Motivated teams produce better results. That’s
stating the obvious. It is also stating the obvious to acknowledge
that the “ability to motivate” is a manager’s job, whether the
designated team is responsible for a project or day-to-day IT
service operations.  That said – what’s not so obvious is how it all gets done. When it comes to motivational
techniques, the starting point is established by the
IT management vision and the
IT/End-User Partnership, both used to establish key principles of
teamwork, collaboration and cooperation.  Read on for more.

Take Positive Action to Motivate and Engage

The first step in this “motivating” process is to ensure that, as
manager, you are fully motivated to motivate others – to establish an ongoing committment to maximized team
participation and engagement.  It takes a sustained and
strategic effort to maintain a motivated team, as can be seen from the primary “motivational” techniques listed below.

#1 – Take the time to identify clear goals and objectives.

To develop the right set of steps and strategies for motivating your
team, you must take the time to identify your current goals and objectives
using the following questions:

Why do you need to motivate your team?

• Are you experiencing
  identifiable performance problems or are you looking to increase team
  productivity as part of ongoing management objectives?
• If you are experiencing
  performance problems, then you have to look at the nature of the problems
  (i.e. work delays, poor quality of work, poor attitude, etc.) in order
  to determine the cause, and potential solutions through motivation.
• Is the problem systemic and integrated with the group dynamic, or
  can it be traced to a one or more individuals? Motivating the group
  as a whole vs. individuals brings different needs and issues.

What are you trying to accomplish?

• Do you need to
  improve team performance, meet specific deadlines, prepare for tough
  times ahead, push to meet expectations, or do you need to get your team
  to go above and beyond expectations? Obviously, individual needs and
  pressures of the moment will drive the intensity of your motivational
  efforts.

#2 – Take an honest look at your capabilities and constraints.

Every team needs motivation, but even with performance problems,
your team is still your best asset. Typically, working teams are vested
with significant institutional knowledge that must be continually cultivated
and leveraged. Motivation is the key to achieving that goal.

You are also an asset as a leader. Of course, you must be motivated
yourself, both to motivate others and to lead by example. But you must
also be realistic – considering your goals and objectives, are you capable
of motivating the team, or will you need help? You also need to know
what you have going for you in terms of motivational resources. On the
flip side, unless you are very lucky, you will also have to deal with
any number of constraints that will limit the range of potential tactics
and techniques you can use to motivate others. These constraints can
be organized into four (4) main categories:

• Financial Constraints: How much money can you
  spend on motivational tangibles (bonuses, gifts, time off, awards,
  recognition events, etc)?
• Time Constraints: How much time do you have
  to achieve your objectives utilizing motivational techniques? Do
  you need a quick result or do you have a more expansive window for
  long term benefits? If you need to motivate your people to work
  through crunch time, you will likely have a limited window of opportunity
  to achieve desired results.
• Resource Constraints: Do you have access to
  all the resources you will need to achieve motivational success
  (management support, management participation, trainers, etc.),
  and if you don’t how will you fill the gap (or mitigate the limitations)?
• Capabilities Constraints: Do you have the skills
  you need to motivate your team, and if you don’t, how will you fill
  the gap (or mitigate the limitations)?

#3 – Examine current and upcoming work conditions and characteristics.

Motivational strategies have to be closely aligned with the realities
of your work environment, whether you are running a project or day to
day operations. Any or all of the following conditions and characteristics
will influence the “degree of motivational difficulty”.

• Is your work environment more formal or informal, and how will
  that influence the motivational possibilities?
• Is your work environment highly stressful?
• How is your team viewed by company management?
• Higher visibility and value may simplify motivational needs,
  as opposed to a team that may feel isolated and devalued. What are
  your working conditions like? (Is there sufficient work space, access
  to equipment, supplies, training etc.?) Team motivation in a negative
  environment is much more difficult and challenging.

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#4 – Consider the people involved and how they can best be motivated.

Once you have identified your needs, and assessed your
capabilities and constraints, you have to consider the key question
– what can I do to motivate my people considering “my peope�??

To motivate individuals working as a team you must balance individual
recognition with group recognition, and establish a good working environment
with reasonable boundaries, flexibility, consistent empowerment, open
communication, positive feedback and
constructive criticism. The real
question is how to put it all together so that you can successfully
motivate your team considering actual needs, conditions and circumstances.

For more on this subject turn to our next featured articles:  How to Encourage and Increase Team
Participation and Performing
the Project Stakeholder Analysis

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