Intro:
Keeping your team motivated during your business trip is an important part of ensuring that the trip is maximally successful.
There are actually a lot of elements to business travel that can wear on a team.
For example:
- They may get homesick
- They may be struggling to stay motivated outside of the usual framework of their life
- Being away from friends, family, and loved ones can take an emotional toll
- It’s also true that some people suffer from quite a bit of anxiety when it comes to travel
Therefore, it can sometimes be a struggle to keep everyone motivated and on top of their game while conducting the important affairs of a business trip.
So in this post, you’re going to learn five methods for how you can supercharge your goal of helping to keep your team motivated while traveling away from home for business.
Let’s jump right into it.
1. Be Empathetic
One of the best things you can do as a manager or a leader while on a business trip is to empathize with your team.
In fact, empathy is the most important leadership skill (according to science).
Listen to their concerns, worries, and problems.
A wise leader will always consider the thoughts, feelings, and emotional state of their team.
Really being open to listening to problems when they arise is a fundamental part of fixing those problems down the line.
2. Gently Push Your Team Toward Greater Success
Empathy and healthy pressure are both required to successfully lead a team during a business trip.
However, if the two aren’t being applied in proper balance, things can really go sideways.
Applying enough pressure to challenge your team, while also empathizing with their personal challenges, is a crucial balancing act that every manager or team leader should strive to perfect.
People tend to do their best under the right amount of pressure.
However, people also need emotional support.
That’s where empathy comes in.
3. Reward Your Team
When your team does a great job, reward them.
You could take them out for an incredible authentic Italian dinner, schedule an amazing group business lunch meeting at an exotic seafood restaurant that’s specifically intended to reward your team, buy them some drinks at the quaint local Irish bar, or pay for and schedule a tour of the local province for all of you to take together.
It doesn’t really matter what you do.
It’s the thought that counts.
Putting time and energy into rewarding your team for a job well done can really do a lot to boost their morale.
4. Be An Effective Leader First, And Friend Second
Sometimes, when trying to bond with your team and empathize with them, it can be tempting to want to be their friend.
However, while you do want to be their friend to a certain extent, it’s also important to understand that your team needs you to be a leader.
As a leader, your job is to help keep them motivated, inspired, and supported while they conduct the important affairs of the business trip.
Therefore, being a leader should always take first priority.
Leadership requires a level of self-responsibility that friendship just can’t provide.
So yes, be a friend when it counts.
But for the most part, you’re going to want to double down on being an effective, helpful, and supportive leader.
5. Be Clear About The Purpose Of The Trip
Nothing will take a business trip sideways like a team that doesn’t understand the objective.
As the leader or manager, it’s your responsibility to communicate the vital purpose behind your mission so that your team can accurately understand the objective.
This will empower everyone to do their best while minimizing distractions and misunderstandings.
Keep in mind that you may need to reiterate the purpose of your trip many times over.
But that’s okay.
In fact, this is part of the reason for why reviewing goals on a daily basis can be so beneficial.
You may even want to have a team meeting every morning where you revisit the purpose of the trip just to keep everyone on the same page—and to keep their minds fresh on the objective.
Conclusion
Hopefully, these 5 tips will help you to motivate and inspire your team to new heights of success.
It really matters.
As a leader, you have a big responsibility.
But motivating your team is worth it!
