Motivation can be defined as that incentive that encourages a person or a group of people to do determined action in order to accomplish a final objective. This term is usually related to the will and interest to do, to created to improve. Motivation in short matter speaking is the will to make and effort in order to achieve an organization goal, conditioned by the necessity of satisfying personal needs.
It is well known that a motivated team is a efficient team, knowing how to motivated and reward them is a skill that a manager should develop, it might occur that what motivates the team does not do it for the manager and the other way around. Leaders that seek to achieve a high efficiency standard will need to adjust the motivational practice in order to satisfy the needs and desires of the employees.
Most research has establish that there are divers motivations that act as an impulse force, that are capable of changing our tempera and character. The most known and frequently used are motivation to achievement, competence, affiliation self-fulfillment and empowerment.
As a supervisor I found out that commonly the best way to motivate the employees is let them know when they are doing a good job and making them realize that as the company they work for matte the goals proposed thanks to their work they would be able to get rewards that would set them in the row to accomplish their own goals in live.
Personally I found myself more motivated when I am challenge to realize tasks than in general people find them hard to do and that very few people will assume the responsibility to do, accomplish this kind of tasks is always best rewarded intellectually and economically and increase my reputation as a good manager for the simple fact of taking risks and know how to solve them with my team.
References
Bruno S. Frey, & Margit Osterloh (2002). Successful Management by Motivation. Zurich: Swiss Association for Organization and Management
