Motivating Others
“Tell me about a time when you motivated a team in
a unique way.”
■“I am a manager who recognizes and rewards hard work. I
had a team who came to the rescue with a project that
required three months of overtime—weekends and
evenings. I made sure that all members of the team talked
to me about their family situation and whether it was
causing a strain and what they were doing about having
some fun outside of work. I rewarded each person with a
certificate for a weekend away at a local beach resort when
the project ended successfully. I believe in life balance, and
I think that is the reason the turnover rate at this company
is several digits below the average.”
■“As a manager of a customer service team, I have found
that competition motivates the employees and they have
fun competing. I have set it up so that they earn points for
meeting certain goals or plateaus. At the end of the month
they cash in the points for merchandise from the ‘company
store’ or for things like movie tickets or dinner coupons.
The morale in the department stays high, and there is a
great deal of camaraderie relating to these contests.”
■“In the sales industry it is very common to have
ceremonies to reward top performers. I had been on the
receiving end of such rewards when I was a sales rep and
found that after a while I had a whole bookshelf full of
beautiful trophies that weren’t doing anybody any good.
When I became the person in charge of selecting awards, I
came up with a unique idea to give engraved golf clubs,
watches, or luggage as the awards. It was a big change
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