Four tips on how to motivate a new team. June 3, 2009
Getting everyone in a new team, group, company or organization to work together is a challenge but not impossible. To give you some of the ideas I use, let me start with a metaphor to get a point across.
As a teacher, I teach to specific individuals. Even in a full class, I teach to the individuals. If the individuals get my point, I move on. If half of them do, I restate the case till they all do. Sometimes I even intentionally confuse the ones that get it, to help them learn a different thing.
In short, I have my learning outcome. I know what responses I want from the students. The students also have their out outcomes for learning. As the instructor, I have to match those two up.
Now, just for a moment, consider a team or company a class. How do I navigate through each individual’s needs, wants and desires to reach my corporate outcome? It takes time and attention (your and theirs!). If they don’t want to belong, then you’re kind of stuck. You can’t make anyone learn something they don’t want to learn. In either case you either have to make them want it, ignore them, or expel them from the team. Having a disruption in a new team can be unrecoverable. In an established team, the team itself usually deals with it naturally.
So some specifics as I appreciate them.
1. Ask the team. You might not use everything they tell you, but you have to take the team ‘pulse’.
Ask the individuals within the team a few specific questions.
“Is the team helping you do what you want?”
“What are you trying to do?”
“What do you most value about the team?”
“Other than yourself who do you think the team finds is the most beneficial member?”
“Who do you think the team finds the least beneficial member?”
2. Give the team clear instructions. So many times I’ve watched highly effective teams self destruct because they were given a wishy-washy goal.
These instructions can also be about how to act as a team. Instructions on WIIFT (What’s In It For Them), what they have to do (both individually and as a team), how they contribute, what ‘contribute’ actually means and more.
3. Be an example for the team. They will follow your lead, not knowing anything else to do. If you stifle creativity, you’ll get less of it and the team will begin to stifle it itself. If you foster creativity, it will grow and be nurtured by the team.
4. Following on from point #3, if you notice the team moving in a direction you don’t want, be the example that moves them in the other way. This can be the toughest of all because most of the time we don’t notice the direction the team is heading until it’s already halfway there.
What other tips to motivate a new team can you think of? Comment below!
- Posted in : Business, Management, Meetings, Motivation, Teams, Training
- Author : Michael
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