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Factors That Influence Team Motivation
I. Purpose
I have asked people for years to describe the characteristics of their most successful and rewarding team experiences.
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.
Many years ago on a construction project, I had assembled a group of electricians to streamline the process of making
cable terminations. Since they were all electricians, I thought there would be great interest in working on a process that
was frustrating people the way it was designed.
About a month into the group’s work, they were having great difficulty maintaining momentum and focus. When
I asked them why, they said that some of the electricians were conduit specialists and some were cable tray specialists, and
that those not working directly with the cable terminations simply couldn’t get interested in the subject. What
a lesson for me! Motivation in this case was lacking because the team’s purpose was not in line with some of the
members’ wants and needs.
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
Another term that I hear frequently when I ask about team motivation is 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. I’ve heard
the stories often of mediocre groups that responded to a challenge with heroic success. The challenge itself was 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 criteria 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.
In 1983, I was managing a work group for a large construction organization. It was a long-term project (10 years), and
senior management had discussed conducting an open house for the workforce. Management, however, had always nixed the idea--fearing
the difficulty of coordinating an event that would encompass seven thousand workers and their families.
My work group heard about the idea, however, and asked to take on this assignment. There was enormous interest in conducting
this event within the workforce, so with much support, my group planned and successfully coordinated an open house that ultimately
attracted over 10,000 people.
The challenge for my group was enormous....but achievable. The challenge created high levels of motivation while planning
the event; and the sense of accomplishment after the event sustained motivation even longer.
I don’t suggest by this example, that every work group take on such a formidable task, but simply think about
the implications of taking on a new challenge periodically.
III. Camaraderie
Seldom, if ever, in our MBA programs (which purport to be leadership development programs) have we seen courses of study
in team development and motivation. That is changing now and will continue to change in the future.
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 from my queries 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’s understanding 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.
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 demotivating 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.
Summary
A team whose members are aligned with its purpose, feel a challenge in their task, have a strong sense of camaraderie,
feel responsibility for the outcome, and experience growth as a team and in their personal lives, will tend to sustain motivation
over the long haul.
This is not to say that they will not have difficulties at times, or that members’ wants and needs won’t
change over time. In these cases, sometimes changes will have to be made. A member who no longer feels the team is meeting
his or her needs may have to leave the team to continue on their own path.
But, in as much as it is possible to sustain motivation indefinitely, the factors above will tend to create the best possible
environment for it.
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