The Art of Motivation: How to Motivate Your Team Without Money

By Doug Mitchell

When companies need to hit a sales goal, meet a project deadline, or develop a new product, they gather teams with the required skills and talent. To motivate their teams to do a great job, many managers will then offer financial bonuses. Money may initially work as an incentive tool; however, over time it will handicap production, cut into company profits, and eventually be expected.

To motivate your team, here are three tools you should think about before rewarding employees with financial bonuses:

Motivation Tool #1:  The Endgame and its Benefits

Every company has goals, and achieving those end goals should become the foundation for motivating your team to work hard  -- and even harder than they had been working before. As a manager, it's also your job to present the benefits of working hard (e.g., “Team, if we nail this project deadline and do well, our team will be promoted to the executive team in the company which will bring us closer to more compensation and responsibilities.”).

You want everyone on your team to recognize the endgame so that they become engaged and take an active role in the organization’s efforts.

Motivation Tool #2: Competition

Competition is the single most effective way to motivate a team or individual without money. Bragging rights incentivize and fuel the fire required to outperform the competition. You can have competitions between individuals or even between teams.

Make your competitions fun (e.g.,“John, you will be competing with Carl to see who can get the most sales this week; the loser has to serve coffee to the winner every morning for one week.”), and get employee buy-in too. It doesn't matter if you’re a hedge fund VP or a door-to-door salesperson -- everyone loves competitions.

Motivation Tool #3: Visualization

When people can see the luxury vehicle they want to buy, the executive office they'd like to sit in, the home they wish to live in, or maybe even hitting the goal they thought was out of reach, they tend to think more about how to get them. Encourage your people to set goals like these and to keep their aspirations front and center. It may seem cheesy, but a dream board does just that. It’s a constant reminder that "my $150,000 house" is not enough.

Next time you need to motivate your staff, taking advantage of the end game, competition, and visuals will help get your team to the finish line on time, with the right bottom line -- and it won’t cost you a thing.