If you want to motivate your employees, you need to create an environment in which they can motivate themselves.

Here are ten ways to make this a reality.

1. Make Work Meaningful – This is a common and powerful motivator. This doesn’t necessarily mean changing the work, but it might involve changing people’s perception of what they are doing and why. Make sure everyone knows how they are making a difference.

2. Don’t Micromanage – get out of your employees’ way and make sure they know that you trust them. Your vote of confidence will build the confidence of your staff.

3. Reward Performance – rewarding employees for their performance is a good motivator. The incentive might be a financial bonus, a voucher, or another fun prize.

4. Set Smaller Goals – Large goals can seem insurmountable or too distant to be relevant. By setting smaller goals, your teams will be more focused. They can benefit from numerous, incremental successes on the way to larger objectives.

5. Share Positive Feedback – Giving positive feedback and rewarding your staff is good for motivation, but so is spreading the word about it. If an individual or a team does well, make sure that everyone knows it. They will also know how much you value your employees.

6. Understand Your Staff – Listen to your employees’ ideas and concerns. Invest in their development. And appreciate the differences between staff members. You can make staff feel valued when you show that you understand their personal goals and schedules.

7. Be Flexible – Modern workers appreciate the possibility of working outside of business hours or away from the office. Help your staff achieve the right work-life balance by being open to new technologies and flexible working.

8. Make Managers Accessible – Dispel any ‘them and us’ notions by allowing employees to talk to managers about their ideas, suggestions, and concerns. Managers should listen actively and be respectful at all times.

9. Be a Good Example – Positive, enthusiastic people generate energy and motivate teams with their presence. Think about the rousing speeches before movie battles. Your presence on the battlefield makes ordinary people into heroes.

10. Hire Self-Motivated Staff – Next time you need to hire someone, make sure that their motivation and energy levels are high. Not only is this good for your business, but it will be good for other team members.

If you can create a motivating environment, your staff will work harder than you could push them and perform better than you could hope.

Improve your working environment, and you’ll see the difference in your staff performance and your bottom line.