You’re the Leader, So Lead: Employee Motivation

  • Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa

Author:  Dylan Kohlstadt

Short Description

Brands don’t have values or Employee Motivation. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pull the rug out from under you so quickly, but it needed to be said. Before you close this article thinking “that’s absolute rubbish”, just wait a moment. Dust yourself off. Sit back down, have some coffee. Ready? Brands do not have […]

Brands don’t have values or Employee Motivation. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pull the rug out from under you so quickly, but it needed to be said.

Before you close this article thinking “that’s absolute rubbish”, just wait a moment. Dust yourself off. Sit back down, have some coffee.

Ready? Brands do not have values – wait for it – because they’re only concepts. Brands cannot make decisions, they cannot think, they do not have any form of intelligence. People, however, are a different story (although I have met some people without any intelligence, but that’s a different blog entirely). People can have values, and they can use these to drive the brand in whichever direction they choose.

Actions Speak Louder Than Words
It is imperative for you and your staff to really live your brand and employee motivation is the only way to achieve this.
Let’s say that you own a mobile pet parlour, and your slogan reads “Punctual & Professional Pet Groomers”. You assure your clients top-notch quality. Except that your groomers are never on time and your client’s prize-winning, long-haired fur-baby now looks like a naked mole rat.

Your brand says one thing but the customer has a totally different experience. When they write a review on your Facebook page (believe me they will) they’re not going to say that you were “punctual and professional”. They’re going to write a stinking post about how poor Snuffles now has pet PTSD, and it’s entirely your fault.

You’re the Leader, So Lead: Employee Motivation

So How Do I Live My Brand?
1.      Create Personal Values

Don’t fake your way by taking on values you think you should have – you’ll fail by pretending to be something you’re not. Identify what you value most and brand your business to match that set. Serving your consumers will become much easier if there’s a link between your business and your core values.

Don’t be afraid to take on a minimalistic approach here; if you end up with 20 values you’re not going to have a very clear path.

2.      Be Authentic

Basically, your brand isn’t the work you do but how you do it. Your brand promises have to match your actions. Here’s a look at how MAC fails to be authentic:

MAC makeup is super popular, except amongst those who only use cruelty-free products. MAC claims to be ‘a leader in the movement to end animal testing globally’. They have a very convincing paragraph on their website that reassures makeup lovers that they ‘do not test on animals’, they ‘do not own any animal testing facilities’ and they ‘never ask others to test on animals for us’.

Except that they sell their products in China, which requires animal testing by law. MAC even addresses this discrepancy on the same page that claims to be cruelty-free by stating “we love our fans and we never want to exclude them anywhere.”

You’re the Leader, So Lead: Employee Motivation, Inspire Your Staff Through Living the Brand.

How Do I Show It?

Your staff and your customers need to see proof that you’re not just a poster on the wall, but that you live and breathe the values that you instil in your business. The only way to provide that evidence is by documenting your actions on social media. Your team want to have a relationship with you, even if it is a digital one. The goal is to brand yourself as a trustworthy leader worth following.

How Does This Motivate My Staff?

Because your staff are the ones your customers interact with, your staff become the biggest representatives of your brand. They are the foot soldiers on the front lines of your business. If they think that you’re an unfair jerk with zero leadership skills, and also, you stink, do you think they’re going to put 100% into the work they do for you? Not a chance.

But if they fully believe in what you stand for and trust you as a leader, they’ll want to put 100% into your business. If your staff do their work well, and provide your customers with a great brand experience, your business will just grow further and further.

I wrote an article called Happy Staff + Happy Customers = Quality Brand, and it has some practical tips on keeping your staff happy.

How Is This a Win for Me?

This is a no-brainer; if your staff feel totally demotivated they won’t represent your brand in a positive light to your customers. The people who buy your products won’t want to return if they’ve had a horrible experience. But if your staff are motivated by your leadership and they want to put the effort into your business, your customers will have a great brand experience. A great experience obviously means that your customers will return, they’ll spread the word to their friends and you’ll make more money.

Leading your staff by example is the best thing you can do for your brand. Not only will they be motivated to make your business more successful, you’ll also gain by becoming more digitally relevant.

Contact Us at WeSpeak Global and follow us on Twitter

The articles, video and images embedded on these pages are from various speakers and talent.

These remain the property of its owner and are not affiliated with or endorsed by WeSpeak Global.

Similar to You’re the Leader, So Lead: Employee Motivation

Dr Michelle Rozen

The Dos and Don’ts of Handling Courageous Conversations at work or in your personal life that needs to happen that you keep putting off? We all face difficult conversations that need to be handled, but we all dread them. We can call these ‘Courageous Conversations’ because they oftentimes require so much courage to handle. In […]

  • Author: Dr Michelle Rozen
WS Logo 512

This has been a year like no other in Defying the odds. It has no doubt tested every ounce of our faith, our resilience and our belief in the future in owning your life. Some of us have already reached our tipping point whilst others are hanging on by a sheer tread. I acknowledge all […]

  • Author: Nimee Dhuloo
WS Logo 512

What Makes Good Art? What makes art good? What makes work and business inherently good? To do good work, and create good work is something that we all want to do, right? We also want to be told that we have done something good, created something that people like and want. We want to know […]

  • Author: Pierre du Plessis
Mike Walsh | Between Worlds Podcast

The risks of Algorithmic Inequality Trap and discrimination and bias have received much attention and scrutiny, and rightly so. Yet there is another more insidious side-effect of our increasingly AI-powered society — the systematic inequality created by the changing nature of work itself. We fear a future where robots take our jobs, but what happens […]

  • Author: Mike Walsh

As businesses around the world adjust to the realities of Your Guide to Remote Selling in an Online World, sales and marketing, however, still need to bring in the leads, nurture the client’s relationships and close the deals. The workplace will never look the same again, and as businesses establish Remote Selling working practices, we […]

  • Author: Shelley Walters

The most common question I am asked when I identify myself as a mountaineer is “Why take on a challenge?” From my education as a life coach, I’ve learnt that the neurology (the brain) doesn’t like the question “Why” very much – in fact the neurological reaction is to defend, justify or shut down. This […]

  • Author: Marlette Heygi
Joshua M Evans

The Best Employees are the Ones Who Understand the Bigger Picture   We often talk about the best leadership qualities, but we should be talking about the best qualities of an employee. The best employees are the ones that know their efforts contribute to something bigger than themselves. They see how their work has an […]

  • Author: Joshua M Evans
WS Logo 512

A little while ago, I wrote an article titled “Critical thinking for the Adaptive Leader – nine key characteristics to What are your sacred cows”, which featured on the Conference Speakers International website. I briefly highlighted nine characteristics that Adaptive Leaders adopt to navigate a changing world. For this article, I am going to be […]

  • Author: Eddie Botes

Our Mission

We are your partner creating memorable and engaging experiences that go beyond the event itself.

© All rights reserved 2025. Created using VOXEL THEME