUR fault