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Nothing can electrify a team like a great speaker. Stories of overcoming challenges, reaching higher, and achieving the unthinkable are powerful sources of motivation.
Businesses bring in motivational speakers for all sorts of reasons. But remember, a speaker is an investment: Without a clear business case, even the most inspiring of presenters is a waste of money.
Company milestones offer opportune moments to tap a motivational speaker’s insights and inspiration. But often, we misinterpret “milestones” to mean only celebratory occasions.
At work, milestones generally fall into one of three categories: celebration, anticipation, and transition. Consider these three milestones to identify the right time to bring in motivational resources:
1. Before setting sail on a major project
A household-name client just chose your team for its next big project. You’ve never tackled anything quite like it before. Long days and late nights are ahead, you know, but you can’t help but celebrate the win.
Bringing in a motivational speaker is a great way to capitalize on that energy and pump your team up for the challenge. Select one who can share stories of working hard and overcoming struggle. The speaker’s words will give them something to hold onto when the work gets tough.
2. After you accomplish something that seemed impossible
Your team hustled, noses to the ground, to meet a tough goal. Everyone thought it would be a stretch, but somehow, you succeeded.
It’s tempting to use the momentum of a big win to launch straight into the next project or goal. But research shows that taking a moment to rest and recover will help your staff perform better on the next initiative. Setting aside a day to listen to a motivational speaker is a great way to celebrate success and promote rest.
The key here is to make an event of it: Start the day with your speaker, enjoy a catered lunch, and close the day with a relevant activity. Synthesizing what they’ve learned will help team members cement the speaker’s lessons.
3. When you shake up staff responsibilities
You know your business has to adapt in the face of change, but do your employees? The confusion and grief that can come along with a change in leadership or company restructuring can be destructive to team morale.
Poor morale can be tough to spot until it’s too late, when performance sags and employee turnover spikes. A motivational speaker can shore it up.
As the saying goes, it’s easy to miss the forest for the trees. While the transitional time might be difficult for your team to grapple with, set some rules to inspire motivation around you.
While anticipatory, celebratory and transitory company milestones call for a motivational speaker, sometimes mundane days call for an energy boost, too. Don’t hesitate if you get the sense that a spark of inspiration would help your team take their work to the next level. The right story can be the spark that starts a fire.
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This content is sponsored by Jin Kazma.
Photo: Shutterstock