Building High Performing Team – 2: Keep Your Teams Motivated All the Time.

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I usually ask one question to the industry leaders and my friends, “What works for them to keep themselves and their teams motivated?” There is no specific answer to it, different things work differently for individuals. Sometimes no big actions are required, even a minor gesture can do incredibly well.

?I feel so excited today while sharing my learnings and experience with you on one of my favorite topics, “Team Motivation.” I have been applying these learnings and they have worked well most of the time for my teams.

?Well, I guess we can easily list down 100’s of dos and don’ts for keeping the motivation high in teams, some of the most used examples are listed below, might have been the focus areas for your teams as well.

• Better Renumerations
• Learnings & Trainings Opportunities
• Flexi Work Hours, WFH options
• R&R, Public Praises
• Team Lunch, Parties, Offsites
• Fun Activities and Celebrations.
• World Class office Infra, Cafeteria, Play Zone Etc.

?No one disagrees with the fact that all these ideas are important, but I think no matter how much you do, it may seem lesser than the expectations & needs. Also, you might not have enough control to apply these due to some constraints. Even if these ideas are implemented, they can produce only momentary motivation.

?Let’s understand it more, by asking a few questions to yourself.

• ?How motivated do you feel today about the award you got a few months back?
• How motivated do you feel today about the team party you had in the last quarter?
• How motivated do you feel today about some training that you got last year?
• How motivated do you feel today about the extraordinary remuneration hike you got two years back? Etc.

?You would agree that all these actions will create only temporary motivation for a short duration. To “Keep the Teams Motivated All the Time”, you need to go beyond their expectations & needs. You may need to think differently to find some impactful ideas which are fully in your control to implement.

?As usual, in this article, I am sharing some ideas (listed below), those have been substantial and sustainable for me, and some of these might help you as well!

?1.???? Knowing individuals better, what inspires them?

2.???? Building “Ownership Mind Set” could be the most impactful thing in building “Self-Motivated, Self-Sustained & Self-Disciplined Teams”. You may please refer my previously published article for more info RACI Matrix V/S Ownership | LinkedIn

3.???? Keep the Engagement Level High, usually highly engaged teams are highly motivated.

4.???? Keep Challenging, align the jobs as per their strengths and aspirations, have trust, explore opportunities where they can come out from their comfort zone, if required, explore job rotations.

5.???? Empower your Team to take decisions. When a team decides its team commitment and chances for success are higher. Allow them to make mistakes. Set clear “Objective/Targets” and explain them “WHY do we need to do this”? but let them figure out “WHAT to do?” & “HOW to do?” Micromanagement is the worst thing that you can do to demotivate your teams.

6.???? Healthy & Happy Work Environment, a fair, safe, secure, fearless, unbiased work environment can do wonders in motivating teams and enhancing team performance.

7.???? Right Growth Opportunities, IMO this is the biggest motivation factor for anyone, as a leader we must own individuals’ growth. Create “Individuals Development Plan” in team. Anyone who has no clarity about his career growth opportunities cannot be motivated for a longer period.

?Thank you so much for your time in reading this. Your ideas on this will be highly appreciated and help me further enrich my learnings from your experiences.

Don’t hesitate to put your questions in the comments section below if you have any.