Motivating Teams During Difficult Situations

Motivation to go the extra mile is often critical for project success. Having led large global teams, I have first hand witnessed people who have single handed been responsible for hauling the project over the delivery line. Success comes down to the man in the box.

I think there are three primary reasons that drive people to do more in times of crisis:

1. Purpose – I have seen teams who are driven with a common purpose achieve more than those teams who are loosely grouped together. The purpose could be a sum total of the individual purposes all culminating to a larger common goal. The best team leads drive a common purpose from top down based on his own vision.

2. Passion – call it a charged solar plexus or solar chakra but essentially your energy will directly impact the levels of passion demonstrated in the day to day performance. I am implying that your mental health will have a direct impact on the passion you have for the task on hand. This is an often not on the radar of the team leaders. Team leaders often attribute lack of passion towards the work as indicators of other requirements such as lack of skills, asking for promotion etc. The best way to keep the passion and the focus alive during stressed situation is to either seek help from anyone whom you can rely on and do daily meditations.

3. Collective spirit – while I have mentioned two reasons which act more at a personal level. Of course there are external factors that can drive wedges or create bumps on the road. I believe the collective spirit is a direct result of the team leader’s ability to build a consensus and drive a collective sense in doing good by achieving the end objectives.