You want inspired employees, happy to come to work and committed to their role? Give them a good reason to get up in the morning.

Today, to be fully committed to a mission, the new generation of employees needs to believe in their company and find meaning in its actions.

Since the economic crisis of 2008, which led to the freezing of salaries and the blocking of career plans, it has become essential to find other ways to motivate and involve your teams.  From now on, collaborators are ready to commit to a project if it makes sense to them and will work hard if their efforts are recognized.

Remember this anonymous quote: “the recognition of a job well done is a reward that is often much more appreciated than a salary”.

It is the role of the project leader to motivate team members, to recognize their work and to make them feel that they are contributing to something important. Use these 7 ideas to engage and inspire your project team.

1) Involve Your Team

Your employees need to feel that they are an integral part of the project and that their contribution is important. To do this, empower them and involve them in the decision-making process at each stage of the project.

Work together to define your vision for the project, determine their roles with them, establish the action plan and choose the right tools with your team. In this way, your employees will feel directly involved in the project. They will then have the will to commit themselves more to its achievement and success.

2) Foster a Sense of Belonging

It is important to create a team spirit and culture with values, ethics and rules of behavior. Your employees need to be able to identify with the team they work for and develop a sense of belonging.

Give your team the opportunity to get to know each other. If they get along, they’ll enjoy working together. They will feel part of the group. A cohesive team communicates better and performs better.

3) Value Your Team Members

There are many reasons why it is important to value your team: to encourage initiative, to stimulate motivation, to foster personal development, etc.

Valuing your team is a great way to motivate and involve them in your project. Appreciate the work of your team and encourage them to continue along the same path.

It is also essential to value the skills and talents of every member of your team. Recognition encourages you to go beyond yourself and contributes to the well-being of your employees within the team, and more generally within the company.

As a project manager, you also need to ensure that your employees acquire and develop new skills regularly. If you invest in them, it shows that you believe in their potential, which is both rewarding and very motivating.

4) Set up Good Working Conditions

Make it easy for your employees. Your role as a project leader is to enable them to work under the best possible conditions to promote the success of the project. So your team is effective and works most effectively, it must have at its disposal the means and resources it needs.

All the energy of your employees must be used on the project and not on technical details such as finding a meeting room or a printer, purchasing efficient project management software, etc.

5) Set Concrete and Achievable Goals

It is difficult to become fully involved in a project without knowing why. To get involved in the project and get to work, your team needs to know exactly what to do, when and at what cost.

From the outset, set concrete and, above all, achievable goals with your team. Avoid confusion and confusion: the more clearly defined and precise the objective, the more your team will want to get involved, and the more chance you will have of achieving it together.

6) Be a Good Manager

Be the leader who inspires his team. As a project manager, your role is to guide your employees, motivate them, and encourage them to use and develop their skills so that the whole team meets its objectives.

A good manager always listens to his employees to anticipate their needs as much as possible.

Don’t leave a member of your team without an answer. Systematically answer a question you are asked. Even if the answer is not immediate and requires time for reflection, always return to the person to provide an answer.

Recognize failure as success. Celebrate every success of your team, no matter how small. So you encourage your team to continue on the path to success.

Finally, set an example by being positive, motivated, and involved in carrying out your project.

7) Build Trust

In the professional and private spheres, trust is a key factor for success, efficiency, stability, and collective and individual well-being.

Build trust and confidence with your team to foster the involvement, expression, and creativity of each member.

Show your team that you trust them by delegating, giving them autonomy, listening to their new ideas. Getting to know your employees and developing team spirit is a good way to build trust.

Attention, the confidence is not gained overnight but is obtained gradually, and above all, it is maintained because it is lost quickly.