How can you help your team find their own motivation?

I ask people to tell me what their “dessert” is for the year—maybe it’s external speaking opportunities or client calls or face time with execs. Knowing what’s dessert across the team helps me send the opportunities in the right direction. ??

The question posed is a bit paradoxical. How can a “team” find its “own” motivation? Teams are made of individuals with each having their own skills, desires, personalities, opportunities, and drivers. Ensure the right people are on the team and in the right role based on what they offer and desire, and that they are pushed to be their best while lifting others up. Intrinsically motivated A Players with a collaborative mindset will want to raise others up with them. Lead from the front, hire the right people, and reward team and individual accomplishments.

Teams comprise of myriad individuals whose priorities, skills, experiences and backgrounds can be extremely diverse. As a team member / leader, I always encourage team members to reflect on their true purpose, their inner calling. This is difficult to do, yet the most powerful driver of motivation. Once each of them know their purpose and are able to articulate it, we can better align them to deliverables that are more aligned to their purpose. Team members truly bring out their best when they're not just deriving rewards, recognition and learning from a project but most importantly, fulfillment and satisfaction from it which creates enduring value.

Establishing a strong vision of what success looks like with mission and purpose of why the team is together to start with. Putting emphasis on building trust, transparency, and communication during meetings in good or bad times during journey. Then making sure each team member sees how their work impacts others and the greater goal.

A team is an amalgamation of diverse personalities. Different team members are motivated by different factors. Recognition & rewards might be valuable for one while for someone it might be mastery. Spending quality time with each member will help in identifying what drives them, their needs, goals. Accordingly aligning their self drivers with team goals becomes easier. "Not everyday is a good day but there is something good in each day" philosophy will help you as a leader to keep the team motivated even on challenging days.

We often look to reduce someone's weaknesses, but if you really want to see someone's potential launch... build on their strengths! The sports analogy is that we don't teach pitchers to get really good at long throws from the outfield. Or even batting. Most pitchers aren't great at the plate. That's not their role. Their role is pitching. Talk to your team members and watch their eyes. Observe what lights them up! Offer them more opportunities to use those skills or hone their work in those areas. It's not that they won't need to do other things, but when we spend at least 20% of our work week doing things that light us up, we are significantly less likely to experience burnout!

Aligning tasks with team members' strengths and passions is pivotal for enhancing motivation and productivity. Utilizing tools like personality tests and skills assessments helps in identifying each member's prowess and areas for growth. By assigning tasks that resonate with their skills and interests, or offering avenues for learning and growth, leaders not only foster a culture of excellence and satisfaction but also propel the team towards achieving organizational goals with a higher degree of engagement and efficacy. This alignment strategy stands as a hallmark of insightful and effective team management.

People love to do what they are good at! And that's why we have teams, not individuals taking on projects. To emphasise the strength, make sure to praise the colleague for it and let them hare it with the rest of the team. This way each team member will be profiled.

Foster Autonomy and Ownership: Give team members control over their work when possible. Autonomy over tasks, time, team, or technique can lead to a significant increase in motivation. When people feel they have ownership of their work, they take greater pride in their achievements.

Understanding the strengths of each team member and the collective team is essential. I have had the best luck when I've set the goals and visions but allowed the team to divide the work. When people work on what they enjoy, they will be motivated to do even more!

Clarity *can* be motivating; too often it’s presented as a “Do this task”. On the other hand, posing problems for the team to solve can be transformative. Allowing people uncertainty and autonomy is what brings teams together.

2)Emphasize "What" Before "How": When formulating goals, emphasize "what" needs to be achieved before delving into the specifics of "how" they will be accomplished. This approach helps maintain a focus on the desired outcomes. 3) Specificity is Key: Goals should be characterized by their specificity. Employ behavioral and concrete language to precisely describe the intended results. Start with an action verb and address essential aspects, including what, how much, where, when, and under what conditions, among others.

Encourage Healthy Competition: Friendly competition can be a great motivator as it often makes work more enjoyable. Set team targets and celebrate when they are achieved. Just ensure that the competition doesn't foster negativity or stress.

This point is one of the six key components of team dynamics that I have incorporated into my team leadership training and workshop sessions. Goal clarity pertains to the unequivocal articulation of objectives at every level of the organization, throughout all stages of the work process, and for all team members. In the context of goal clarity, I would like to offer a few tips: 1) Alignment with Organizational Strategy: Ensure that team goals are in alignment with the broader organizational strategy and tactics. This coherence between team objectives and the overarching strategic direction is fundamental for success. (to be continued)

Setting clear goals and expectations about what team members are doing helps them work with confidence that they are aware and understand what is required and therefore work without hesitation. When expectations are clear, team members can better see how their efforts contribute to achieving the overall goal, and this means they see their impact on success, and this is a big motivator.

Situational leadership style is key to build confidence among teams by analyzing each level of support based on tasks. So when the task is new the leader needs to micro manage and sharing detailed steps towards each task, while other tasks require minor support and guidance. For those who are highly skilled, the leader needs to inspire them to do more and try new things.

It is very important as a good leader to provide to the team the required autonomy and support. The team members should feel that they have the space to take initiatives, work on new ideas and requirements, make mistakes and learn from them so as to achieve finally the successful desired results. They should be supported and guided, in order to understand that they are not alone but a part of a team that its leader will always be there, whenever required and considered necessary. In view of the above, a spirit of safety, collaboration and mutual understanding will be cultivated between the team members that will help them feel motivated, work with passion and create a strong, effective and efficient team that brings great results.

Provide the team clarity in vision Provide ample opportunities to take the team to take their decisions to reach the goals Appreciate/praise the efforts/initiatives It's okay to make mistakes and learn from it Support/ back the team wherever needed!!

Open Communication: Maintain open lines of communication, encouraging feedback, and ideas. When employees feel heard and understand that their input matters, they are typically more invested and motivated.

Autonomy can indeed be a powerful motivator and in some ways can be a double edge sword. It should be earned by the team consistently accomplishing its goals. Your team must establish that it can work autonomously and demonstrate its understanding and willingness to abide by the agreed upon standards. Once you give autonomy and the team proves that it can work well, the team may push for more autonomy and the harder it will be for you to take autonomy back. Negotiating this tension will largely be due to how you engage, hold them accountable, and support your team especially with situations not meeting expectations and boundaries.

Don't keep recognition as the final step to get to when it comes to motivation. Recognition is where you need to start. Recognize the 'as is' achievement first. Recognize what they have done, what they have achieved and where they have got to independently. In a way you are letting them know that you are starting with blind trust from your end. What better motivation can you give them. The rest of the steps are aptly captured in this post helping sustain and build on that motivation. On a lighter (but serious) note just be consistent on the recognition front and not use it as a bandage or cover up.

A leader should always celebrate even the smallest achievements and openly acknowledge the efforts of team members to boost morale and motivation. Unfortunately, some managers tend to criticize their team members publicly while offering praise in private. This behavior is detrimental and can have severe consequences for the team.

Incidental recognition works wonders, don't wait for the very end of the project, keep on appreciating them and recognising them behind closed and open doors, both. Recognition kicks in when it happens publically, audibly, boldly.

Offer Recognition and Rewards: Regularly recognize and reward effort and results. Whether through formal rewards or a simple "thank you," acknowledgment shows team members that their hard work is seen and appreciated, encouraging continued effort.

A simple public praise can boost the team’s morale by 100%. Whenever we get an opportunity to praise, we should do it with authenticity. An employee shows his/her true potential when motivated and gives their best.

To ignite the passion and potential in my teams, I establish a compelling vision of the outcomes we aim to achieve: We're not just customer-focused; we're customer-obsessed When it comes to ideas, every voice matters We push past established boundaries We don’t just solve problems; we anticipate and nip potential issues in the bud We build lasting relationships, taking the extra mile to understand the people we serve We're driven by a relentless pursuit of improvement Every detail, no matter how minute, receives our full attention We take full ownership of our customers' outcomes, leaving no stone unturned We’re not just making sales; we're positively transforming the lives of our customers

Encouraging teams to embrace failure is a potent motivator. When liberated from the fear of failure, they explore new ideas with enhanced creativity. Failure, viewed as a stepping stone, fosters resilience and determination. It also nurtures open communication, allowing employees to share insights freely. The freedom to fail transforms setbacks into opportunities. It sparks a culture where risks are not only tolerated but celebrated, leading to a more agile, creative, and cohesive atmosphere.

Give constructive feedback to help your team improve. Encourage their growth by pointing out areas for development and offering guidance on how to enhance their skills. Be a role model when it comes to motivation and work ethic. Your enthusiasm and dedication can inspire your team to follow suit. Connect the team's work to a broader purpose or mission. When people see the meaningful impact of their work, they are more motivated to contribute. Motivation is not static; it can evolve over time. Periodically reevaluate what motivates your team and be willing to adjust your approach accordingly.

An overarching way to help your team members find their own motivation is to talk to them about the purpose they find in their work. That doesn’t need to be tied to the company’s purpose (and most likely won’t be). It is more likely going to be one of the following: 1 - Using their time at work to become a better version of themselves. 2 - Making a positive impact on others they work with. 3 - Recognising how their work improves the lives of people using the product or service. 4 - Failing the first three, their current role will be giving them greater clarity on what might be the next steps for them. As a manager, understanding these drivers for your team members can help you give them more opportunities in these areas.

Yes, yes, yes, … and no. Teams can find and drive their own motivation. I have experienced that and I have helped teams do that. The solution is complex and balanced. Nothing mentioned here is patently wrong, but the format of compartmentalized expert statements is not capturing the essence of how this works. We need to cover basic aspects of a healthy workplace to set up for success.