Factors That Influence Team Motivation

abhishreshthaa

New member
Factors That Influence Team Motivation


I. Purpose

At the top of almost everyone's list is a clear purpose, focus, or mission. But further, for long-term motivation, it must be a purpose or mission that they find aligns with their personal wants and needs.


One can be asked to participate on a temporary task force. If the mission is clear, he might be able to sustain motivation for the duration if he feels it is important. However, if it is a topic that is not in line with his wants and needs, his motivation to continue may diminish.


So one strategy with a lethargic team might be to stop the process, re-visit the team's purpose or mission, and see if there's alignment on it. Even with a team that seems well-motivated, it still is a good strategy to recheck once in a while.



II. Challenge

The human species as with most animals, has been given a survival mechanism called fight or flight syndrome. When presented with a challenge, our defenses are alerted to move us to action....to run away from danger or address it directly.


Many people will say that their most rewarding team experiences resulted from some sort of challenge. The challenge itself is the motivator. In the workplace, these challenges occur infrequently. Teams are not presented with stimulating challenges every day. So the question becomes how to provide challenges to the team at more frequent intervals.


An additional criterion for a challenge is the level of difficulty. If a challenge is too difficult, perhaps perceived as impossible, then team members may give up before they start. However, the same result may occur if the members perceive the challenge as too easy. Little energy is required to accomplish something so easily obtained.


So for ongoing teams, periodic stimulation in the form of a worthy challenge is another method of maintaining motivation.



III. Camaraderie

If one studies highly effective groups, one finds that the most successful groups over the long haul tend to address both the technical needs and human needs. These groups are at the same time competent in the work they perform and highly functional in their interpersonal relationships. The group is well balanced in both technical and human skills.


Another factor that emerges about successful teams is camaraderie, meaning comradeship, fellowship, and loyalty. The people on these teams genuinely like each other and work hard to develop and maintain their relationships.


Although they are probably not aware that research supports this behavior, they just seem to understand that it's a lot easier to support your team member when you have a good relationship. The fallout from this kind of relationship building is open and direct communication, frequent praising of each others' contributions, and mutual support.


So, you will say, that is all well and good for teams whose members like each other, but what if they don't like each other? Much of the time we like or dislike someone, it relates more to how well we understand them. And since our formal training has not addressed this, most of us enter adulthood ill-equipped to deal with the myriad of personalities, temperaments, cultures, values, beliefs, ideologies, religions, and idiosyncratic behaviors of those we meet.


One way to break down these barriers is to expand one understands of his own species. Training is available to address most of the topics above, and exercises can be beneficial if they move us to another level of understanding.


But don't overlook the simple solutions. Designing an off-site activity for the team, sometimes just to play together, is a powerful way of building camaraderie. For more thoughts on this, see our article "Celebrations and Events to Build the Team’s”


IV. Responsibility

In general, people and teams are stimulated by being given responsibility. Having ownership of an identifiable block of work is a long-held tenet of motivation in groups. Responsibility can be tricky, however. Implied in this concept is the understanding that the responsibility comes along with authority to make the necessary changes. Teams that have both the responsibility and authority tend to maintain motivation over longer periods of time.


Responsibility can be de-motivating if the consequences of error or failure are too great. If the organization, for example, has a history of punishing mistakes, then the giving of responsibility is viewed more as a negative. The short-term performance may be good (remember fear is a motivator), but long-term motivation will suffer. It is difficult to sustain high performance when energy is being sapped by fear.



V. Growth
Finally, personal and team growth can provide another basis for sustained motivation. When people feel they are moving forward, learning new concepts, adding to their skill base, and stretching their minds, motivation tends to remain high. Personal growth adds value to the individual, enhancing self-esteem and self-worth.


Accordingly, team members and team leaders should look for opportunities that help add knowledge and skills. A good technique is to simply ask members what they would like to get from their association with the team, then listen for areas of possible growth.


VI. Leadership

A good leader can be a catalyst for motivation in the short term, but the best leaders create the conditions for the team to motivate itself.
We have all seen examples of how leaders inspired teams to accomplish some phenomenal task. History books and Hollywood are full of these stories, and we come to honor these leaders.


But the charismatic leader that can be so effective in the short term cannot necessarily sustain motivation indefinitely. Motivation is inherently intrinsic, residing within oneself. Therefore, if one depends continually on another for their source of motivation, eventually it ends.


Great leaders have a knack for helping others see the best in themselves, providing the stimulus for self-actualizing behaviors. But great leaders also understand the importance of team purpose, challenge, camaraderie, responsibility, and growth, and focus much of their time on creating the conditions for these to exist.


Great leaders understand that their team members have needs, and that for motivation to grow and continue, the activities of the team must help in some way to meet these needs.
 

bhautik.kawa

New member
Factors That Influence Team Motivation


I. Purpose

At the top of almost everyone's list is a clear purpose, focus, or mission. But further, for long-term motivation, it must be a purpose or mission that they find aligns with their personal wants and needs.


One can be asked to participate on a temporary task force. If the mission is clear, he might be able to sustain motivation for the duration if he feels it is important. However, if it is a topic that is not in line with his wants and needs, his motivation to continue may diminish.


So one strategy with a lethargic team might be to stop the process, re-visit the team's purpose or mission, and see if there's alignment on it. Even with a team that seems well-motivated, it still is a good strategy to recheck once in a while.



II. Challenge

The human species as with most animals, has been given a survival mechanism called fight or flight syndrome. When presented with a challenge, our defenses are alerted to move us to action....to run away from danger or address it directly.


Many people will say that their most rewarding team experiences resulted from some sort of challenge. The challenge itself is the motivator. In the workplace, these challenges occur infrequently. Teams are not presented with stimulating challenges every day. So the question becomes how to provide challenges to the team at more frequent intervals.


An additional criterion for a challenge is the level of difficulty. If a challenge is too difficult, perhaps perceived as impossible, then team members may give up before they start. However, the same result may occur if the members perceive the challenge as too easy. Little energy is required to accomplish something so easily obtained.


So for ongoing teams, periodic stimulation in the form of a worthy challenge is another method of maintaining motivation.



III. Camaraderie

If one studies highly effective groups, one finds that the most successful groups over the long haul tend to address both the technical needs and human needs. These groups are at the same time competent in the work they perform and highly functional in their interpersonal relationships. The group is well balanced in both technical and human skills.


Another factor that emerges about successful teams is camaraderie, meaning comradeship, fellowship, and loyalty. The people on these teams genuinely like each other and work hard to develop and maintain their relationships.


Although they are probably not aware that research supports this behavior, they just seem to understand that it's a lot easier to support your team member when you have a good relationship. The fallout from this kind of relationship building is open and direct communication, frequent praising of each others' contributions, and mutual support.


So, you will say, that is all well and good for teams whose members like each other, but what if they don't like each other? Much of the time we like or dislike someone, it relates more to how well we understand them. And since our formal training has not addressed this, most of us enter adulthood ill-equipped to deal with the myriad of personalities, temperaments, cultures, values, beliefs, ideologies, religions, and idiosyncratic behaviors of those we meet.


One way to break down these barriers is to expand one understands of his own species. Training is available to address most of the topics above, and exercises can be beneficial if they move us to another level of understanding.


But don't overlook the simple solutions. Designing an off-site activity for the team, sometimes just to play together, is a powerful way of building camaraderie. For more thoughts on this, see our article "Celebrations and Events to Build the Team’s”


IV. Responsibility

In general, people and teams are stimulated by being given responsibility. Having ownership of an identifiable block of work is a long-held tenet of motivation in groups. Responsibility can be tricky, however. Implied in this concept is the understanding that the responsibility comes along with authority to make the necessary changes. Teams that have both the responsibility and authority tend to maintain motivation over longer periods of time.


Responsibility can be de-motivating if the consequences of error or failure are too great. If the organization, for example, has a history of punishing mistakes, then the giving of responsibility is viewed more as a negative. The short-term performance may be good (remember fear is a motivator), but long-term motivation will suffer. It is difficult to sustain high performance when energy is being sapped by fear.



V. Growth
Finally, personal and team growth can provide another basis for sustained motivation. When people feel they are moving forward, learning new concepts, adding to their skill base, and stretching their minds, motivation tends to remain high. Personal growth adds value to the individual, enhancing self-esteem and self-worth.


Accordingly, team members and team leaders should look for opportunities that help add knowledge and skills. A good technique is to simply ask members what they would like to get from their association with the team, then listen for areas of possible growth.


VI. Leadership

A good leader can be a catalyst for motivation in the short term, but the best leaders create the conditions for the team to motivate itself.
We have all seen examples of how leaders inspired teams to accomplish some phenomenal task. History books and Hollywood are full of these stories, and we come to honor these leaders.


But the charismatic leader that can be so effective in the short term cannot necessarily sustain motivation indefinitely. Motivation is inherently intrinsic, residing within oneself. Therefore, if one depends continually on another for their source of motivation, eventually it ends.


Great leaders have a knack for helping others see the best in themselves, providing the stimulus for self-actualizing behaviors. But great leaders also understand the importance of team purpose, challenge, camaraderie, responsibility, and growth, and focus much of their time on creating the conditions for these to exist.


Great leaders understand that their team members have needs, and that for motivation to grow and continue, the activities of the team must help in some way to meet these needs.

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