When pressure builds and uncertainty stretches across the workweek like a shadow, motivation is often the first to slip. The goals remain. The deadlines don’t budge. But something shifts quietly beneath the surface—your team starts checking out. Not loudly. Not all at once. But the spark that once fueled collaboration and drive begins to dim.
It’s not just a feeling. The data backs it up.
A study of 110 employees found that the average score for feeling heard at work was only 3.49 out of 5, and just 3.69 out of 5 for feeling appreciated by supervisors. The same research showed a statistically significant link between how motivated employees felt and how successful they perceived their company to be.
To Motivate a Team, Understand What the Data Is Telling You
This isn’t just a culture issue—it’s a performance crisis. Only 17% of employees in the U.K. report being engaged at work. The rest? They’re coasting or emotionally checked out. And that disengagement isn’t just bad for morale—it’s costing billions in lost productivity. Gallup estimates that eliminating active disengagement could unlock £52 to £70 billion in productivity gains each year.
1. Reconnect the Team with Purpose, Not Pressure
When teams are under stress, the natural instinct is to push harder. Leaders tighten deadlines, ramp up goals, or double down on urgency. But pressure alone doesn’t drive performance—it drains it. What truly motivates a team in difficult times isn’t force—it’s meaning.
In tough moments, the work can start to feel disconnected from its purpose. The why behind it all gets buried under deadlines and shifting priorities. That’s when leadership becomes crucial—not to push more, but to reconnect people to what matters.
Purpose fuels resilience
Teams that understand the impact of their efforts—on the customer, the company, or one another—are far more likely to stay committed. Research shows that purpose-driven employees report higher motivation, stronger morale, and greater job satisfaction.
When your team members see how their work contributes to something meaningful, they gain clarity, set clear goals, and show up with more energy—even under pressure.
Make Purpose Practical:
Share real customer feedback that highlights the team’s impact.
Revisit the mission and link it to today’s work.
Ask:
“What still excites us about this project?”
“Who benefits from what we’re doing?”
“What outcome would we be proud of?”
These aren’t just reflection prompts. They’re how you help people feel valued, reconnect with their impact, and recover their drive. That’s when employee motivation returns—sustainably, and without burning anyone out.
2. Give Your Team a Voice—Then Act on It
When motivation starts to slip, one of the fastest ways to rebuild it is to make people feel heard—and to prove that their voice matters.
only 3 in 10 employees strongly agree their opinions count at work. But those who do feel heard are 4.6 times more likely to feel empowered to give their best. It’s not the act of collecting feedback that drives motivation—it’s acting on it.
Yet too often, employee feedback is gathered and ignored. The result? Frustration, not growth.
What to Say to Motivate Your Team?
Use language that signals honesty, ownership, and respect—because that’s what fuels employee morale:
“I value your input—how do you think we should approach this?”
“We’re facing challenges, but I trust this team to find a path forward.”
“Your work makes a difference—let’s keep that momentum going.”
These aren’t just words—they show people they’re seen. That they’re part of something, not just carrying it.
Build Feedback Loops That Lead Somewhere
Run quick anonymous polls to understand roadblocks.
Rotate team members as discussion leads to encourage collaboration.
Call out moments when employee feedback shaped a project or decision.
Even small changes like these create a sense of agency. You’re not just listening—you’re letting the entire team shape direction.
When people believe their voice can create positive change, motivation doesn’t need to be forced. It comes from within. And that’s how employee engagement deepens—quietly but powerfully.
3. Coaching, Not Just Commanding
Modern leadership isn’t about managing tasks from above—it’s about coaching your team through challenge and change. Especially in tough times, people don’t need control—they need support.
When pressure hits, some managers fall back on micromanagement: scrutinizing hours, tightening reins, issuing more demands. But this only erodes trust and motivation.
Effective leaders act more like coaches. They develop their team’s skills, encourage ownership, and build confidence—not through pressure, but through effective communication and consistent guidance.
Coaching in Action:
Ask thoughtful questions, not just give directions:
“What’s holding us back?”
“What would help you move forward?”Provide constructive feedback that builds—not critiques.
Recognize effort with timely verbal praise, not just end-of-project applause.
Create room for reflection and development of management skills.
This coaching style leads to stronger employee engagement, better work ethic, and more positive relationships across the organization. When your team feels trusted and supported, they don’t just get through stress—they grow through it.
4. Celebrate Small Wins to Build Momentum
In the middle of a crisis or a long stretch of pressure, progress can feel invisible. The team may be working hard, but without recognition, that effort starts to feel thankless. Over time, that silence erodes employee morale and motivation.
Celebrating small wins isn’t just a feel-good gesture—it’s a strategic leadership move. It reinforces progress, signals that work is valued, and keeps the entire team moving forward when energy is low.
Why is Motivation Important in Team?
In the middle of a crisis or a long stretch of pressure, progress can feel invisible. The team may be working hard, but without recognition, that effort starts to feel thankless. Over time, that silence erodes employee morale and motivation.
Celebrating small wins isn’t just a feel-good gesture—it’s a strategic leadership move. It reinforces progress, signals that work is valued, and keeps the entire team moving forward when energy is low.
Why is Motivation Important in Team?
Because motivation is the emotional engine of performance. Motivated teams stay focused, resilient, and collaborative. They don’t just meet expectations—they exceed them. Without it, even skilled teams lose energy and direction.
Ways to Keep Momentum Alive:
Acknowledge a team member who helped move a stalled project forward.
Highlight key milestones that bring you closer to the team’s goals.
Send a brief message of appreciation after a long workday.
Allow moments to reflect on wins—big or small—before diving into what’s next.
These gestures create a positive feedback loop and remind people they’re seen. When employees receive praise, it not only lifts morale—it builds confidence and momentum.
Done consistently, these small moments can transform a stressed team into one that feels recognized, aligned, and ready to rise again.
5. Give Your Team Stability Through Small Routines
In times of uncertainty—shifting markets, demanding clients, leadership changes—simple routines can provide powerful stability. A five-minute daily check-in or weekly reflection offers structure that keeps your team members focused and grounded.
Routines reduce chaos, support effective communication, and help maintain momentum when motivation wanes.
Benefits of Small Routines:
Create a predictable rhythm that eases mental fatigue.
Encourage regular employee feedback in a low-pressure setting.
Allow effective managers to check emotional tone without micromanaging.
Examples:
Morning stand-ups: Share one win, one challenge.
Weekly reviews: What worked? What should change?
Midweek syncs: Adjust tasks in real-time to stay aligned with team goals.
These moments don’t need to be rigid. The best routines are lightweight, consistent, and part of your organization’s rhythm. When energy is low, routines help people stay connected, calm, and in control.
6. Loosen the Reins Where You Can
In high-pressure moments, leaders often tighten control. But over-management can smother creativity, ownership, and motivation.
One of the most powerful ways to support a motivated workforce is to offer autonomy.
When employees feel motivated to take initiative, they become more engaged and confident. Trusting your team to make decisions signals respect—and drives performance.
Flexibility with Accountability:
Focus on outcomes, not rigid processes.
Encourage experimentation—especially when things feel stale.
Allow task flexibility: Some people thrive early, others later.
This approach nurtures independence while strengthening work ethic and development of management skills. You’re not removing structure—you’re letting professionals handle their responsibilities with more freedom.
The result? Teams that stay focused not because they have to—but because they want to.
What is the Best Way to Motivate Employees?
The best way to motivate employees is to create an environment where they feel trusted, valued, and challenged to grow. It’s not one tactic—it’s a culture built around ownership, purpose, and growth.
Lasting Motivators:
Provide opportunities to lead, stretch, or explore new roles.
Recognition that’s timely and specific—not just annual.
Purpose alignment: Show how daily tasks connect to company goals.
Autonomy: Let them own how they achieve results.
When people can see clear career paths, understand their expectations, and contribute new ideas from diverse perspectives, they become naturally engaged.
A good leader doesn’t just direct—they identify strengths, motivate, and support. And in doing so, they create a team that performs at its best—because it’s built on trust, not control.
7. Rebuild with Resilience in Mind
Motivation during a tough season is essential—but what matters just as much is what happens afterward. When the pressure begins to lift, your team doesn’t automatically return to full strength. They need space to process, recover, and learn. That’s where resilience comes in.
Resilience isn’t just about “toughing it out.” It’s the ability to adapt, reflect, and bounce back—not just once, but repeatedly. And it doesn’t happen by accident. Teams build resilience when leaders create space for honest reflection, emotional reset, and forward planning.
Here’s how to make that happen:
Debrief, don’t just move on. After intense periods, hold structured reflections. What worked? What didn’t? What needs to change?
Celebrate growth, not just survival. Highlight how the team adapted, solved problems, or supported each other—even if the results weren’t perfect.
Normalize emotional honesty. People process stress in different ways. Let the team know it’s okay to slow down and recalibrate.
According to the Mayo Clinic, practices that support psychological resilience include reflection, reframing, and support from a connected group. In the workplace, that means giving people the room to look back before expecting them to move forward.
When your team sees that recovery is just as important as productivity, they feel safer, stronger—and far more ready for the next challenge.
Resilience isn’t a bonus trait. It’s the outcome of how you lead through difficulty.
8. Lead by Example—But Don’t Fake It
Your team doesn’t expect you to have all the answers. But they are watching how you respond—especially when things get hard. Leadership isn’t about being the loudest or the most confident person in the room. It’s about presence, consistency, and emotional integrity.
In challenging times, leaders who stay calm, honest, and clear set the emotional temperature for everyone else. If you panic, they’ll panic. If you shut down, they will too. But if you stay engaged and open, even when uncertain, you give your team permission to do the same.
This doesn’t mean pretending everything is fine. It means acknowledging the difficulty while modeling forward motion.
Ways to lead authentically under pressure:
Be transparent. Share what you know—and what you don’t. Your team values honesty more than hollow reassurance.
Show emotional discipline. You don’t have to suppress your feelings, but express them in ways that stabilize, not escalate.
Stay tied to purpose. When chaos rises, return to the “why.” That’s what gives the work meaning.
Leadership by example isn’t about perfection. It’s about showing up with courage and clarity so others can do the same. And the impact isn’t short-term—it becomes cultural.
When your team sees that you’re still standing, still listening, and still moving forward with them, that’s when trust deepens. That’s when motivation comes back stronger than before.
9. Build a Culture That Outlasts the Crisis
Motivating your team during tough times is important—but sustaining that motivation requires more than a temporary fix. It requires a culture where people feel connected, trusted, and valued, no matter the circumstances.
Culture is the silent engine of a team. It shapes how people communicate, make decisions, and support each other—even when stress is high or uncertainty lingers. And unlike perks or quick morale boosts, culture is built through consistent behavior and shared values.
So what does a motivation-supportive culture actually look like?
Clear communication is the default, not the exception. People know what’s expected, what’s changing, and where they can ask questions.
Cross-functional collaboration is encouraged. Silos break down. Wins are shared. The team thinks in “we” instead of “me.”
Trust is practiced through transparency. No one feels left in the dark or treated as an afterthought.
This kind of environment doesn’t just improve employee engagement—it gives people a reason to stay, to show up fully, and to go beyond the bare minimum. And when challenges hit again (as they always do), that culture becomes the buffer that keeps teams grounded and motivated.
The best time to build culture isn’t after the storm has passed—it’s during the storm.”
10. Motivation Is Shared, Not Pushed
Motivating a team during hard times isn’t about charisma or control. It’s about creating the conditions where motivation can return and take root—through structure, empathy, purpose, and trust.
What is teamwork motivation?
Teamwork motivation is the shared energy that grows when people believe in their goals, in each other, and in the purpose behind what they do. It’s not just about individual drive—it’s the spark that spreads through a group when they feel connected, aligned, and safe to contribute.
Great leaders don’t demand this spark—they make space for it. They listen. They reflect. They act with clarity and care.
If your team is tired, uncertain, or burned out, you don’t have to fix everything overnight. But you can take the first steps:
Make them feel seen.
Remind them of their impact.
Create routines that reduce chaos.
Recognize progress, even the small kind.
Offer space to recover—and space to grow.
Because when people feel supported, trusted, and reconnected with purpose, motivation doesn’t need to be forced. It becomes the natural outcome of a culture that truly values its people.
And that’s how you build a team that doesn’t just survive the hard times—but comes out stronger because of them.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can you motivate a team when budgets are tight?
Motivate a team during budget cuts by recognising efforts publicly, giving more ownership in decisions, and finding non-monetary rewards like flexible hours or development opportunities to keep morale high.
What motivates a team more: rewards or purpose?
While rewards motivate short-term, purpose-driven work motivates long-term. Combining both—recognising achievements while connecting tasks to meaningful goals—builds lasting motivation.
Can remote teams stay motivated during tough times?
Yes. Regular video check-ins, clear goals, virtual recognition, and personal one-on-one catch-ups help remote teams stay motivated even during challenges.
How do you motivate a team after layoffs or restructuring?
Rebuild trust by communicating transparently, listening to concerns, involving them in future plans, and focusing on small wins to regain stability and confidence.
Does team motivation always come from leaders?
No. Peer recognition, shared team goals, and collaborative problem-solving also motivate a team. Leaders create the environment, but team motivation grows through shared ownership.
A trailblazer in humanising leadership and building high-resilience teams. As a former United Nations Peacekeeper, he leverages his high-stakes experience to redefine leadership dynamics. With a career distinguished by numerous accolades, Joseph now helps organizations thrive through a human-centric approach, enhancing performance, productivity, and workplace culture.
