對大多數領導者而言，“激勵”意味著鼓舞他們的團隊盡可能多干活。我對此深有體會，因為我曾經也是這樣的領導者。我曾以為，激勵只是一種達成目標的手段，好比汽車需要汽油，你需要確保油箱里有足夠的油來保持前進。但實際上，這種理解既不準確，效果也很差。

真正的激勵建立于令人信服的使命之上，讓你的團隊能夠自主高效地朝著目標前進。關于激勵的建議，有太多人都把重點放在了報酬、“很酷”的辦公室文化，或是與員工談話“鼓舞士氣”等方面。但與激勵更加相關的，是使命本身，而不是獎金、免費小吃和乒乓球桌。

在Soma公司，激勵的重點可歸結為員工是否清楚如何為我們的使命而努力。我們的使命是凈化世界的水源。員工們能否把每天的工作與客戶的日常生活聯系在一起？他們是否知道我們的公益事業會幫助到世界上那些無法獲得干凈水源的人們？

如果答案是否定的，我們就需要明確公司的愿景，以及員工們應該如何融入這個愿景。如果答案是肯定的，我們就需要移除障礙，繼續前進。

作為一家初創公司，障礙通常包括人力稀缺、預算受限和自主性問題。盡管如此，我們在Soma制定了三項獨特的制度來明確使命，鼓舞員工：

每隔六周，讓所有人走出辦公室

我們每個季度會舉辦兩次戶外活動，以明確公司的愿景和戰略，同時借機提高團隊凝聚力。每個季度初，我們都會離開舊金山，去租用海灘上或深山中的漂亮房子，回顧公司從使命到價值觀在內的一切。我們還會舉辦活動來提高團隊凝聚力，例如烹飪比賽、瑜伽、遠足，偶爾還有對口型假唱大賽。

而在每個季度中期，我們還會用一天時間離開辦公室聚在一起，評估我們六周前設立的目標的完成進度。這兩次戶外活動的重點都是明確Soma的愿景，告訴每位員工如何為這個目標貢獻自己的力量。

不限制工作時間和地點

沒有人喜歡被微管理，這不是什么新鮮事。不過有一點常被忽視，就算不采用微管理，普通的工作環境也存在著限制。大多數公司的內部流程（會議、辦公室設計、工作時間等）只是可以令人接受的程度，卻并不是最優選擇。

因此，Soma讓每個人都有機會選擇自己喜歡的方式和地點工作。當然，面對面的交流是必須的，不過員工在需要調查和調整的時候，他們可以自由選擇在家或是在最喜歡的咖啡店工作。讓員工擁有自主權不僅能夠提高生產力，還能讓每個人感覺他們是自己的老板。我們相信他們的判斷力，相信他們能夠確定最高效的工作方式。

確保身心健康

把一群佼佼者聚在一起存在著一個風險：他們不會花時間去關心自己。因此，我們提供了一系列方便實惠的健康保健項目。Soma最重要的一個文化特征就是活力。這是我們評估工作環境是否健康的標準。員工們是否能量充沛，樂觀向上，光彩照人？

我們推出了許多旨在提高活力的舉措。例如，在每周一早上，我們會進行冥想來開始新一周的工作。此外，我們還會在每周一、三、五進行7分鐘的訓練營活動。這期間，我們會把音樂放得很響，走來走去，然后大笑，提醒自己不要太嚴肅。只需要7分鐘，我們就能重拾活力。我們還會召開步行會議。想想看，如果你住在加利福尼亞，可以享受到陽光和新鮮空氣的話，大部分時間還坐在辦公桌旁就太沒有道理了。

要實現上面這些既簡單又容易，不需要什么計劃——你只要有足夠的領導力讓每個人都知道，除了坐在會議室外，我們還有另一種不錯的選擇。

本文作者Mike Del Ponte是Soma公司共同創始人。

譯者：嚴匡正

審校：任文科

For a most leaders, ‘motivation’ means energizing their teams to squeeze as much work out of them as possible. I know, because I was one of these leaders. I understood motivation as a means to an end. Like gas for a car — just make sure there’s enough in the tank to keep moving forward. In reality, this understanding of motivation is as inaccurate as it is ineffective. True motivation is based on a compelling mission and providing your team with the autonomy to effectively contribute to that mission. Too much advice about motivation focuses on compensation, “cool” office cultures, or giving pep talks to “rally the troops.” Motivation has more to do with mission than it does with bonuses, free snacks, and ping-pong tables.

At Soma, it comes down to whether everyone understands how they are contributing to our mission to hydrate the world. Can they connect the dots between the hard work they do daily and how our products benefit the daily lives of our customers? Do they understand how our philanthropy efforts help people without access to clean water around the globe? If the answer is no, then we need to get clear on the vision of the company and how they fit into it. If they answer is yes, we need to remove roadblocks. As a startup, roadblocks typically include a need for human capital, budget limitations, and autonomy. That being said, there are three specific and unique things that we do at Soma to provide clarity around our mission and keep employees motivated:

Get everyone out of the office — every six weeks

We hold two company off-sites per quarter to provide clarity on the company vision and strategy, and the opportunity to bond as a team. At the beginning of each quarter, we get out of San Francisco. We rent a beautiful property on the beach or in the mountains and we review everything from our mission to our values. We also participate in bonding activities like cooking competitions, yoga, hikes, and the occasional lip sync battle. Mid-quarter, we spend one day together — outside of the office — assessing progress on the goals we set six weeks earlier. Both of our off-sites are focused primarily on clarifying Soma’s vision to hydrate the world and how each employee is contributing this goal.

Work anywhere, anytime

No one likes to be micromanaged, this is nothing new. But what is often overlooked is that the normal work environment has limitations, even if micromanagement is eliminated. The internal processes of most companies (meetings, office design, work hours, etc.) are usually tolerable, but certainly not preferred. That’s why we give everyone at Soma the opportunity to work however, and wherever, they want. Of course, face-to-face interaction is necessary, but anytime an employeeneeds to check out and recalibrate, they’re free to work from home or their favorite coffee shop.Giving autonomy to employees not only produces higher productivity, it also reminds everyone that they are their own bosses and we trust their judgment to decide what will make them work most efficiently.

Empower health and wellness

There’s one risk that comes with getting a bunch of high-achievers together: they won’t take the time to take care of themselves. That’s why we provide a number of health-and-wellness programs that are convenient and affordable. One of the key attributes of the Soma culture is vibrancy. It’s the metric we use to gauge health and wellness in the office. Do people have energy, optimism, and that discernable glow that happens when both one’s mind and body are nourished?

To make sure this is the case, we have ongoing initiatives to increase vibrancy, such as Monday meditations to kick start our week. Additionally, we also have a seven-minute bootcamp workout every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. We play loud music, move around, laugh, and remind ourselves not to be too serious. All it takes is seven minutes to get us energized again. We also hold walking meetings. When you live in California, it doesn’t make sense to spend most of your working hours at your desk when you could be enjoying sunshine and fresh air. This is one of those things that simple, easy, and requires no planning — just enough leadership to let everyone know this is a good alternative to sitting in a conference room.