How to use Psychology for More Efficient Team Work

Good morning everybody!

I hope you are doing marvelously well. Today I want to give you a few new tools to adjust and plan your and your team's performance and success.

I got these tips from Shawn Achor's book “Before Happiness – 5 actionable strategiesto create a positive path to success”. Please do not get deterred by the title. There are a few gems in there that will be worth your while.

How to use perception for success

Whenever you have a negative view on something, it seems a lot bigger to your brain and success seems less probable. Whenever you have an optimistic view, your brain will disregard many negative aspects. All the whining about being tired, it's too late, something is missing, we cannot do it in the allotted time etc. just subsides because the brain perceives success more probable and attainable. This is how the flow state is easier accessed and complex tasks are completed.

Imagine running an ultra-marathon through very difficult terrain and you are approaching a small mountain. Everything hurts, you got that metallic taste in your mouth and you can hardly move one foot in front of the other. Giving up seems to be a valid option now.

Imagine you had somebody with you running faster than you, telling you that the finish line is directly behind this tiny mountain, another 20 minutes and you get to rest. Now you think you are going to make it, you already made it this far, giving up so close to the goal would be insane.

In this case most people would bite the bullet, their brain would release some endorphins and show them thoughts of victory taking away their focus from the pain and the feeling of being tired. This is how the champions do it and this is how you can do it as well. All you have to do is inspire positive thinking in your coworkers like in the example. It also goes to show what a destructive effect the naysayers on your team can have on overall team success. So choose your partners wisely.

How are we going to create an environment where success seems more possible?

1. Success must be perceived possible. If your company or your coworkers have done it a hundred times, that is very reassuring that things will just work out fine. Anecdotal evidence works as well but it is not as inspiring as having somebody on the team who actually did it themselves.
2. Short Timeframe: the moniker “we are almost there” works wonders. Just watch any competition when the main contenders are giving it all they got on the last meters to win. It is very reassuring that the goal is near.
3. Keep your eyes on the goal and make shure it is worthwhile for everybody. It is a lot more motivating to have a goal that is worth the effort than a goal just for the goal's sake.
4. Reassurance and assistance from a leader. Doubt will occur, it is the leader's job to disspell it.
5. Stress how far they have already come. People find it more motivating when they can see proof of their past performance. If they already got 70% done, it would be crazy to stop now. If the first 30 to 40% are quite easy, people tend to be more motivated because they can see that half the way is not that stressful. When it is getting hard, they are already close to 70% and it would be stupid to throw all that away and stop. Why not install a progress bar like when you are downloading something on your computer?

I hope that helps. Please let us know in the comments if you got any questions.

All the best

Wolf