Leaders: This is the best way to motivate your teams!
Your teams can have all the expertise in the world but, if without motivation, it's highly unlikely that they'll ever achieve their true potential.
Why? Quite simply, motivated people have a positive outlook. They enjoy their jobs and perform well. What’s more, they are excited about what they're doing, and know that they're investing their time in something that's worthwhile.
There are countless blogs, articles, scientific papers and podcasts that all attempt to address “motivation” . They tend to make suggestions like ,“set small, easily-measurable goals”, “have fun” or “stay fuelled”, as effective motivation boosters. And while these tips may well bring about modicum of improvement on an individual level, it is important to note that a critical element of motivation and performance centres around the team itself.
The key to team motivation
Psychologist Albert Bandura proposed in his later papers on social cognitive theory that group confidence (or group potency), is considered to be one of the key components of team motivation, which in turn improves team effort and is a major predictor of team performance. This has since been established and replicated in many academic studies.
In short, this means that, if we improve the group’s confidence in themselves, then we can improve the overall motivation and performance of the team.
Brilliant! That makes perfect sense, but how can we easily do that in practice?
Research into motivation shows…
A recent study by Canadian psychologists Caroline Aubé, Vincent Rousseau and Sébastien Tremblay, which looked at teams and motivation may provide a clue.
Aubé, Rousseau, and Tremblay conducted a study involving data collected from 101 teams within a Canadian public safety organisation. Their aim was to analyse how the awareness of shared understanding of the work required, impacts both individuals and teams.
Put plainly, they wanted to find out if knowing that everyone is on the ‘same page’ makes a difference to your work motivation and performance.
Shared vision makes teams better
Perhaps unsurprisingly, they found that teams are more effective when employees have a shared and agreed understanding of the work that needs to be done. This appears to have a motivating and stimulating effect on team members.
Individuals are then more likely to believe in the potential of their team and exert more effort in achieving the team goals. This gives them the confidence that’s needed to succeed and encourages them to put in the necessary effort.
In contrast, a lack of perceived shared awareness of group goals and techniques can be frustrating, demobilising and inefficient. This leads team members to doubt their ability to align their efforts and achieve success.
With that being said, it is not purely about the amount of effort put in by the team. The research suggests there are other factors to consider. The study suggests that a willingness to help others and engage in extra-role behaviours also play a key role in instigating positive work mentality and behaviours.
Importantly, the study suggests that overall team effort is more important for tasks where the goals and the activities being completed are more routine. For less routine tasks, other factors such as flexibility and creativity are better indicators for success.
However, regardless of the routineness of the tasks, perceived group understanding of the work that needs doing was a strong indicator of team performance.
The EBW View
This Canadian research strongly indicates that when employees perceive their colleagues all to be on the ‘same page’, they then believe more fully in the capability of their team. This leads to greater effort, helpful co-worker behaviours, and, in turn, to a better team performance.
Here are 3 ways you will improve your team motivation and performance:
Ensure employees have an appropriate understanding of their colleagues’ roles in each task.
As indicated by the research, understanding each other’s roles, and knowing that the team all know each other’s roles, will lead to a greater belief in the team’s capabilities. This positivity in itself will breed success.
Enable communication, don’t force it.
Providing an environment where colleagues can discuss challenges freely can only help your team's sense of ‘togetherness’ and possibilities for success. So ensure some online meetings are just about catching up and getting to know what is going on. With that being said, not all employees thrive on constant interactions with others. Allowing people time to quietly ponder their work challenges without gathering to highlight every possible idea may often be a more efficient route to a solution.
Understand the Emotional Intelligence of your team.
Managing emotions and behaviours to maximise productivity requires leadership that changes depending on the individuals in the team. Leaders who run successful teams are able to understand the individuals in the team and use that knowledge to intrinsically and extrinsically motivate individuals. Take time to understand your team and change your leadership style to suit the team not vice versa.
Aubé, C., Rousseau, V. and Tremblay, S., 2015. Perceived shared understanding in teams: The motivational effect of being ‘on the same page’. British Journal of Psychology, 106(3), pp.468-486.
If you want to improve team performance, read how you can use the EBW team assessment and team tools to build on the research in this article and empower teams to take personal responsibility for the critical emotions and behaviours that impact on their performance.
Discover how Business Emotional Intelligence transforms leaders and teams. Take a look at our Leadership Development solutions and our Team Effectiveness solutions or find an EBW Certified Partner to help you.