How do you keep your work or project team motivated and energized? That's a great question I sometimes get asked. Team members can lose focus, they can start to play off against each other or just want to quit. Here are some tactics I've used to keep my team motivated and on the ball over the years.
• Sit down with the entire team to discuss and agree goals for the near term and to discuss how we can do things better. • Meet with each team member individually either weekly or fortnightly to discuss progress towards goals and roadblocks to achieving them. • Reward the team and individual team members when a milestone has been reached. • Clarify each person's role and how they contribute to where the team wants to be.
Just as importantly, I try to avoid the de-energizers. These include castigating individuals in front of other team members, going back on something I promised to do and speaking abruptly or disrespectfully.
As you can see, there is no rocket science used here. And these tactics do not involve high cost or large amounts of time and effort. These are just basic actions that have worked for me over the years and that I teach others to do. What has worked for you? Please share your ideas and experiences here.
