Stop Trying to Motivate Your Team: Do This Instead
Mar 29, 2026
I was doing some research this week and came across an incredible author I had somehow never read before. Anne Grady, author of EvolvAbility:Growing Forward When Life Goes Sideways. She’s a resilience, adaptability expert and bestselling author who helps leaders navigate change through science-backed strategies. Her work has been featured in Forbes and Harvard Business Review.
Her perspective stopped me in my tracks because it challenges something many leaders instinctively do after a heavy season at work.
We try to motivate our team. We give them pep talks, try rallying and bend over backwards working to get everyone energized again.
But according to Anne, that’s not the real issue She says,
“Most leaders are trying to fix the wrong problem. High performers don’t need more motivation. They need a better operating system for uncertainty.”
That’s a completely different lens because the problem isn’t effort.
It’s how people are operating when things feel unclear, heavy, or disrupted. Isn’t that today’s reality?
I know what you’re thinking, if motivation isn’t the answer…what is?
1. Anchor Decisions to Values
When everything feels uncertain, people start second-guessing everything.
- “Is this the right priority?”
- “Should I be working on this?”
- “What matters most right now?”
That constant mental back-and-forth drains energy fast. Anne makes a powerful point: values eliminate that friction.
When our team has clearly defined values, they become a decision filter.
Instead of waiting for direction or debating every move, people can ask:
- Does this align with what we say matters most?
- Is this consistent with who we are as a team?
Strong values don’t just shape culture. They speed up decision-making and restore confidence and in moments of disruption, that’s everything.
2. Stop Pushing. Start Clarifying.
This one hits hard for a lot of leaders and I’m right there with ya.
When performance dips, our instinct is to push:
- “Let’s go, team.”
- “We need to pick it up.”
- “Let’s get back on track.”
I’m guilty of doing that are you? Pushing without clarity is like pressing the gas pedal with no direction. You burn energy and go nowhere.
Anne says it best:
Clarity fuels momentum. Pressure kills it.
Instead of asking for more effort, try this:
- What actually matters this week?
- What does success look like right now, not last quarter?
- What can we deprioritize?
High performers don’t need to be pushed. They need to know where to focus.
3. Time Isn’t the Problem. Energy Is.
This may be the most overlooked leadership truth of all.
Leaders often say:
- “We don’t have enough time.”
But the real issue is:
We don’t have enough energy.
You can give a team more time but if they’re exhausted, distracted, or burned out, performance won’t improve. Anne reframes it simply:
Focus follows energy. I LOVE THAT. It’s my new favorite mantra.
And yet many leaders unintentionally drain it by:
- Overloading priorities
- Scheduling back-to-back meetings
- Ignoring the need for recovery and boundaries
Then we wonder why performance drops. You don’t get peak performance by demanding more. You get it by protecting the conditions that make it possible.
The Leadership Shift
If you’re leading a team coming out of a busy season, or a disruption, and who isn’t these days, here’s the shift:
Stop asking:
“How do I motivate my team?”
Start asking:
“What’s getting in the way of their momentum?”
Because when you:
- Anchor to values
- Create clarity
- Protect energy
Something incredible happens. You don’t have to manufacture motivation. It shows up on its own.
Coming Next Week…
In Part 2, I’ll share three more insights from Anne Grady that might be even more powerful.