Introduction
However, as your business grows, many leaders find that team motivation becomes more challenging to manage whilst becoming even more criticaL for the success of your business.
In the world of lean, we think of companies having two systems.
Navigating the complexities of team motivation can be daunting, but it is a common challenge many leaders face as they scale their businesses.
In this blog, I will focus on the social system of motivation. We will discuss empirically supported strategies to bolster your team's motivation and productivity. I will specifically focus on how the transformative power of Lean principles can invigorate your team's motivation and enthusiasm.
Being part of a team is a natural inclination for human beings and can boost motivation through camaraderie and a sense of belonging. As a leader, you should prioritise fostering a supportive and collaborative team environment to enhance motivation and make leading your team easier.
Surprisingly, research demonstrates that the team's culture and environment are more important than individual personalities; the highest-performing teams are those where members feel psychologically safe.
‘Psychological safety’ encourages creativity and innovation by providing a safety net for members to take risks and express their thoughts without fear of punishment or judgement.
To establish a psychologically safe environment, empathetic leadership is key. As a leader, your responsibilities go beyond just managing tasks and processes. Creating an atmosphere where team members feel valued and heard is crucial.
This can be achieved through:
In a psychologically safe team, competition and one-upmanship are replaced with mutual support and collaboration. A culture where everyone looks for the best in each other, where ideas are valued, and everyone's contribution is appreciated fosters psychological safety.
This sense of safety and mutual respect increases commitment to the team and its objectives. It also enhances the team's commitment to their leader, creating a positive feedback loop that further strengthens their performance.
Being an effective team leader is not about command and control but about fostering a culture of care. In the best teams, the leader creates an environment where everyone cares for each other and feels safe.
Questions to consider.
As you reflect on these ideas, consider your team.
Related reading; The Inverted Pyramid
Developing a strategic plan grounded in the scientific method is crucial to boost team motivation. Analysing data is key to understanding the impact of different motivational strategies on the team. By taking a data-driven and scientific approach, you can ensure that your efforts to motivate your team are focused and effective.
Problem-solving is essential to team dynamics, and any team aims to improve and overcome challenges. Adopting a proven problem-solving methodology can significantly enhance your team's performance.
It’s important that before embarking on any improvements, you reflect on your team's current state and challenges, gather a baseline, and then measure the effect of any changes you bring about.
Things to consider.
This understanding of the present and vision of the future will guide your efforts in creating an 'ideal state' for your team.
Even with all the best practices in place, managing a team will sometimes be challenging. Leaders often must deal with problem behaviours and poor performance.
The key here is the opposite of what we are naturally inclined to do. Research shows that adopting a positive approach towards improvement and correction is necessary. Consider addressing problem behaviours constructively and encouraging change.
It's essential to understand that not all performance problems are due to a lack of motivation.
Here's a scientific approach to help you analyse and address these issues:
Here are some key definitions of strategies we can employ to change team member’s behaviour:
These definitions are empirical, meaning they are determined by the result, not the intention. Understanding these concepts and their effects is crucial to manage and influence behaviour effectively.
Understanding and changing behaviour is a crucial aspect of motivation. One effective strategy is pinpointing the behaviour rather than focusing on vague concepts like 'attitudes' or ‘character traits’.
For instance, instead of labelling someone as ‘unable to deal with authority’, it's more productive to identify the specific behaviours that lead to these perceptions. This approach avoids the intellectual laziness of attributing behaviours to attitudes or character traits, which are often difficult to define or change.
This approach can be applied in various contexts, from personal development to team management, to improve outcomes and foster positive change.
The ABC model stands for Antecedent, Behaviour, and Consequence and is fundamental in understanding and influencing behaviour.
This model suggests that an antecedent (A) triggers a behaviour (B), which then leads to a consequence (C).
Stimulus control, a key concept in this model, refers to the effect of certain stimuli on behaviour. Not all stimuli influence behaviour; only those associated with a consequence through learning do. For example, a speed limit sign on the road may or may not influence drivers' behaviour, depending on whether they have learned to associate it with a consequence, such as a speeding ticket.
In a work environment, various stimuli, such as signs, scoreboards, instructions, and talks, are intended to influence behaviour. However, these stimuli will only be effective if relevant consequences consistently follow them. For instance, a scoreboard can serve as both a stimulus and a consequence. It stimulates behaviour by indicating the status and reinforces behaviour when it changes in response to actions.
A common issue in many organisations is using stimuli not followed by consequences. For instance, motivational talks or discussions about company values will not influence behaviour unless linked to tangible outcomes. These stimuli need consequences to be relevant and effective.
It's beneficial to identify all the stimuli present and evaluate their effectiveness to improve motivation and behaviour in a workplace. Identifying stimuli will include asking whether they are working and, if not, considering the consequences associated with them. If a stimulus is not influencing behaviour as intended, introducing or modifying the associated consequences may be necessary.
Punishment is often seen as a last resort in managing behaviour, and for a good reason. While it's inevitable that negative behaviours will occur, it's essential to approach these situations differently than simply resorting to punishment. This approach applies to your team members and personal relationships, such as with your children.
The punishment issue is that it creates a hostile environment. If you punish someone, you become a negative stimulus to that person. They may start to fear or avoid you, which is not conducive to a healthy work environment. Organisations relying heavily on punishment are not places where people want to work. As Dr Deming advised, it's crucial to drive out fear from the organisation, which means minimising or eliminating punishment. (more info: https://deming.org/explore/fourteen-points/)
Whenever a negative behaviour arises, consider reinforcing the alternative positive behaviour. If you punish one behaviour without reinforcing a positive one, the person may start engaging in another undesirable behaviour. You end up in a cycle of punishing negative behaviours without promoting any positive ones. However, if you reinforce good behaviour, you'll find less need to punish because the positive behaviour will replace the negative one.
Punishment often leads to generalised negative emotions and a lack of clarity about what to do, leading to avoidance behaviours. Punishment also doesn't demonstrate respect for people. Their unique experiences shape everyone's perspective, and it's important to respect that. If you genuinely respect people, try to understand the reasons behind their behaviour and help them replace negative behaviours with positive ones.
Positive reinforcement is an effective tool to help motivate individuals and teams.
Here are some fundamental principles of effective positive reinforcement:
Every decision we make in life involves a balance of consequences. For each choice, there are both positive and negative aspects to consider. For example, deciding whether to join a new company involves weighing the potential benefits (e.g., good pay, opportunities for advancement, culture, the opportunity to do meaningful work, proximity to home) against the potential drawbacks (e.g., lack of specific skills, desire for independence).
This concept applies to all kinds of decisions, from what to eat for dinner to whether to stay late at work or attend your child's school play. Each option has its own set of positive and negative consequences, and the decision-making process involves weighing these against each other.
The critical point is that you don't need to stack all the weight on one side of the scale to influence a decision or change a behaviour. You only need to tip the balance slightly. A slight increase in positive reinforcement for a particular behaviour can tip the scales and motivate a change. This understanding can be a powerful tool in motivating individuals and teams.
Respecting your team members involves acknowledging their intelligence, talent, and desire to contribute positively to the organisation. As a team leader, your role is to create an environment that enables them to excel and contribute their best. Everyone wants to do a good job and contribute to the business, and it's your responsibility to set the circumstances that allow this.
To lead well, It's crucial to understand how Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation impact team performance. Intrinsic motivation, which comes from the work itself, is particularly effective. The more your team finds intrinsic motivation in work, the less the team rely on external rewards. Therefore, creating an environment that fosters intrinsic motivation is crucial in maximising team efficiency.
The forces of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation drive human behaviour. These two factors have long been controversial, often fuelled by misconceptions and exaggerated interpretations of research findings.
The controversy stems from a study by Edward Deci, who conducted an experiment involving two groups of students playing a game. He paid one group to play while the other was not. When the payment stopped, the group he paid stopped playing while the unpaid group continued. This finding led some to conclude that extrinsic rewards destroy intrinsic motivation.
More info here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2KLdnYH_js
However, this interpretation oversimplifies the interplay between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Life and work involve a mix of both types of motivation. Extrinsic motivation can take many forms beyond just monetary rewards, including praise, approval, status, bonuses and the possibility of promotion. At the same time, intrinsic motivation can be nurtured and sustained alongside extrinsic rewards.
The key takeaway from Deci's research is not that extrinsic rewards destroy intrinsic motivation but rather that violating expectations about rewards can demotivate people. This finding doesn't mean that extrinsic rewards are inherently harmful. Instead, it highlights the importance of managing expectations and balancing intrinsic and extrinsic motivators.
In practice, extrinsic and intrinsic motivation can support and reinforce each other. For instance, a reward system can initially drive behaviour, and over time, the behaviour itself can become intrinsically rewarding as individuals recognise its value and derive satisfaction from it.
Intrinsic motivation refers to the drive to do something because it is personally rewarding, not because of external rewards or consequences. In the workplace, optimising intrinsic motivation can lead to increased engagement, satisfaction, and productivity among employees. Here are some strategies to enhance intrinsic motivation:
Consistency is crucial to team motivation. A part of consistency is regular meetings. While it may seem like a no-brainer, many teams overlook the importance of consistent meetings. Whether it's a daily check-in, a weekly update, or a monthly planning session, the frequency of these meetings should align with the nature of the work at hand. Like a football team that gathers every Monday to discuss the previous game, your team should establish a consistent schedule and a clear agenda for each meeting.
In many companies, a daily 10-minute huddle before the start of the workday is typical. These huddles allow review of the team's scorecard, discuss any issues, and plan for the day.
A well-planned agenda acts as a guide, listing the topics that need to be covered and allocating specific time slots for each, ensuring that the team stays focused and productive throughout the meeting.
A scoreboard is a set of visual representations of a team's performance. Like a football team constantly referring to the scoreboard, your team needs to know how well it performs. This immediate feedback allows the team to react and adjust strategies accordingly.
Plenty of digital tools can represent data clearly to your team. Some of my favourites include HubSpot, Klipfolio and Power BI. However, it's also possible to use integrations with tools like Google Sheets to create scorecards.
Every team, whether in sports or the workplace, keeps score. The scoreboard is a crucial tool for tracking progress and motivating team members. However, more than having a scoreboard is required; it must be visual, dynamic, and immediately responsive to the team's actions.
Consider a basketball game. When a player scores, the scoreboard updates instantly. This immediate feedback motivates the players and keeps the audience engaged. Players and spectators would lose interest if the scoreboard updated at the game's end. The same principle applies to teams in a work environment. Team members will need to see the impact of their performance before they can be more motivated.
Using scoreboards can help team performance; consider the following suggestions when developing a scorecard:
Here's a checklist to guide you in creating an effective scorecard:
Visual feedback is a crucial element in team motivation. If you're serious about motivating your team, you must provide clear, immediate, and visual feedback on performance. You can achieve this using a large, colourful, up-to-date scoreboard or performance chart.
When you walk into your team's workspace, such a display's presence (or absence) can tell you much about the team's motivation levels. If there's no visual display of performance data, it's a clear sign that you must do more to motivate the team.
Here's how to create a compelling visual display for your team:
Remember, the goal of this visual display is not just to track performance but to motivate your team. By making performance data visible and up-to-date, you're giving your team a clear picture of where they are and where they need to go.
Goal setting is a crucial part of managing a team and driving performance. Here are some key points to consider when setting goals for your team:
A team must clearly understand their roles and responsibilities to perform at their best. Your team should thoroughly understand the process they are involved in, including the inputs and outputs and the customers they serve. By sharing this ownership, everyone on the team feels accountable and responsible, which motivates them to improve the process continuously.
Continuously improving is essential for teams that aim to excel. Your team should all be analysing data, discussing potential areas of improvement, conducting experiments, and objectively evaluating the results. When a team is psychologically safe, its members feel comfortable experimenting and learning from the outcomes - this promotes a culture of continuous improvement.
A self-audit is a reflective process where the team evaluates its performance, identifies improvement areas, and formulates growth strategies. By conducting self-audits, teams can gain a deeper understanding of their performance, foster a culture of continuous improvement, and enhance team motivation.
As the team leader, you can conduct the audit independently; involving your team in the process is usually best. You can perform the audit initially and then ask your team to do it together as a consensus-building exercise.
Here is how you could run a team self-audit session;
What truly motivates people? It's not about doing the same daily tasks, adhering to rules, and simply showing up on time. These things can become monotonous and uninspiring. Real motivation comes from engaging people in continuous improvement, encouraging them to make changes and do something better than ever. This process of striving for improvement is inherently motivating.
As a team leader, it's crucial to be skilled at problem-solving and to impart these skills to your team members. Familiarise yourself with methodologies like the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qz-XdI89vUM] or Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) process [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YOq4KXBahM] and the A3 problem-solving approach [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvffmfnTh3A]. Teach these methods to your team and involve them in the process.
Much talk about employee engagement exists, but many engagement programs are fleeting and don't bring about lasting change. The lack of long-term impact is because they often need to address the core of what employees do or the essence of the business. The real solution isn't an engagement program; it should directly involve people in the business, helping them understand their customers and suppliers, their processes, and their scorecards. It's about encouraging them to think about improving these aspects.
When employees are genuinely engaged in this way, they become intrinsically motivated. They also provide meaningful contributions you can praise and recognise, enhancing their motivation. This outcome is the power of employee engagement in continuous improvement.
Motivation isn't a one-size-fits-all concept. Different things motivate people at different times, and a manager's job is to optimise these various sources of motivation. The idea of a 'hierarchy of motivation' can help you optimise the different motivation sources.
At the top of the hierarchy is 'purpose'. This form of motivation addresses the big questions:
Great leaders lead by instilling a sense of Purpose in their people. They make work meaningful and contribute to the larger Purpose of their team members' lives.
Purpose is a powerful motivator in our lives. It drives us, gives us a sense of direction, and fuels our passion.
Great leaders don't promise what they can do for their followers; instead, they inspire their followers to ask what they can do for a more significant cause. It enhances our self-esteem and makes us feel more noble and worthy.
Leaders use Purpose in many different contexts, but in business, it translates to understanding and communicating your organisation's noble and worthy Purpose in the workplace.
Companies like Disney have understood this. Disney's global Purpose is not just about being one of the world's leading producers and providers of entertainment and information; it's about inspiring people around the globe through the power of unparalleled storytelling. Their mission statement discusses the joy of entertaining, informing, and inspiring people. Disney has found a way to infuse their work with a sense of Purpose that motivates their teams.
As a leader, it's your job to understand and communicate the worthy Purpose of your team. This sense of Purpose is the root cause of motivation. So, ask yourself, what is the worthy Purpose for your team, and how will you communicate that?
Consider asking questions of your team regularly team members:
Often leaders think that once it's written on a website or in a handbook, they have done what they need to communicate the company's Purpose. The idea of "they ought to know this" is often an excuse for not communicating effectively. Just as many cultures have regular religious services to remind people of their values, organisations need frequent reminders of their Purpose. These reminders make it easier to stay focused and maintain sight of what's truly important.
By discussing and reflecting on these questions, you and your team can better understand your Purpose and how it motivates you.
Effectively leveraging Purpose is not just about intellectual understanding; it's about reminding ourselves of what's important and how it uplifts and motivates us.
Remember, the goal is not just to understand the Purpose but to live it and communicate it effectively.
Companies need to understand Social Motivation and how to leverage it. Social motivation is not about socialising at parties. It's about understanding that we, as humans, are social creatures – and we have been since our ancestors hunted in tribes. We depend on others for life, motivation, and energy. We don't work alone; we are deeply influenced and motivated by our team members and others around us.
The concept of social motivation is rooted in our history. For thousands of years, we worked in intimate groups or tribes, hunting and gathering. Our survival depended on our ability to work together. Our need for social bonding is deeply ingrained in our genes.
However, this social system disintegrated with modern work. Workers were isolated and told to focus on their tasks. This led to a breakdown in social bonds and increased feelings of loneliness and depression.
Today, we are seeing a return to the importance of social bonds in the workplace. Lean organisations emphasise the importance of team-based, self-directed work. These organisations understand that productivity and social intimacy can coexist.
In our increasingly complex world, the radius of trust must expand. From the family to the tribe, to the nation, and now to multinational companies, trust is the glue that holds these social groups together.
Creating a social system where people can trust their team members is critical for our mental health and the health of our organisations. Trust is necessary for organisations and civilisations to thrive.
As a leader, it's crucial to foster a sense of trust and social motivation within your team.
Here are some questions you can discuss with your team:
Discussing these questions can provide valuable insights into the state of trust within your team and help you develop strategies to enhance social motivation. Remember, a team that trusts its leader and each other is more likely to be motivated, responsive, and successful.
Lastly, there is situational motivation, which is about the here and now. It's about the payoffs, the consequences, and the cues that trigger behaviour. As a manager, you must engineer the Antecedents and consequences within your team's system. You need to create a system in which trying new things and achieving results is rewarded. This type of social system encourages more of this behaviour.
The ABC model is a fundamental concept in situational motivation.
Understanding and applying the ABC model can help you set up influential antecedents, identify and encourage desired behaviours, and implement consequences, optimising performance.
Remember, situational motivation is not the only way to motivate, but it offers a practical and immediate approach that can be particularly useful in day-to-day management.
To conclude, it's essential to remember that motivation is not a one-size-fits-all concept. It requires a nuanced understanding of individual and team dynamics and the application of various strategies tailored to your team's specific needs and context.
The transformative power of Lean principles lies in their ability to foster a culture of continuous improvement, respect for people, and shared ownership, all of which can significantly boost team motivation. By applying these principles, leaders can create an environment where everyone feels valued, heard, and motivated to contribute their best to the team's success.
Remember, a motivated team is a productive one, and the cornerstone of a successful business.