How to Motivate a Group

How to Motivate a Group

 I like to focus on receptive and expressive¹ intelligence, which I call CQ. A healthy dose of CQ is essential when being in charge of a group or team because the task of motivating them often falls to you. This may seem unfair. After all, isn’t everybody responsible for their own performance? Yes, but being a team leader means leaving your unawake ego² at the door and leading your empowered ego to join your team. If you have the opportunity to help move a project along, you do it; you don’t worry about whose responsibility it is. Your role is to monitor the well being of the entire group and help whenever possible.

Now, motivation is not a perfect science, but there are some time-tested ways with good rates of success. The following are steps I’ve learned over time and are ones I now remember always help the morale³ of a team assigned even to the dullest of tasks:

1. Deserve Credibility: Make sure you really understand the project you need to motivate your team about. It sounds silly, but I have often been present when a team leader has jumped up and down and after thirty minutes not one of us had the slightest clue what he was talking about.

2. Notice and Bring Out Individual Strengths: Every person can contribute some idea, knowledge, or perspective. Remember why each individual is unique and draw on that to create a more democratic setting. Eventually, everybody will feel less intimidated⁴ by the group and more comfortable just being themselves. If you are looking for a simple, yet rather accurate tool to help identify and talk about individual strengths, have the group volunteer to check out their enneagram. This is a tool I was introduced to over 15 years ago, and in my youth didn’t use as much as I wished I had. Now, I find myself using it whenever I can and it has saved me oodles of precious time.

3. Recall Being Inspired: At some point in your life, somebody has helped you to feel inspired and motivated. What did they do? Did they keep people involved? Did they know when to stay quiet? Or were they just comfortable with themselves? Remember what it was like to receive a boost in motivation and it will seem easier to deliver it.

4. Recall Being UNinspired: Feeling unmotivated is like wearing a lot of heavy clothing: it’s hard to move around and you just want to stop. Don’t make the same mistakes others have. Remember what actions have made you feel less motivated and avoid them. Omitting the bad can be just as important as including the good.

5. Collaboration⁵ and Consideration: Being a part of a group means being a part of a mini-community. Don’t discourage people from participating even if you think you understand what they have to say. Talking is a way for people to better understand their own ideas and thoughts. Encourage them to speak for that purpose, but also because, in reality, you probably can learn a thing or two from them. Let your community help with the motivation by conversing⁶ their way to a common goal. That is, after all, why they came together to begin with.

6. Measurement and Goals: No matter how headstrong we are, most of us still love a goal and structure. (Even if we don’t admit to it – we do). Put a stake in the ground and have your team understand what you are all working towards. Reward and recognize benchmarks and outcomes. Help them to recognize their teammates as well. This will only increase camaraderie⁷ and collaboration.

7. Have as much fun as you can: We all spend a lot of our hours at work; it may as well be as enjoyable as possible. I try and take walks with my crew. We’ve gone to museums, they’ve taught me how to ride the subway. I find even ridiculous things can be enjoyable. Cherish them and try to do as many as you can.

1 expressive   

adj.表现的，表达…的，富于表情的

参考例句：

• Black English can be more expressive than standard English.黑人所使用的英语可能比正式英语更有表现力。
• He had a mobile,expressive,animated face.他有一张多变的，富于表情的，生动活泼的脸。

2 ego   

n.自我，自己，自尊

参考例句：

• He is absolute ego in all thing.在所有的事情上他都绝对自我。
• She has been on an ego trip since she sang on television.她上电视台唱过歌之后就一直自吹自擂。

3 morale   

n.道德准则，士气，斗志

参考例句：

• The morale of the enemy troops is sinking lower every day.敌军的士气日益低落。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

4 intimidated   

v.恐吓；威胁adj.害怕的；受到威胁的

参考例句：

• We try to make sure children don't feel intimidated on their first day at school. 我们努力确保孩子们在上学的第一天不胆怯。
• The thief intimidated the boy into not telling the police. 这个贼恫吓那男孩使他不敢向警察报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 collaboration   

n.合作，协作；勾结

参考例句：

• The two companies are working in close collaboration each other.这两家公司密切合作。
• He was shot for collaboration with the enemy.他因通敌而被枪毙了。

6 conversing   

v.交谈，谈话( converse的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I find that conversing with her is quite difficult. 和她交谈实在很困难。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They were conversing in the parlor. 他们正在客厅谈话。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

7 camaraderie   

n.同志之爱，友情

参考例句：

• The camaraderie among fellow employees made the tedious work just bearable.同事之间的情谊使枯燥乏味的工作变得还能忍受。
• Some bosses are formal and have occasional interactions,while others prefer continual camaraderie.有些老板很刻板，偶尔才和下属互动一下；有些则喜欢和下属打成一片。