Be a strong leader

A team is always motivated when they have a strong leader, so if you're managing a group of people, it's important to hone the kinds of skills that will earn their trust, loyalty and respect. Cultivate a leadership style that you would like your own superiors to adopt. Learn to listen – you may be the leader but you can always learn from team members. Be fair when resolving conflicts in the work place and be available when they need your counsel. Good leaders motivate and inspire their teams into happily giving 110% to achieve business goals.

Make decisions together

A strong leader has to be many things, but above the all the qualities you should have, the most important is decisiveness. A leader is also a motivator, and the team will look to you for direction in terms of what the business goals are and what needs to be done to achieve them. Clearly communicate the vision you have for the business. At the same time, it's a good idea to involve team members in aspects of the decision-making process. When leaders show that they value input from the team, everyone will be more committed to realizing the goals that will further the business's development.

Reward good work

This doesn't necessarily mean a giant pay hike every time someone files a document correctly, but rewarding your team, collectively or individually, is probably the oldest and most effective motivating tool in business history. If team members know that there's an incentive for good work, they'll be more motivated to put the time and effort into doing a good job and benefitting from that incentive. Hand out freebies whenever you can, things like samples and free tickets to shows or concerts, and perhaps even VIP passes for particularly hard-working individuals. Promote those who deserve it. Reward cash bonuses from time to time. Even if you bring in a big cake one day or treat everyone to a team lunch, it goes a long way to show that you appreciate and value the work your team does.   

Respect your colleagues

The best teams are the ones where everyone has respect for each other and the roles they play in making the business a success. When every person is made to feel valued and respected for the work they do, the team will operate well as a unit and productivity levels will soar. However, when one or two people are made to feel left out of the process, their discontent can spread like a cancer and quickly infect their co-workers. Leaders have to foster a culture of openness and honesty in the office. When issues do arise, they should be dealt with quickly without compromising work relationships, both between you and the team and within the team itself.
 

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