Question

Driving Motivation:

This week you were presented with two sports related videos related to team motivation. You have also read Goleman's thoughts on the role that motivation plays in a person's ability to achieve a high performance status.  

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How would you use the information in these videos and the book to inspire your leadership of a virtual team that is working in a competitive, though not sports-related, environment?  A good example of this type of environment might be sales team or a project team working to submit a competitive proposal.

Answer 1

Motivation plays a very crucial role in the success of any endeavor. Based on the sports videos we can see that there is always a challenge when teams of equal caliber and fighting for the same result. The winning team is based not just on the talent and ability but also on the passion, drive and willpower to go the extra mile. This can be achieved only when a team is sufficiently motivated to go beyond their limits.

To get more clarity, let us consider a virtual team who is working on a project. The team has an objective and this is to submit a competitive proposal. To do this, the team will have to dig deep and use all their expertise to come up with areas which can show that their proposal is the best among the responders. As a manager, I would need to motivate the team to do the work well. There are few ways by which I can achieve this. They are:

• Showing full trust and confidence in the team. This can ensure the teams believe in their skill set to give out the best proposal

• Do not remind them about the deadlines. Putting un-wanted pressure of looming deadline is always a cause for concern and they affect the teams performance in any area. As a manager, I would smaller manageable tasks which then cumulates to the final proposal

• Ensure the team is able to provide their own thoughts into the proposals. Very often, teams are hesitant to bring forward their ideas since a leader might challenge them and go ahead with different approach. I would ensure the floor is open to the team and they can share their thoughts easily regarding the proposals and its contents

• I will also provide honest feedback on a one-to-one basis if anyone raises any point and is getting shutdown by other members

• I will ensure the team is rewarded for creating the competitive proposals by letting them lead the project once I get the proposals accepted. This would mean teams would be happy working with me since their ideas are getting translated into actions and I am providing them opportunities to learn and explore more.

• Provide necessary breaks and keep the mood light in the office setting

These are few techniques I would use to motivate the team to achieve better results. But in addition to this, I will make provision so that the team members can work effectively without fear and this will motivate them to achieve bigger success in any area they venture into.