No matter what you build, invent or sell, your organization can not go forward without people. CEOs, founders of companies and bosses around the world know that keeping teams moving together in harmony makes the real difference.

In an article for Forbes magazine, Leonard J. Glick, professor of organizational development and management at Northeastern University in Boston, teaches the art of motivating employees. Glick explained some key ideas aimed at entrepreneurs and managers, to keep their people smiling and productive at the same time.

Build a sense of belonging to your team 

You have to have employees who feel that the place belongs to them, not just working there. "One of the principles of self-managed teams is to organize a whole service or product." In other words, make sure that the company's staff feels responsible for what the customer buys.

One way to inspire that feeling is to have each team member become familiar with what others do by allowing them to bring their ideas to the table to improve and participate in the whole process. If the roles are not too personalized, you can rotate the staff, because according to experts this contributes to the feeling of feeling something as their own, and most people when they feel something like their own, do not want to fail.

Gives employees the confidence to leave their comfort zones

Few employees want to do a particular task over and over again. Do not be afraid to give them new responsibilities, this will allow them to grow and trust more in their abilities as they feel more valuable to the organization.

Although managers may feel uncomfortable allowing their people to try new things because they believe they pose a risk to productivity or put workers out of their established place, they rule out other issues. "For me, the biggest risk is people getting burned or bored," Glick explained.

Keep your team informed

Business leaders have a clearer perspective on the big picture than their employees. It is worth telling those who are under you what is happening. "The things that managers take for common knowledge about how things are going or what challenges are coming or what new products are coming in often do not take the time to share that with their employees," Glick said. The diffusion and therefore the common knowledge of the information reinforces the feeling among the workers who are an essential part of the organization.

Your employees are adults, treat them as such

In any business, there is going to be bad news. Whether it is the company as a whole or an individual within the organization, employees need to be treated in a direct and respectable manner. "They can handle it, usually," Glick said. If you decide to keep your people in the dark about difficult times, you hurt yourself too. "Rumors are often worse than reality."

You are the boss, sometimes you have to make him notice 

While this topic is affecting the overall culture of an organization, there will be times when you have to make a decision as a leader, despite the efforts you have done to put equality with your staff on the ground. "The idea is that they have an open relationship, but they are not necessarily the same," said the expert and added: "I think the worst thing is to pretend that you are the same."

Money matters (but not as much as you think)

Compensation packages are a great thing when employees are hired, but once an agreement has been reached, the source of motivation tends to change. "Motivation comes from the things I've been talking about: the job challenge, the daily purpose, the opportunity to learn, the opportunity to contribute," Glick explained. It is about finding a salary that allows employees to feel that they are being paid fairly.

Benefits matter (but not as much as you think)

Some companies (we see on Google -0.95%) have received attention for offering generous benefits to their staff - massages, free gourmet lunches, ping pong tables, day care. But, like money, these things tend to be less motivating for workers that challenge you at work and the feeling of being a valuable part of a quality team that will recognize your contribution.

A manager needs to understand that while these benefits are great and free the shoulders of employees, they are not a substitute for the primary sources of professional inspiration. "I do not think people work harder, work harder for those things," Glick said.