Motivation is a very individual experience, but it is essential to keeping and getting the best from top employees. Coaching projects as a Project Director and an employee motivator, I've found that a one-size-fits-all approach to motivation falls flat in practice. We know that people are motivated differently. One of the best motivators comes from the simple clarity and assimilation of company standards and goals. People are motivated by good reasons for doing something in a particular way as long as they know the why behind what a company is doing. Knowing the company's standards and goals helps enhance an employee's worth and role in the company's success. Another key motivator is a system of rewards and consequences. In short terms, your employees need to know what will happen if they do a particular task to the best of their abilities. They should also know what will happen if their work isn't up to par. Though, Management is driven by relationships, collaboration, and alliances, rather than schedules, task lists, and control. The difference between success and failure on every project can be having someone who coaches and watches team dynamics, sets up communications channels, nudges people into maintaining contact, periodically cleans up runaway message lists and discussion threads, facilitates decisionmaking sessions, and understands what tasks are best accomplished face-to-face and which can be accomplished electronically. © 2015, ProjectCoaching