Members need to cooperate with each other for the team to succeed.  Each of them has an important role in achieving the team’s goals; Each has their own specific tasks in the team that needs to be done.  That is why it is important for everyone to be motivated in doing their work.  The leader should at least motivate the team to work harder.  Here are a few things he could do:

• Develop a good relationship among the members.  If your team are like strangers to each other, there might be inconsistencies in their works and they might lose motivation.
• Make sure that each of the members understand and identify with the purpose of the team and their  how they take part in it as well.
• Ensure an effective flow of communication within the team.
• Motivate your team by appreciating their efforts.
• Hear them out.  Do listen to your team’s ideas and feedbacks.

A leader should remember that they are a team.  He might be the leader, but it doesn’t mean he alone operates the team.

Often when you set goals you find yourself highly motivated to accomplish them at the outset. In the beginning you go about doing this or doing that with a high level of energy and ambition. But as you get further along in your journey sometimes you discover that your motivation begins to dwindle away. You find it harder and harder to accomplish even the most mundane tasks. What follows are some daily habits you can utilize to you increase your motivation and maintain it.

First, when discovering a low level of motivation find out if the goal you want to achieve is really what you want and if it’s worth the investment of your time and efforts. Sometimes you think you might want something or to do something only to find out a short time later that it’s not really what you truly want. Also, think about your goal in realistic terms. Is your goal realistic?

Now that you know your goal is something you truly desire and is realistic you can take daily steps to maintain your motivation. The first is to make the goal very clear. This is done by writing your goal, and the steps to accomplish it, down on a piece of paper. When doing this be as specific as you possibly can, detailing every step and task as much as possible.

Not only are you creating a map directing you to your goal, but you are also employing your imagination, seeing yourself accomplish those things you are writing down. This visualization can be a very strong motivator. Updating your map daily will help keep you focused and your motivation alive.

As you go through your day think about your goal as often as possible. Keeping your goal in the forefront of your mind will have an inspiring effect and from this will come the motivation to keep you moving forward even through the most difficult of challenges.

Take time each day to visualize the accomplishment of your goal. See every detail of your goal’s completion and allow yourself to experience the satisfaction and joy of its accomplishment as if you have already accomplished it. Not only will this feed your motivation, but it also sets your thought processes in the direction of accomplishing the goal. Combining this thought process with the map you wrote will certainly put your motivation on a higher level.

Every chance you get, preferably daily, read books and articles regarding the subject matter of your goal. Education and knowledge about your goals not only has practical applications, but will also influence your motivation. Another source of knowledge is to talk to people who have had success in the area of your goal. Not only are these individuals a valuable source of guidance, but they also can provide encouragement which will certainly help sustain your motivation especially in those times that seem difficult.

Provide yourself with daily affirmations. Tell yourself that you have the ability to accomplish your goals no matter what. Even when you accomplish only a small step toward your goal be sure compliment yourself and allow yourself the opportunity to internally experience that success.

Definitively, apathy is a lack of interest or concern. At the deepest level, an apathetic person possesses a lack of emotion and feeling, which causes them to withdraw from life and even from loved ones. Apathy, in most cases is the result of perpetual frustration and a consistent sense of powerlessness over one’s environment and life.

Apathy is about attitude toward the unfortunate events that take place around us daily. Apathy is actually an attitude of defeat, whereas action, which will motivate, is an attitude of success. The good news is that no-one has to live in apathy. The first thing you must do is, change your attitude about how you mentally process any one of the many unfortunate events going on in the world around us or in your life.

My friend recently learned that another company was purchasing the company she was working for. This purchase meant that some employees, to include her, lose their jobs. Of course this kind of news can have a shattering effect upon one’s security. But rather than her becoming apathetic, in the sense of frustration and powerlessness, she was motivated to take action, specifically, to begin looking for another company to work for. What was the end result? She found a better job making more money and for a company with a history of stability. By the way, she was never to have been fired the former company. The point is this: my friend took this unfavorable and threatening event and turned it into an opportunity. She took action and it paid off!

Anyone can turn apathy into motivation. Converting apathy into motivation only requires that you take some type of action in some part of your life or the life of another, whatever that might be. For example, if the starving children in the world cause you frustration and give you a sense of powerlessness you can take action against this to avoid becoming apathetic and use it as a source of motivation. Even if it’s as simple as sending one child a letter of encouragement, you have taken a step that will certainly inspire motivation, not to forget maybe even making a friend.

As you might see, the key element in turning apathy into motivation is the taking of action and the taking of action is a conscious decision, whereas apathy is passive. You must decide between taking action on something that frustrates and makes you feel powerless or just sitting back and complaining about how bad things are. Complaining about how bad things are and not taking action is part of apathy.

If you have a history of apathy the change to becoming motivated may not be easy. But by starting to take action on the little things in your environment and in your life, you will quickly see and feel the motivation rise within you, moving you into accomplishing bigger goals.

First, let us look at what motivation is. The Webster dictionary definition of motivation implies that motivation, although it frequently comes from within, and is also the result of external stimulus. A good example of an external stimulus is the raise you might receive from your employer.

Employees who think they are coming up for a raise are more motivated and will perform better in the weeks prior to the possibility of the raise than any other time during their employment. Employers use raises and other incentives to motivate their employees to reach peak performance and to accomplish whatever tasks they are assigned, whether that task interests the employee or not. But how do you become motivated without an external stimulus?

Inspiration is a self-generated force that motivates you to action. Inspiration comes entirely from within you. It is the result of having the desire and the feeling of excitement about any task you might need to accomplish, whether or not that task is something you really want to do.

Moreover, inspiration becomes a genuine choice you make by the way you view a task. If you have the attitude of “I have to do this because I was told to do it” you will be less inspired to accomplish it than if you were to think, “I want to do it because that’s what I want to do.” The way you think about a task, your attitude toward it, will affect your inspiration, and therefore your motivation.

Inspiration is not just some divine gift bestowed upon certain people from the heavens, as many religious doctrines teach. Inspiration is a gift we all possess, regardless of our religious beliefs; although it has been found that your beliefs do affect your inspiration. But the secret to inspiration is to be found in switching how you think about the task at hand. Again, if you think about the task along the line of something “I have to do” you will be less inspired to accomplish it and will generally just go through the motions to accomplish it, with very little, if any, internal gratification.

An important note to make here is that gratification feeds inspiration. Gratification and inspiration are related. Gratification takes place when you have accomplished a task and get that feeling of satisfaction within yourself.

Gratification is that sense of wellbeing for a job well done that you experience and it will fuel your inspiration for the next task. In addition, gratification can be internal evidence of your inspiration. Another important note about inspiration is that it is compounded with each success.

Desire is another element of inspiration. Desire stresses strength of feeling and a strong intention toward a goal or aim. Much like gratification, desire is fuel to inspiration. In fact, desire nurtures inspiration. And the more desire you create within yourself toward accomplishing your goals the more inspired you will become, not only toward your goals, but your life in general.

Finding inspiration when you need to get motivated is a matter of knowing the difference between inspiration and motivation, as well as their relationship to each other. As mentioned earlier, motivation can come from both inside and outside of us. External motivation comes in a wide variety of forms, from paying the bills to performing well on the job to get that raise. Inspiration, on the other hand, is strictly internal and comes from conscious decisions and attitudes about a task, the environment, and your life.

Inspiration is not concerned with the external stimulus because inspiration is a higher level of functioning and thought processing that is highly dependent on your attitude and desire to be successful.

Success stories are inspiring and encouraging. These will teach you what to do in similar situations and will also help you generate ideas on how to succeed in your own goals. You can also learn from the stories of other people, not only their success stories but also their stories of failure. Success stories inspire you in a way that you will be more eager to achieve your goals. As the saying goes, “If others can do it, why can’t I?”

Aside from helping you with your motivation, these tools also helps you to mold your attitude outlook in life into a more positive tone. These will hone your mind to become determined and to have focus in your goals. Great stories or pieces of work are good feeds to our minds.

Step one is to realize that nothing worth achieving is going to come easily. To become a great musician, actor, singer etc. requires training and practice. If you want to write a great book, the next great American novel, you need to learn about plot structure, character arcs etc. and write, write, write! When trying to get a good job, you need to have the skills the company wants, and be ready when they have an opening.

Then comes the frustration. No matter how good you are at whatever it is you do, you will probably not succeed at your first attempt. The reason: there are so many other people with the same abilities. Look at a show like “American Idol”. How many times have you seen a singer you thought should stay on get tossed off? How often have you applied for that perfect job, or auditioned for that great role, only to miss out?

This is where step two comes into play. You have to accept that you are not the only person suited for whatever it is that you are striving to achieve. Often times getting what you comes down to good timing, networking, and a bit of luck. Yet, this does not mean that you give up. This is where you use step three to keep you focused. Review all of your talents, and look for areas to improve and hone them. Look around your community; are there classes you can take, or groups you can join to help you on the path to success? Along those same lines, a class or book that addresses the issue of motivation can be helpful. Remember, when trying to achieve something, no matter what it is, frustration is a common stumbling block. So, just learning about methods of motivation can really help you to stay focused on your goal.

Next, reviewing the accomplishments of others can help you to deal with the frustrations of your own life. Look at Thomas Edison, and his quest to create the electric light bulb. For that matter, look at any of his inventions. With virtually everything he created, he faced frustration again and again as experiment after experiment failed. His attitude? He looked upon those failures as merely experiments that he did not have to do again. Abraham Lincoln faced frustration again and again as he struggled to find a competent general to lead the Union Army. He took solace in his faith; he was certain that God was with him, and the Union.

A lot of times, that can be the key: finding out what are the things that help you to stay motivated. Is it your faith; is it your support system or friends and family? Whatever it is you rely on, the critical factor is a positive attitude. If you surround yourself with people who are forever negative, always looking down on things, chronically “glass half empty” sorts, then you are going to find it hard to stay motivated. So, that is why a strong support system is vital.

Finally, an excellent means of staying motivated is to look at others who have succeeded in the face of adversity. Consider someone like author J.K. Rowling; she was “on the dole” as they say in the UK, on public assistance, when she wrote the first “Harry Potter” book. Yet, today, she’s said to be richer than the Queen of England. If that isn’t motivation for a writer, nothing is!

So, the question arises, how do you keep yourself motivated despite those setbacks? Well, step one is simply realizing that setbacks will occur. Just knowing that can be a big boost to your self-esteem. Next, when you hit one of those setbacks, stop and take an assessment of your situation. So, OK, maybe you did not get that plum job or that key promotion, or your incredible script was rejected by a studio. Ask yourself, is it really that important? Of course, getting a job can be vital to your livelihood, but being unemployed is not the worst thing in the world.

Often, you can make yourself feel better by reviewing all the good things you do have in your life. If your girlfriend or boyfriend just left you, try thinking about all the friends you do have. If you got passed over for that big promotion, be thankful that you have a job. Maybe your house has a broken window and a leaky roof; remember that there are many people forced to live in even worse places, and there are some who are homeless. If you have ever seen the TV show “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” you will have seen countless families who are dealing with real tragedies.

Sometimes you may get bad news from your doctor; you have cancer or some other serious medical problem. In such a situation, maintaining a positive mental attitude is not only best, it is actually beneficial to your long-term health.

The next step in helping yourself to stay motivated is to look at ways to improve yourself. If you are a writer, and your latest novel has been rejected by an agent; look at what you can do to improve your chances the next time. Do you need to re-write your book? Maybe the agent you sent it to was not the right one. If you have written a science fiction book and you sent it to an agent who handles romance novels, then your setback might just be the result of poor planning.

Another excellent means of maintaining your motivation is to look at others who have overcome adversity. If you look back at classic Greek history, the Spartans lost three hundred of their finest warriors at the Battle of Thermopylae. This was an enormous setback for them. Yet, they were ultimately successful in defeating the Persians. The British suffered many defeats during the Hundred Years’ War, yet won the Battle of Agincourt by virtue of their archers and their longbows.

Looking for ways to improve yourself can be a key element in keeping yourself motivated; part of that is looking at what things can help you. Do you need to take come classes to help you in your goals? If you are an engineer, and you are seeking a promotion into management; maybe you need to take some business courses. On the other hand, are you an actor looking for roles? Maybe trying out at a local community theater can not only get you roles, but you can meet people with similar interests. Networking will not just keep you around like-minded people who will help to inspire you, but they might be able to open doors for you.

As the saying goes: when life hands you lemons, make lemonade. A positive mental attitude is item number one in keeping you motivated, no matter what life throws at you.

Staying motivated starts with yourself: your own positive mental attitude. After that, a little self-examination is called for. Look for ways in which to improve yourself. If you were trying to catch the eye of that certain lady (or gentleman), what might you do to make yourself more appealing to them? Do you need to change something about your appearance, your attitudes, your beliefs? If it was a job you were after, are there some classes you can take to make you better suited for the job you are trying to get.

If you wrote a pilot for a TV show, and it was rejected by a network, are there some things you can do to improve the script? It could be as simple as having someone read it to give you feedback, or maybe you need a professional consultant to review and assess it. Or maybe you need to take some writing classes. Another way of boosting your morale is by entering your work in some writing contests. Even if you don’t win, just having more people read your material can make you feel better.

Then look at other examples of people who have been rejected, yet overcome it to ultimately succeed. Richard Hooker, the author of the novel “MASH” saw his book rejected by more than a dozen publishers before it made it into print. One of the greatest children’s writers in history, Dr. Seuss, was rejected time and again by publishers; but he kept at it, and – well, the rest is history!

The next step in staying motivated despite rejection is finding people who will improve your feeling of self-worth. As an example; if you are a writer, seek out local writing groups or maybe coffee shops that have “Open Mic Nights”. You can attend writing seminars to hone your craft, and then read some samples of your works at the coffee shops. In addition, just being around people who believe in you, and encourage you in your endeavors can be a tremendous help in keeping you motivated despite rejection. If your friends and family tend to be the “glass half empty” sorts, you are going to have trouble getting over rejection. So, seek out more positive people. Now, you do want to be careful; you do not want to be surrounded by a bunch of “yes men” (or women). Just look at some of the people who were rejected from “American Idol”. How many of them just knew absolutely that they were great singers? Why? - Because their friends and family told them so. That is why a little honest encouragement is the most important thing to help you stay motivated.

Then there is another thing to consider. Going back to the “American Idol” example; consider how many fine singers didn’t make the final cut. After all, in the end, there can only be one winner; even in this politically correct world of ours. So, if you get hit with rejection, it does not necessarily mean that you are not any good. If you are up for a big promotion at work and you don’t get it, it doesn’t mean that you are no good. It can merely mean that there was one position available, and maybe the company simply decided someone else was the skills they wanted. You still have your own skills.

Rejection doesn’t have to mean you’re no good; it can just mean you’re not in the right place at the right time.

It is a sad fact of life today that some companies actually like to play employees against each other. Some see it as a means of toughening the workers, or winnowing out the weak. Given the highly competitive nature of business today, that can be understood, to some extent. So, how do you overcome the pitfalls of office politics?

Okay, first of all, there is building good business relationships with your co-workers. This does not mean you have to be best friends; you do not even have to associate with each other outside of work, but it does mean being friendly, courteous and helpful. Sometimes something as simple as noticing their family pictures on their desk and asking about their wife/husband and kids every once in a while is enough, and when they tell you about them, try to pay attention. Nothing can be more counter-productive than you getting glassy-eyed as they are talking. Then there is how you act in the office. Do you waste time chewing the fat and gossiping about other people? Remember, if you talk about employee “A” with employee “B”, employee “B” may figure you are doing the same about them. Then there is your work ethic. Do you play computer games or surf the web when you should be working? Do you promise to do things and then not follow through? Then there is your appearance. Do you dress appropriately for the work you do? Lounging around the office in very tight or revealing clothes is not the best image to present to clients and co-workers.

Now, what about dealing with the office politics of others? If you have a supervisor who constantly “puts you through the ringer”, how do you survive? A boss who says one thing and does the other, or says one thing one day and then denies it the next can drive you crazy. Well, that is where memos and e-mails can save your skin, and your sanity. If you have a meeting with a boss and he / she gives you a series of orders, takes notes on everything you are told to do. Then, go back to your office, write them up as an e-mail, and send them to your boss. Also, print them out and stick them in a file. That way, you are covering yourself and have documentation as to what you were told. Then there are the bosses and co-workers who ask you to do things: create a series of plans, write a report etc. and then want you to turn everything over to them. Then, once they “lose” your work, you get the blame. Here again, documentation is the key: keep a copy of what you give them.

You might wonder, why would a boss or co-worker want to sabotage you? That is where higher level office politics can come into play. It may not be about you at all. Maybe you got hired and put in a position that someone else wanted. Or, partner A hired you, and thus partner B sees you as a threat to the balance of power within the company. From the moment you start work, partner B could be out to get you. That can be a real tough situation to overcome. In that case, aligning yourself with the staff loyal to partner ‘A’ can be the best way of dealing with the problem. It may not be perfect, but short of finding a new job, it’s the best method of overcoming a severe case of office politics.

Negative people are practically the most difficult kind of people to be around, especially when things are not going so well. Negative people complain about this or that and see problems or imperfections in almost everything. Negative people are the ones who are rude to the cashier or push their way through the line. They are the ones who don’t have anything good to say about life, even when life has been good to them.

When things are going well, we can generally fend off negativity from within and without fairly easily. But when we hit a problem in life, negative people have a way of making things look worse. Their insight and advice generally make things appear to be worse than they actually are. The statements of negative people are frequently pointed at “you” , as in, “ I told you you couldn’t do it.” The problem is that if you hear statements similar to this often enough you can actually start internalizing it, or believing it.

A really good way to stay motivated despite all the negativity in the world is to take responsibility for your life and your actions. When we take responsibility for our own lives and move forward toward our goals regardless of what others might think, especially those negative others, you can be positive. This movement forward generates motivation. A sense of pride in yourself will follow.

Another way to stay motivated when negative people are trying to discourage you is to know what you want out of life. This is related to taking responsibility for your life. If you really know what you want then no-one can discourage you from accomplishing it. Knowing what you want means knowing who are.

What happens sometimes is the negative person sees you moving forward, but rather than encourage you they will attempt to discourage you. When this happens it has to do with the negative person’s jealousy. If this should be the case you need to separate yourself from that negative person. Don’t listen to their negativity.

Belief is another weapon against the negativity of anyone around you. If you believe in yourself you can accomplish anything you put your mind to, regardless of what other people think. There are always going to be people who will attempt to steer you away from your goals by saying you don’t have what it takes. However, when you reflect upon the belief of yourself you will find the motivation you need to push forward.

Goal setting is another way to overcome negative people and motivate yourself. When we set goals we set markers for ourselves. As we hit each marker we acquire a sense of accomplishment. This fuels our motivation. Negative people can steal your motivation away, if you let them. The key is not to let them do that, by utilizing strategies that keep your motivation intact. We can’t avoid all the negative people in the world, but we can do things for ourselves to maintain our motivation.