Maintaining Team Motivation
F O R U M
Two Vital Ingredients for Maintaining Team Motivation here are two important ingredients for maintaining motivation at high levels among your team members: 1) Giving recognition; 2) Increasing visibility. There are many ways to add these ingredients. The most basic is to tell people inside and outside your department about what your team is doing and to publicize the work of the team and its individual members. Other ways to motivate include the following: • Publishing stories about your team and their successes in your organization’s newsletter and advertising; • Making reference in a company speech to conversations or personal exchanges with one or more of your team members; • Writing unsolicited letters of appreciation to the boss concerning any special achievement, effort, or contribution of individual team members; • Getting the word out to everyone every time your team reaches a milestone, making the responsible individuals visible to others. (From Leadership Challenge: How to Get Extraordinary Things Done in Organizations, by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner [San Francisco: Jossey-Bass], as excerpted in the January 2000 issue of Leadership Strategies. )
Reaching Your Goal
I the first woman to climb Mt.
Everest. Subsequently she went on to lead an expedition to K2, the world’s second-highest mountain and the most difficult to climb. Here are her tips on achieving goals: 1) Have a clear personal vision. Personal vision directs, motivates, and gives us the strength to persevere. 2) Dream big. Lofty goals are the foundation of great accomplishments. 3) Be a team player. The moment we think beyond ourselves to the team as a whole, our chance of success increases. 4) Lighten up! When a situation gets intense, laughter or quiet humor releases tension. When we can laugh at ourselves, we relax and become more creative and effective. 5) Drink tea with others. Sometimes we are so caught up in the busy-ness of business that we don’t take the time
Two Vital Ingredients for Maintaining Team Motivation here are two important ingredients for maintaining motivation at high levels among your team members: 1) Giving recognition; 2) Increasing visibility. There are many ways to add these ingredients. The most basic is to tell people inside and outside your department about what your team is doing and to publicize the work of the team and its individual members. Other ways to motivate include the following: • Publishing stories about your team and their successes in your organization’s newsletter and advertising; • Making reference in a company speech to conversations or personal exchanges with one or more of your team members; • Writing unsolicited letters of appreciation to the boss concerning any special achievement, effort, or contribution of individual team members; • Getting the word out to everyone every time your team reaches a milestone, making the responsible individuals visible to others. (From Leadership Challenge: How to Get Extraordinary Things Done in Organizations, by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner [San Francisco: Jossey-Bass], as excerpted in the January 2000 issue of Leadership Strategies. )
Reaching Your Goal
I the first woman to climb Mt.
Everest. Subsequently she went on to lead an expedition to K2, the world’s second-highest mountain and the most difficult to climb. Here are her tips on achieving goals: 1) Have a clear personal vision. Personal vision directs, motivates, and gives us the strength to persevere. 2) Dream big. Lofty goals are the foundation of great accomplishments. 3) Be a team player. The moment we think beyond ourselves to the team as a whole, our chance of success increases. 4) Lighten up! When a situation gets intense, laughter or quiet humor releases tension. When we can laugh at ourselves, we relax and become more creative and effective. 5) Drink tea with others. Sometimes we are so caught up in the busy-ness of business that we don’t take the time