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No matter what type of business you’re in, your team will undoubtedly encounter problems with creativity and inspiration sooner or later. It’s difficult for any human being to always be “on” creatively, and these uninspired moments can happen during the most inopportune times.
Our founder and managing partner, Terry Tateossian, gives her take on the subject as well. You could read her opinion under number 8. Plan More Non-Work Time
If deadlines are looming and work is piling up, leaders can take it upon themselves to help their teams get reinspired. However, this is easier said than done, especially without the right techniques. Below, eight members of Young Entrepreneur Council examine some techniques they’ve used to motivate and inspire their teams to reignite their creativity.
Table of Contents
1. Assign Projects Based On Interests And Goals
Reigniting an unmotivated team can be tough (it happens as a business owner), but I try to understand what motivates and interests each person and give them projects that they will find interesting or challenging. At least once a year, I talk to my team to find out their goals and aspirations so I can assign them to the right roles. This strategy might not work for every company, but it works for us because we’re a small group. – Kristin Kimberly Marquet, Marquet Media, LLC
2. Host Brainstorming Sessions
The most effective way to get the creative juices flowing even during the hardest times is by holding brainstorm sessions. Two minds are always better than one. Make sure to entertain different ideas and opinions from different people. You might have heard of the saying “quality over quantity,” but for effective brainstorming sessions, you should focus on quantity over quality. Instead of thinking about one big idea, try extracting many ideas during the session. Also, avoid criticism and negativity; promote a free share of thoughts and ideas. Lastly, combine all the ideas and evaluate each idea to determine which one is more feasible, innovative and persuasive to help you accomplish your goals. – Vikas Agrawal, Infobrandz
3. Hold Different Types Of Meetings
Our company likes to hold different types of meetings to break the monotony and help people in different departments get to know each other. Recently, we switched up our town hall process and changed it to break rooms where smaller groups can chat and talk about whatever they’d like. There are also suggested questions involved to move the conversation along if people need topics to discuss. Having fun discussions with co-workers is essential to inspire creativity and improve collaboration within your business. It can spark new ideas that otherwise may not have come up. – Stephanie Wells, Formidable Forms
4. Encourage Them To Just Get Something Down
I encourage our employees to just put something down on paper or on the screen. Even if it’s silly or a very rough draft, it’s super helpful because getting started is the hardest step. Putting something down gets you over the biggest hurdle. Waiting for inspiration to strike is not a good method. Sometimes ideas do strike out of the blue, but usually you need to be doing the act of working for inspiration to happen. Hemingway used to say something about how he hated writing but he liked having written. Creative work can be like that sometimes, so you have to force yourself to start working as part of a routine to end up with something that you’re proud of and happy with. – Robert De Los Santos, Sky High Party Rentals
5. Initiate The Momentum
Get down in the trenches with your team members and show them how it’s done. Lead by example. If your team is feeling unmotivated, sit down with them for an hour and take the lead on the project. Chances are, they will see the energy and perseverance you bring to the table and will feed off that energy. Sometimes, you have to get things started simply by taking the initiative, getting the momentum going and then letting the team take over. – Amine Rahal, IronMonk Solutions
6. Spend Time Together As A Team
I think that it’s important to have a day (or even a week, if possible) when you drop noncritical work tasks and spend some time together as a team. This can be done virtually or in a safe way at an on-site location. A day spent playing games, lounging or having a chat can help people connect with their work and each other in a way that’s not related to everyday tasks. This can be a good time for a leader to share meaningful stories, play a video or discuss goals and values. A break like this, involving activities and human connection, will leave people feeling refreshed and inspired. – Syed Balkhi, WPBeginner
7. Try To Lighten The Mood
When I get the sense that my team is going through a rough patch and could use some inspiration, I try to lighten the mood. If your employees are uninspired because they are unmotivated, you have the wrong employees. If your employees are uninspired because they are worn out, discouraged or disappointed, it is your role as a leader to create an environment that will allow them to feel encouraged and energized once again. It starts with shattering the existing negativity that is adversely impacting your team’s attitude and performance. By deploying humor, you can boost the spirits of those in need of a boost and get them to a place where other motivational tactics—if they are even needed at that point—will be all the more effective. – Adam Mendler, The Veloz Group
8. Plan More Non-Work Time
My favorite way to reinspire my team is to take everyone away on a trip or a field day—something where we are together and we forget about work. With Covid this past year, that has been impossible, so we did not have a chance to plan anything. The alternative has been just giving people more free time to do things they enjoy. Having non-scheduled downtime is so important for creatives to recharge and come back with fresh energy and ideas. – Terry Tateossian, Socialfix Media
