The Power of Belief: The Real Secret to Motivating Your Team
“People don’t need you to motivate them, they need to be seen”
— The Uncharted Leader
One of the most common questions asked by leaders:
“How do I motivate my team?”
It’s a great question, but what often surprises people is what’s really driving it isn’t a lack of motivation; it’s the frustration leaders feel when people aren’t doing what’s expected.
The assumption quickly follows:
If they’re not performing, they must not be motivated.
According to Gallup’s 2024 Global Workplace Report, only 23% of employees worldwide are actively engaged.
Despite decades of investment in leadership programs, bonuses, perks and wellbeing initiatives, the fact that engagement continues to hover in the low-20s is a clear signal: the problem isn’t motivation; the problem is understanding what’s driving it.
The truth is: everyone is motivated.
The real question is: by what?
Every person you lead (including you) is motivated by something - meaning, recognition, belonging, autonomy, fear, security, growth.
So my response to this question is simple.
Instead of asking:
“How do I motivate my team?”
Consider asking:
“What am I trying to solve?”
Because motivation isn’t something you give people, it’s something you connect them to.
“Employees report stronger engagement and commitment when they perceive their leaders as believing in their potential, even before results are achieved.”
Motivation IS About MeETING peoples needs
We’ve been taught that motivation is something we can give to others - it’s a tool to apply, a system to manage, a lever to pull.
This mindset is rooted in traditional hierarchical models of leadership, where power flowed from the top down and productivity was measured in compliance (not creativity.)
In these systems, the leader’s role was to drive performance through rewards, rules and repercussions.
If people weren’t performing, the solution was to push harder, offer incentives, enforce accountability or move them into ‘performance management’.
In this environment, motivation becomes transactional:
“Do this, get X” or “Don’t do this, get Y”
It’s a model that prizes control over connection, and behaviour over belief.
This approach assumes that people need to be driven, that motivation arises when you do something, that it’s not something they have within themselves, that they are not naturally drawn to their own meaning.
And employees know it!
Neuroscience tells a different story.
In reality, human motivation isn’t something we impose, it’s something we ignite.
When we lead from frustration and our focus is on what’s not working, the brain’s threat system activates - cortisol floods the body and the prefrontal cortex (the part responsible for creativity and decision-making) shuts down.
People becomes cautious, defensive and reactive.
They do enough to avoid getting in trouble; avoiding the threat of being wrong (or not enough).
That’s because criticism, even if it’s subtle, doesn’t drive performance.
It drives protection.
Belief Changes Everything
When asked what makes the biggest difference to their motivation, employees consistently point to one thing:
“My leader believes in me.”
When leaders express belief in someone’s potential, something extraordinary happens in the brain.
It triggers dopamine - the neurotransmitter associated with motivation, focus, and learning.
It increases oxytocin - the chemical of trust and connection.
People become more open, more engaged, and (believe it or not) more motivated.
Psychologists call it the Pygmalion Effect - the phenomenon where people rise (or fall) to the level of expectation we hold of them.
In simple terms:
The story you believe about someone becomes the story they live.
The Mirror of Leadership: the power of belief
Here’s the paradox:
You can’t truly believe in others if you don’t believe in yourself.
If you are constantly measuring yourself against what’s missing - the goal you didn’t hit, the mistake you made, the gap between where you are and where you “should be” - you are conditioning the brain to look for what’s missing.
That lens doesn’t switch off when you walk into a team meeting - you project it.
You lead from scarcity rather than strength.
When you acknowledge your own growth - and you see yourself as succeeding, not in deficit - not only are you rewiring your brain for what’s possible, you’re creating an environment where others step up and take it on themselves.
In that moment leadership becomes transformational.
You start leading from belief, not blame.
There was a time when one of my team members kept missing deadlines.
I could feel the frustration building. I caught myself thinking, “They know what’s expected, why aren’t they doing something about it?It would’ve been easy to stay there, focused on what wasn’t being done, convinced the issue was commitment or competence. But something told me to pause. Instead of asking, “Why aren’t they performing?” I asked, “What do they need?”
When I sat down with them, what I heard stopped me in my tracks.
They weren’t disengaged. They were drowning, overwhelmed, unsure and afraid to disappoint. Their silence wasn’t resistance (or capability) it was fear.That conversation changed everything. Within weeks, the same person who had been struggling began showing up with ideas, initiative, and confidence.
All that changed was my focus, from what they lacked to what they were capable of.
In that moment, I was reminded of one of leadership’s greatest truths:
People don’t rise because of pressure.
They rise because someone believes they can.
Belief in Action
Belief doesn’t mean ignoring the facts. It means grounding accountability in trust rather than control.
When we focus on potential, we ask better questions:
What’s one thing this person has done well recently?
What strength am I overlooking because I’m focused on the problem?
What belief could I hold that would help them rise to the next level?
This shift in focus changes the energy in every interaction.
Instead of What’s wrong with you? the message becomes I see something in you.
And when people feel seen, they find their own motivation.
A few years ago, I worked with a leader who lost all confidence in their ability to lead.
They received tough feedback, their team was disengaged, they were overlooked for a promotion and they’d started to believe maybe leadership just “wasn’t for them”.
When we began working together, I could see their capability, but they couldn’t. Instead of starting with strategies or performance plans, I focused on belief. I reminded them of the moments they’d led with courage, the times their team rallied behind them, the impact they’d already made.
Little by little, that belief started to take hold. Within months, they weren’t just leading again, they were mentoring others, reigniting purpose in their own team and a promotion, well that suddenly came out of nowhere and that role they never thought they’d get, they got.
“Motivation isn’t telling someone what to do - it’s helping them remember who they are.”
Belief as a Leadership Practice
In the end, leadership isn’t about managing performance, it’s about amplifying belief.
Belief doesn’t just inspire, it transforms the neural chemistry of motivation, trust and growth.
And it always starts with you.
When you believe in your own potential, you see it in others.
When you see it in others, they start to believe in themselves.
When people believe in themselves, performance takes care of itself.
“People don’t need you to motivate them, they just need to be seen.”
That’s the power of belief.
That’s art of leadership.
reflection for leaders…
Am I leading from frustration or belief?
What story am I telling about my team - and what story are they believing because of it?
Where can I begin seeing potential before I see proof?
IGNITE YOUR PASSION
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This article has been written in the context of 20 years lived-experience in leadership and developing high-performing leaders as a coach, mentor and facilitator, together with my commitment to bridging the gap between modern science and ancient wisdom.
Reference Material:
In a survey of over 1,000 employees, McKinsey & Company found that one of the most important drivers of motivation was the feeling of being listened to and supported by leadership. McKinsey & Company
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) evidence review on work motivation highlights that supervisory support and the perception that one’s role is valued and trusted are key antecedents of motivation. CIPD
A 2025 editorial in Frontiers in Organisational Psychology emphasises that a leader’s motivational style, particularly when it stems from belief in people’s growth and capacity, has a strong link to employee engagement and performance.
