Motivation is the key aspect of effective teams. Motivated employees are essential to the success of an organization as they are generally more productive at the work place.

To understand what drives employees to specific behavior to achieve their goals it is important to know some aspects of basic motivation theories.

Apart from the chosen motivation theories some practical tips are provided for leaders to effectively motivate teams.

• Employee motivation has been broadly defined as the psychological forces that determine the direction of a person's behavior in a team or an organization. It is also defined as the methods for motivating employees as well as an intrinsic and internal drive to put forth the necessary effort and action towards work-related activities (Wikipedia).

• Why is it so important? Because motivated employees are essential to the success of an organization as they are generally more productive at the work place.

• There are two kinds of motivation theories: The content theories and the cognitive theories.

Content theories includes Abram Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and Frederick Herzberg two -factor theory.

• Cognitive theories define motivation in terms of how people think about situations. Cognitive theories of motivation include goal-setting theory and expectancy theory that are important in managing individuals and teams.

• One common goal setting methodology incorporates the SMARTER criteria, in which goals are: specific, measurable, attainable/achievable, relevant, and time-bound, ethical and recorded.

• Setting SMARTER Goals

• Specific – be specific what is that you want to achieve?

• Measurable - you must be able to track progress and measure the result of your goal.

• Agreed - your goal must be agreed with your team or clients (generally stakeholders)

• Realistic – do not set not realistic goals – this is demotivating

• Timed

• Ethical – in the time of corporate social responsibility this is an important issue. Employees, particularly younger generation are very sensitive in this matter

• Recorded – write down your goals.

• Teams are made up of individuals who have different outlooks and abilities, and are at different stages of their careers. As a leader you need to get know everybody. It's your responsibility to develop all of your people. Your skills in this aspect of management will define your long-term success as a leader. If you can help team members to become better at

• The top priority for team leaders is delegation. The more information about the work - the greater the motivation to work. The most effective way of developing your people is to ensure that you give regular feedback to members of your team.