# Managing Groups and Teams/Motivation#Lack of Motivation in Teams

## What Is Motivation?

In the most general of terms, motivation is the psychological feature
that arouses an individual to action toward a desired goal. Motivation
can also be the reason for an individual\'s action or that which gives
purpose and direction to behavior. In other words, motivation is an
incentive that generates goal-directed behaviors.

### Motivational Theory

Motivation comes in many forms and what motivates one individual is not
necessarily the same for their team members. Therefore, it is important
to understand how motivation differs among individuals and how these
differences affect the overall drive and determination of a team toward
a goal. To better understand the complexities of motivation researchers
over the years have developed a number of theories to try to explain why
people behave in the ways that they do and to try to predict what people
actually will do, based on these theories. These theories, called
motivational theories are often split into two categories --content
theories and process theories.

**Content theories** are centered on finding what makes people tick or
appeals to them. These theories suggest that people have certain needs
and/or desires which have been internalized as they mature to adulthood.
These theories look at what it is about certain people that make them
want the things that they do and what things in their environment will
make them do or not do certain things. Two popular content theories are
Maslow\'s Hierarchy of Needs Theory and Hertzberg\'s Two Factor Theory.

**Process theories** focus on how and by what goals people are
motivated. Process theories of motivation look at what people are
thinking about when they decide whether or not to put effort into a
particular activity. There are of a number of this type of approach to
motivation theory one of which is Adam's Equity Theory.

Industrial psychologists have used these ideas on motivational theory to
develop management theories based on what we have learned motivates
individuals. Nearly all motivational theory, regardless of the approach
outlines significant differences in how individuals are motivated on
their own and how they are motivated when being part of a team. Team
motivation tends to be much more difficult. There are more possibilities
to motivate a team, yet at the same time there are more motivational
factors to fulfill for a team in order to gain motivation.

### Team Motivation

Motivational factors differ since the goals of the individual and the
team are often not on the same level. The individual will always fight
to fulfill their higher level needs. These needs are often not
consistent with the needs of the team and of the individual. The
motivation of the individual is essential for successful motivation of
the team. Team members must be able to fulfill their higher level needs
to be motivated and team members must be committed to the team. Along
with good leadership that enables team members to fulfill their goals
all of these qualities will motivate a team. These motivation factors
that drive a team can be divided into four categories-- task, structure,
goals, and members. By realizing other factors besides intrinsic rewards
that will motivate individuals, the team will also be motivated. The
sharing of knowledge, support, solidarity and communication are all
highly effective in motivating a team. All in all, a team that exists
within a collaborative, structured and communicative environment will be
highly motivated.

Overall, there are consequences when teams lack motivation. By examining
the consequences in the areas of task, structure, goals, and members, we
are able to recognize how motivation is lost and proactively address any
issues in the future.

## Lack of Motivation in Teams

Teams that lack motivation will rarely reach their full potential or
perform to the best of their ability. In most cases, it is not the
entire team that lacks motivation, but individuals on the team that lack
motivation.

## Motivation and Team Dynamics

Almost all teams have members who are changing or transitioning in and
out of the team; and requirements and tasks within the team are
constantly modified and becoming more focused on the goal. In fact,
teams that never change can become stagnant; this leads to decreased
motivation within the team. Therefore, monitoring the motivating factors
within the team is vital to team success and increased motivation for
the future. The keys to successfully managing these motivating factors
in an environment of constant team dynamics require understanding the
team members, understanding the team goals, and providing consistent
leadership throughout the project or life of the team.

### Understand Team Members

When the team is first formed, the team leader needs to pay careful
attention to the type of person that is selected in the team. Selecting
two individuals, who may be similar in many aspects yet are motivated by
two contradictory methods, may make it impossible to motivate one while
not offending the other. Then trying to determine the individual that is
less likely to be either unmotivated or un-offended by the motivation
techniques employed may cause additional problems, such as perceived
favoritism or dislike towards certain team members.

Even if the initial team members are perfectly chosen, taking all
motivation requirements into account, new members will probably be added
later to either provide additional support or to take the place of a
departing team member. Understanding the current team members\'
motivation requirements and those of potential team members may be even
more important at this time because the current team is already
progressing and the motivation techniques required to motivate new team
members may be detrimental to the current team members' efforts and
goals.

Understanding the team members\' motivation needs both at inception of
the team and also throughout the ever-changing environment of the team
will result in proper motivation techniques and greater success for the
team.

### Understand Team Goals

Team goals can be short-term task-specific goals, long-term
organizational goals or any combination thereof. In addition, these
goals may be constantly updated or changed, especially short-term
task-specific goals, as the business environment changes or as tasks and
goals are accomplished.

Different types of goals may require different types of motivation. For
example, a team might be motivated to work hard on a project for an
extra couple of weeks if they are rewarded with a three or four-day
weekend once it is completed; or maybe if the company has no
work-related accidents for the year everyone receives an extra
percentage bonus during the holiday season.

An understanding of the team goals, in all varieties, is neither more
nor less important as understanding the team members who are trying to
accomplish these goals. These two factors are interdependent in
determining the motivation tactics that should be employed to maximize
success within the team.

### Provide Consistent Leadership

Because there is so much change with team members and associated team
goals, providing consistent leadership is essential to motivating team
members. If possible, keeping the same individual in charge will keep
the team members focused on their goal rather than on determining what a
new leader expects of them. Team members may be motivated to make their
new boss happy rather than being motivated to achieve the team goals.

Additionally, with constantly changing leadership, many team members may
assume the team they belong to is undesirable to leaders. Team members
may think leaders are \"jumping ship\" because they know they will not
succeed; and in turn, managing a poorly achieving team puts a black mark
on own leadership abilities.

No matter how hard individual team leaders try to stay with a team,
change is inevitable for team leaders as well. To mitigate the problems
mentioned above, two strategies can be employed:

1.  Maintain consistent expectations from the former to the new team
    leader
2.  Utilize the current motivational techniques that work.

Both of these strategies require as much communication as possible
between the former and the new leader. In addition, communication to the
team members throughout the transition process provides motivation to
the team because they will understand what is expected of them, and they
will feel like they are part of the process. This communication between
the leaders and to the team members is the responsibility of the team
leaders, but team members should try to make sure they are available and
receptive to this communication.

An appreciation for the subtleties that exist in human behavior and team
dynamics will better enable the understanding of team motivation.
Understanding team members, understanding team goals, and providing
consistent leadership should help provide the motivation required to
achieve success.

## Motivating Team Members

Many top managers assume that the key to motivation is the proper use of
the available motivational *\"tools.\"* This is making an enormous
assumption that some magical tool actually exists that will motivate an
individual. This is one of the common myths regarding motivation.
According to Authenticity Consulting LLC advisor Carter McNamara, tools
are not what motivate individuals. Motivation is a process, not the end
result of a task. Specifically regarding the question posed to our team,
motivation is not catered to an individual because of their experience
or position. It is catered to an individual because they **ARE** an
individual. This goes for the long-tenured employee as well as the
newest member of the team.

### Motivational Myths

McNamara discusses three motivational myths that can help us better
understand the process of motivation. The first myth is that one person
can motivate another. This is simply not true. An employee has to
motivate themselves. As a manager you have to establish an environment
that will cultivate and bring forth the personal motivational factors of
each individual. This can be accomplished through establishing team
goals based on the goals of the individuals. If an individual is
motivated towards a goal and the goal has no relation to the team goal,
they will not continue to motivate themselves because their results will
have no real team value. This is why it is important that managers fully
and frequently discuss the organizational goals with their employees.

The second myth is that money and fear are good motivators. According to
McNamara, money can only help people from being less motivated. It does
not typically increase motivation in an individual. Fear, like money, is
only useful in the short term. The same repeated criticism or threat
from a manager can negatively impact the motivation of the employee.

\"I know what motivates me, so I know what motivates my employees,\" is
the third myth. Everyone is different. Motivational factors can vary to
every extreme. However, what can be uniform for everyone is the goal
they are trying to reach. Managers need to identify and understand what
motivates each employee to reach the common organizational goal. This
can be done by asking, observing and listening to your employees. They
will give tremendous insight into their motivational factors through
their daily, menial conversations. Often what motivates an individual is
what they show the most enthusiasm for. This needs to be followed up
with sincere one-on-one meetings to discuss accomplishments and to
modify goals based on evolving motivational factors.

### Steps to Employee Motivation

Finally, McNamara recommends some steps that managers can take to better
support their employees in motivating themselves. First, managers need
to write down what they think motivates each of their employees and ask
the employee to do the same. They then compare results with the employee
and discuss the differences and misconceptions. Next, the results are
used to establish a reward system based on self-stated motivational
factors. Finally, managers need to reward and acknowledge positive
behaviors. Employees need to know when an organizational goal has been
met as a result of their actions. They need to clearly understand their
specific action or actions that led to the goal being met. Once this is
done it is a time to celebrate. Celebration among the team of a job well
done is the first step in accomplishing the next organizational goal.

## Sources

-   Managementhelp.org


# Managing Groups and Teams/Motivation#Motivation and Team Dynamics

## What Is Motivation?

In the most general of terms, motivation is the psychological feature
that arouses an individual to action toward a desired goal. Motivation
can also be the reason for an individual\'s action or that which gives
purpose and direction to behavior. In other words, motivation is an
incentive that generates goal-directed behaviors.

### Motivational Theory

Motivation comes in many forms and what motivates one individual is not
necessarily the same for their team members. Therefore, it is important
to understand how motivation differs among individuals and how these
differences affect the overall drive and determination of a team toward
a goal. To better understand the complexities of motivation researchers
over the years have developed a number of theories to try to explain why
people behave in the ways that they do and to try to predict what people
actually will do, based on these theories. These theories, called
motivational theories are often split into two categories --content
theories and process theories.

**Content theories** are centered on finding what makes people tick or
appeals to them. These theories suggest that people have certain needs
and/or desires which have been internalized as they mature to adulthood.
These theories look at what it is about certain people that make them
want the things that they do and what things in their environment will
make them do or not do certain things. Two popular content theories are
Maslow\'s Hierarchy of Needs Theory and Hertzberg\'s Two Factor Theory.

**Process theories** focus on how and by what goals people are
motivated. Process theories of motivation look at what people are
thinking about when they decide whether or not to put effort into a
particular activity. There are of a number of this type of approach to
motivation theory one of which is Adam's Equity Theory.

Industrial psychologists have used these ideas on motivational theory to
develop management theories based on what we have learned motivates
individuals. Nearly all motivational theory, regardless of the approach
outlines significant differences in how individuals are motivated on
their own and how they are motivated when being part of a team. Team
motivation tends to be much more difficult. There are more possibilities
to motivate a team, yet at the same time there are more motivational
factors to fulfill for a team in order to gain motivation.

### Team Motivation

Motivational factors differ since the goals of the individual and the
team are often not on the same level. The individual will always fight
to fulfill their higher level needs. These needs are often not
consistent with the needs of the team and of the individual. The
motivation of the individual is essential for successful motivation of
the team. Team members must be able to fulfill their higher level needs
to be motivated and team members must be committed to the team. Along
with good leadership that enables team members to fulfill their goals
all of these qualities will motivate a team. These motivation factors
that drive a team can be divided into four categories-- task, structure,
goals, and members. By realizing other factors besides intrinsic rewards
that will motivate individuals, the team will also be motivated. The
sharing of knowledge, support, solidarity and communication are all
highly effective in motivating a team. All in all, a team that exists
within a collaborative, structured and communicative environment will be
highly motivated.

Overall, there are consequences when teams lack motivation. By examining
the consequences in the areas of task, structure, goals, and members, we
are able to recognize how motivation is lost and proactively address any
issues in the future.

## Lack of Motivation in Teams

Teams that lack motivation will rarely reach their full potential or
perform to the best of their ability. In most cases, it is not the
entire team that lacks motivation, but individuals on the team that lack
motivation.

## Motivation and Team Dynamics

Almost all teams have members who are changing or transitioning in and
out of the team; and requirements and tasks within the team are
constantly modified and becoming more focused on the goal. In fact,
teams that never change can become stagnant; this leads to decreased
motivation within the team. Therefore, monitoring the motivating factors
within the team is vital to team success and increased motivation for
the future. The keys to successfully managing these motivating factors
in an environment of constant team dynamics require understanding the
team members, understanding the team goals, and providing consistent
leadership throughout the project or life of the team.

### Understand Team Members

When the team is first formed, the team leader needs to pay careful
attention to the type of person that is selected in the team. Selecting
two individuals, who may be similar in many aspects yet are motivated by
two contradictory methods, may make it impossible to motivate one while
not offending the other. Then trying to determine the individual that is
less likely to be either unmotivated or un-offended by the motivation
techniques employed may cause additional problems, such as perceived
favoritism or dislike towards certain team members.

Even if the initial team members are perfectly chosen, taking all
motivation requirements into account, new members will probably be added
later to either provide additional support or to take the place of a
departing team member. Understanding the current team members\'
motivation requirements and those of potential team members may be even
more important at this time because the current team is already
progressing and the motivation techniques required to motivate new team
members may be detrimental to the current team members' efforts and
goals.

Understanding the team members\' motivation needs both at inception of
the team and also throughout the ever-changing environment of the team
will result in proper motivation techniques and greater success for the
team.

### Understand Team Goals

Team goals can be short-term task-specific goals, long-term
organizational goals or any combination thereof. In addition, these
goals may be constantly updated or changed, especially short-term
task-specific goals, as the business environment changes or as tasks and
goals are accomplished.

Different types of goals may require different types of motivation. For
example, a team might be motivated to work hard on a project for an
extra couple of weeks if they are rewarded with a three or four-day
weekend once it is completed; or maybe if the company has no
work-related accidents for the year everyone receives an extra
percentage bonus during the holiday season.

An understanding of the team goals, in all varieties, is neither more
nor less important as understanding the team members who are trying to
accomplish these goals. These two factors are interdependent in
determining the motivation tactics that should be employed to maximize
success within the team.

### Provide Consistent Leadership

Because there is so much change with team members and associated team
goals, providing consistent leadership is essential to motivating team
members. If possible, keeping the same individual in charge will keep
the team members focused on their goal rather than on determining what a
new leader expects of them. Team members may be motivated to make their
new boss happy rather than being motivated to achieve the team goals.

Additionally, with constantly changing leadership, many team members may
assume the team they belong to is undesirable to leaders. Team members
may think leaders are \"jumping ship\" because they know they will not
succeed; and in turn, managing a poorly achieving team puts a black mark
on own leadership abilities.

No matter how hard individual team leaders try to stay with a team,
change is inevitable for team leaders as well. To mitigate the problems
mentioned above, two strategies can be employed:

1.  Maintain consistent expectations from the former to the new team
    leader
2.  Utilize the current motivational techniques that work.

Both of these strategies require as much communication as possible
between the former and the new leader. In addition, communication to the
team members throughout the transition process provides motivation to
the team because they will understand what is expected of them, and they
will feel like they are part of the process. This communication between
the leaders and to the team members is the responsibility of the team
leaders, but team members should try to make sure they are available and
receptive to this communication.

An appreciation for the subtleties that exist in human behavior and team
dynamics will better enable the understanding of team motivation.
Understanding team members, understanding team goals, and providing
consistent leadership should help provide the motivation required to
achieve success.

## Motivating Team Members

Many top managers assume that the key to motivation is the proper use of
the available motivational *\"tools.\"* This is making an enormous
assumption that some magical tool actually exists that will motivate an
individual. This is one of the common myths regarding motivation.
According to Authenticity Consulting LLC advisor Carter McNamara, tools
are not what motivate individuals. Motivation is a process, not the end
result of a task. Specifically regarding the question posed to our team,
motivation is not catered to an individual because of their experience
or position. It is catered to an individual because they **ARE** an
individual. This goes for the long-tenured employee as well as the
newest member of the team.

### Motivational Myths

McNamara discusses three motivational myths that can help us better
understand the process of motivation. The first myth is that one person
can motivate another. This is simply not true. An employee has to
motivate themselves. As a manager you have to establish an environment
that will cultivate and bring forth the personal motivational factors of
each individual. This can be accomplished through establishing team
goals based on the goals of the individuals. If an individual is
motivated towards a goal and the goal has no relation to the team goal,
they will not continue to motivate themselves because their results will
have no real team value. This is why it is important that managers fully
and frequently discuss the organizational goals with their employees.

The second myth is that money and fear are good motivators. According to
McNamara, money can only help people from being less motivated. It does
not typically increase motivation in an individual. Fear, like money, is
only useful in the short term. The same repeated criticism or threat
from a manager can negatively impact the motivation of the employee.

\"I know what motivates me, so I know what motivates my employees,\" is
the third myth. Everyone is different. Motivational factors can vary to
every extreme. However, what can be uniform for everyone is the goal
they are trying to reach. Managers need to identify and understand what
motivates each employee to reach the common organizational goal. This
can be done by asking, observing and listening to your employees. They
will give tremendous insight into their motivational factors through
their daily, menial conversations. Often what motivates an individual is
what they show the most enthusiasm for. This needs to be followed up
with sincere one-on-one meetings to discuss accomplishments and to
modify goals based on evolving motivational factors.

### Steps to Employee Motivation

Finally, McNamara recommends some steps that managers can take to better
support their employees in motivating themselves. First, managers need
to write down what they think motivates each of their employees and ask
the employee to do the same. They then compare results with the employee
and discuss the differences and misconceptions. Next, the results are
used to establish a reward system based on self-stated motivational
factors. Finally, managers need to reward and acknowledge positive
behaviors. Employees need to know when an organizational goal has been
met as a result of their actions. They need to clearly understand their
specific action or actions that led to the goal being met. Once this is
done it is a time to celebrate. Celebration among the team of a job well
done is the first step in accomplishing the next organizational goal.

## Sources

-   Managementhelp.org


# Managing Groups and Teams/Motivation#Motivating Team Members

## What Is Motivation?

In the most general of terms, motivation is the psychological feature
that arouses an individual to action toward a desired goal. Motivation
can also be the reason for an individual\'s action or that which gives
purpose and direction to behavior. In other words, motivation is an
incentive that generates goal-directed behaviors.

### Motivational Theory

Motivation comes in many forms and what motivates one individual is not
necessarily the same for their team members. Therefore, it is important
to understand how motivation differs among individuals and how these
differences affect the overall drive and determination of a team toward
a goal. To better understand the complexities of motivation researchers
over the years have developed a number of theories to try to explain why
people behave in the ways that they do and to try to predict what people
actually will do, based on these theories. These theories, called
motivational theories are often split into two categories --content
theories and process theories.

**Content theories** are centered on finding what makes people tick or
appeals to them. These theories suggest that people have certain needs
and/or desires which have been internalized as they mature to adulthood.
These theories look at what it is about certain people that make them
want the things that they do and what things in their environment will
make them do or not do certain things. Two popular content theories are
Maslow\'s Hierarchy of Needs Theory and Hertzberg\'s Two Factor Theory.

**Process theories** focus on how and by what goals people are
motivated. Process theories of motivation look at what people are
thinking about when they decide whether or not to put effort into a
particular activity. There are of a number of this type of approach to
motivation theory one of which is Adam's Equity Theory.

Industrial psychologists have used these ideas on motivational theory to
develop management theories based on what we have learned motivates
individuals. Nearly all motivational theory, regardless of the approach
outlines significant differences in how individuals are motivated on
their own and how they are motivated when being part of a team. Team
motivation tends to be much more difficult. There are more possibilities
to motivate a team, yet at the same time there are more motivational
factors to fulfill for a team in order to gain motivation.

### Team Motivation

Motivational factors differ since the goals of the individual and the
team are often not on the same level. The individual will always fight
to fulfill their higher level needs. These needs are often not
consistent with the needs of the team and of the individual. The
motivation of the individual is essential for successful motivation of
the team. Team members must be able to fulfill their higher level needs
to be motivated and team members must be committed to the team. Along
with good leadership that enables team members to fulfill their goals
all of these qualities will motivate a team. These motivation factors
that drive a team can be divided into four categories-- task, structure,
goals, and members. By realizing other factors besides intrinsic rewards
that will motivate individuals, the team will also be motivated. The
sharing of knowledge, support, solidarity and communication are all
highly effective in motivating a team. All in all, a team that exists
within a collaborative, structured and communicative environment will be
highly motivated.

Overall, there are consequences when teams lack motivation. By examining
the consequences in the areas of task, structure, goals, and members, we
are able to recognize how motivation is lost and proactively address any
issues in the future.

## Lack of Motivation in Teams

Teams that lack motivation will rarely reach their full potential or
perform to the best of their ability. In most cases, it is not the
entire team that lacks motivation, but individuals on the team that lack
motivation.

## Motivation and Team Dynamics

Almost all teams have members who are changing or transitioning in and
out of the team; and requirements and tasks within the team are
constantly modified and becoming more focused on the goal. In fact,
teams that never change can become stagnant; this leads to decreased
motivation within the team. Therefore, monitoring the motivating factors
within the team is vital to team success and increased motivation for
the future. The keys to successfully managing these motivating factors
in an environment of constant team dynamics require understanding the
team members, understanding the team goals, and providing consistent
leadership throughout the project or life of the team.

### Understand Team Members

When the team is first formed, the team leader needs to pay careful
attention to the type of person that is selected in the team. Selecting
two individuals, who may be similar in many aspects yet are motivated by
two contradictory methods, may make it impossible to motivate one while
not offending the other. Then trying to determine the individual that is
less likely to be either unmotivated or un-offended by the motivation
techniques employed may cause additional problems, such as perceived
favoritism or dislike towards certain team members.

Even if the initial team members are perfectly chosen, taking all
motivation requirements into account, new members will probably be added
later to either provide additional support or to take the place of a
departing team member. Understanding the current team members\'
motivation requirements and those of potential team members may be even
more important at this time because the current team is already
progressing and the motivation techniques required to motivate new team
members may be detrimental to the current team members' efforts and
goals.

Understanding the team members\' motivation needs both at inception of
the team and also throughout the ever-changing environment of the team
will result in proper motivation techniques and greater success for the
team.

### Understand Team Goals

Team goals can be short-term task-specific goals, long-term
organizational goals or any combination thereof. In addition, these
goals may be constantly updated or changed, especially short-term
task-specific goals, as the business environment changes or as tasks and
goals are accomplished.

Different types of goals may require different types of motivation. For
example, a team might be motivated to work hard on a project for an
extra couple of weeks if they are rewarded with a three or four-day
weekend once it is completed; or maybe if the company has no
work-related accidents for the year everyone receives an extra
percentage bonus during the holiday season.

An understanding of the team goals, in all varieties, is neither more
nor less important as understanding the team members who are trying to
accomplish these goals. These two factors are interdependent in
determining the motivation tactics that should be employed to maximize
success within the team.

### Provide Consistent Leadership

Because there is so much change with team members and associated team
goals, providing consistent leadership is essential to motivating team
members. If possible, keeping the same individual in charge will keep
the team members focused on their goal rather than on determining what a
new leader expects of them. Team members may be motivated to make their
new boss happy rather than being motivated to achieve the team goals.

Additionally, with constantly changing leadership, many team members may
assume the team they belong to is undesirable to leaders. Team members
may think leaders are \"jumping ship\" because they know they will not
succeed; and in turn, managing a poorly achieving team puts a black mark
on own leadership abilities.

No matter how hard individual team leaders try to stay with a team,
change is inevitable for team leaders as well. To mitigate the problems
mentioned above, two strategies can be employed:

1.  Maintain consistent expectations from the former to the new team
    leader
2.  Utilize the current motivational techniques that work.

Both of these strategies require as much communication as possible
between the former and the new leader. In addition, communication to the
team members throughout the transition process provides motivation to
the team because they will understand what is expected of them, and they
will feel like they are part of the process. This communication between
the leaders and to the team members is the responsibility of the team
leaders, but team members should try to make sure they are available and
receptive to this communication.

An appreciation for the subtleties that exist in human behavior and team
dynamics will better enable the understanding of team motivation.
Understanding team members, understanding team goals, and providing
consistent leadership should help provide the motivation required to
achieve success.

## Motivating Team Members

Many top managers assume that the key to motivation is the proper use of
the available motivational *\"tools.\"* This is making an enormous
assumption that some magical tool actually exists that will motivate an
individual. This is one of the common myths regarding motivation.
According to Authenticity Consulting LLC advisor Carter McNamara, tools
are not what motivate individuals. Motivation is a process, not the end
result of a task. Specifically regarding the question posed to our team,
motivation is not catered to an individual because of their experience
or position. It is catered to an individual because they **ARE** an
individual. This goes for the long-tenured employee as well as the
newest member of the team.

### Motivational Myths

McNamara discusses three motivational myths that can help us better
understand the process of motivation. The first myth is that one person
can motivate another. This is simply not true. An employee has to
motivate themselves. As a manager you have to establish an environment
that will cultivate and bring forth the personal motivational factors of
each individual. This can be accomplished through establishing team
goals based on the goals of the individuals. If an individual is
motivated towards a goal and the goal has no relation to the team goal,
they will not continue to motivate themselves because their results will
have no real team value. This is why it is important that managers fully
and frequently discuss the organizational goals with their employees.

The second myth is that money and fear are good motivators. According to
McNamara, money can only help people from being less motivated. It does
not typically increase motivation in an individual. Fear, like money, is
only useful in the short term. The same repeated criticism or threat
from a manager can negatively impact the motivation of the employee.

\"I know what motivates me, so I know what motivates my employees,\" is
the third myth. Everyone is different. Motivational factors can vary to
every extreme. However, what can be uniform for everyone is the goal
they are trying to reach. Managers need to identify and understand what
motivates each employee to reach the common organizational goal. This
can be done by asking, observing and listening to your employees. They
will give tremendous insight into their motivational factors through
their daily, menial conversations. Often what motivates an individual is
what they show the most enthusiasm for. This needs to be followed up
with sincere one-on-one meetings to discuss accomplishments and to
modify goals based on evolving motivational factors.

### Steps to Employee Motivation

Finally, McNamara recommends some steps that managers can take to better
support their employees in motivating themselves. First, managers need
to write down what they think motivates each of their employees and ask
the employee to do the same. They then compare results with the employee
and discuss the differences and misconceptions. Next, the results are
used to establish a reward system based on self-stated motivational
factors. Finally, managers need to reward and acknowledge positive
behaviors. Employees need to know when an organizational goal has been
met as a result of their actions. They need to clearly understand their
specific action or actions that led to the goal being met. Once this is
done it is a time to celebrate. Celebration among the team of a job well
done is the first step in accomplishing the next organizational goal.

## Sources

-   Managementhelp.org


# Managing Groups and Teams/Motivation In Teams

## Motivation in a Group and Team Environment

Motivation can be the determining factor for the level of success a team
achieves. In most cases, a successful team/group will have been
motivated from start to finish. There are some basic "laws of
motivation" that need to be understood to maximize and keep a team
motivated to achieve.

### **Laws of Motivation**

1.  _An individual has to be motivated in order to motivate
    others_: A person cannot expect to motivate others if
    he/she is not individually motivated. To successfully evaluate what
    is needed to motivate others, it is pertinent to consider the type
    of person that might motivate you. Is this the type of person that
    might arrive before anyone else, who is enthusiastic, positive,
    always has some sort of good news to pass on, is loyal to the group,
    and leads by example? As a member of a group, each person cannot
    expect to move the other members of the group to be motivated if
    he/she not motivated him/herself. If in a group dynamic, there is
    not a single individual that has motivation to perform or to
    complete the purpose of the group, that group is destined to fail.
    Richard Denney states in his book, Motivate to Win, that "if you
    want to motivate another person, you have to be motivated yourself."
2.  _Motivation requires a goal_: Without a
    specific goal in mind, it is impossible for a group or team to be
    motivated. Although they might feel motivated, without a specific
    reason for working or something they are working towards, their
    motivation serves little purpose. Richard Denney points out that
    although this may seem like common sense, it is common sense that is
    not commonly recognized. He also points out that motivation is about
    striving towards the future and without a goal, there is no purpose.
    As an example, consider a team sport where there is no competition
    or league that they can be a part of. What motivation does the team
    have to practice and work as a team. The goal that most team sports
    have is to be the best compared to their competition. If there is no
    one to compete against, there is no reason to compete. The
    motivation to perform is lost. The goal to be the best compared to
    your competition is a vital component of the group or teams
    motivation.
3.  _Motivation, Once Established, Never Lasts_:
    Motivation should be an ongoing process. It cannot be a once a year
    booster. Groups must come together on a frequent basis to discuss
    their strengths and weaknesses and draw up plans of action and
    self-improvement for the future. Conducting a 360-degree appraisal
    as a group can be one way to ensure that each member is staying
    focused and makes necessary adjustments to their behavior. This
    gives each group or team member an opportunity to assess the
    performance and contribution of the other group or team members.
    Group members may need to be trained on this process for it to be
    worthwhile, effective and motivational, but this investment can lead
    to more motivated groups. Just because a group or team is motivated
    today does not mean that they will be motivated tomorrow. It is
    important that groups and teams understand the power of motivation,
    understand themselves as individuals, how they feel and why they
    react the way they do. Group or team members must understand what
    makes them happy or unhappy and what inspires them to do just a
    little bit more. It is also important to understand what demotivates
    individuals and as frequently as possible try to take steps to
    prevent it from happening.
4.  _Motivation Requires Recognition_: People
    will strive harder for recognition than for almost any other single
    thing in life. Consider a parents whose child brings home a picture
    that they have painted at school. If that parent admires the
    picture, shows it to other members of the family and pins it up on
    the wall, they have now motivated that child and may begin to see
    more pictures. A genuine compliment is a form of recognition and it
    takes a thoughtful person to give another a compliment. Small-minded
    people are unable to recognize the achievements of others.
5.  _Participation Motivates_: It is vital to get
    people involved and to seek their opinions. When working in groups
    or teams it is important that an environment is established that
    gives each group member an opportunity to express and share their
    ideas. People who are listened to and are given an opportunity to
    actively participate, are more effective and are more motivated.
    Julian Richer, founder of hi-fi retailer, Richer Sounds, says that
    when he started his company 100 percent of the ideas came from him.
    Now, 90 percent of how the company is run, including its systems and
    procedures, comes from his people. All members of his staff are
    required to give 20 ideas per year for improvement. For each idea
    they are rewarded a minimum amount, that increases based on the
    value of the idea. Every idea presented is given a response within
    three days indicating why the idea could not be implemented or
    whether further action would be taken. The consequence of this was a
    steady stream of innovation, but even more important is that Richer
    Sounds has an incredibly high staff retention rate. There is usually
    a list of people waiting for a vacancy.
6.  _Seeing Progression Motivates_: When
    individuals progress as a group, moving forward and achieving, they
    will always be more motivated. When they are going backwards and not
    making progress, people are naturally less motivated. All members of
    the group must learn from the past, but realize that they cannot
    change it. Instead, they must turn it to their advantage and learn
    from it. Learning to focus on the slightest progress, whatever it
    may be, allows a team to stay motivated. This law must be used,
    worked on, managed and planned in order to maintain a high level of
    motivation.
7.  _Challenge Only Motivates if there is a Potential to
    Win_: If targets for results are set too high, they may
    actually have a de-motivating effect. If the consensus of the group
    or team is that the targets are out of reach or impossible to
    achieve, de-motivation will be the result. Competitions and
    challenges can certainly be motivating and can inspire people to
    greater activity. People will rise to the occasion. Challenge groups
    or teams to get something worthwhile done and nine times out of ten
    they will do it. Sometimes, the work itself is a motivator, such as
    responsibility, challenge or a feeling of doing something
    worthwhile. One can make a person's work more challenging by giving
    them the biggest job they can handle and with this responsibility
    must come some credit of achievement when the job is done.
8.  _Everybody Has a Motivational Fuse_: Everyone
    can be motivated. Everyone has a fuse, it is just a matter of
    knowing how to ignite it. At some point it may not be cost-effective
    to continue trying to motivate a group or team to into greater
    activity or performance. It is a person's attitude to a job that
    makes the difference. A person can quite emphatically state and
    believe that theirs is the worst job humanity has ever created. Yet
    another person taking on that same job with a different attitude
    will say and believe it is a great job and will consider himself or
    herself fortunate to have it.
9.  _Group Belonging Motivates_: People want to
    have a sense of belonging. The smaller the group or team, the
    greater the loyalty, motivation and effort. Extra-curricular
    activities can be used to draw people together.
10. _Inspired Leaders are Motivational_: This is
    not necessarily a manager. Leaders are those that inspire others to
    action. Leaders are willing to take risks, are continually looking
    for new challenges and opportunities. People are much more likely to
    be motivated when there is inspired leadership. Leaders will defend
    others in their group and take full responsibility for criticism.

### **Selected Applications of the Laws of Motivation**

:   _Motivation requires a goal_: One of the
    first steps to motivating a group is identifying the goals and
    purpose of the team and making them clear from the beginning. This
    first step has proven true for many group leaders and members.
    Managers and non-organizer team members can see success when it is
    used and dysfunction and failure when not used. For example: A
    branch manager of an office was charged with finding ways to cut
    costs and run a leaner office. As an office, his team has already
    gone through cost cutting procedures and the results were not seen
    positively by the team. The goal was to break the larger group into
    cross functional teams of three to five members and give them time
    to brain storm within their functional areas. Each group would have
    certain rules and direction. The team leader brought the entire
    group together and explained what they would be doing. He explained
    the plan and outlined the team\'s goals. They discussed the
    reasoning behind the goals; they reviewed the most recent
    performance report and discussed the health of the branch.
    Afterwards and over the next three days the smaller breakout
    sessions were completed. The overall project had great success. They
    came away with many wonderful ideas for cutting costs which were
    implemented in their office as well as many of other offices
    throughout the company. Knowing the goals, understanding, and
    supporting them were huge contributing factors to the success of
    these particular teams. In contrast, members of a team where no goal
    is clearly identifiable typically are not successful. As time passes
    with no overall group goal nor an understanding for the goal; each
    group member begins to realize and push towards individual goals.
    The lack of motivation towards a common goal may break the team
    apart and provide minimal success.\

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:   _Motivation, Once Established, Never Lasts_:
    The next step to motivating a group to an acceptable level of
    success is determining what the group as a whole and individually
    needs, in order to be driven during the entire process. Beyond
    providing a common goal and direction; how does a group organizer
    determine what will motivate her/his group to succeed? The simple
    fact is that in many groups; each team member may require different
    levels or types of motivation to push them to succeed. There are two
    types of motivation that exist: extrinsic motivation and intrinsic
    motivation. Extrinsic motivation is motivation that is inspired by
    outside forces, while intrinsic motivation is motivation that is
    inspired from within a person. Both types of motivation are
    essential to success. Below you will find different types of
    extrinsic and intrinsic motivational factors:

    :   Extrinsic Motivation.

        :   -Bonus
        :   -Peer recognition
        :   -Good grades
        :   -Rewards

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:

    :   Intrinsic Motivation.

        :   -Happiness
        :   -Personal goals, values, and morals
        :   -Willingness and eagerness to learn
        :   -Physiological, social, and self-esteem needs\

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:   The best idea would be to determine prior to group organization the
    types and levels of motivation each group member will require.
    Assigning group members to teams with similar types and levels of
    motivation may be beneficial in the teams overall success. This is
    of course based on the types of rewards or motivators the organizer
    is willing to provide. If it is just going to be one reward, the
    same reward for the entire group, it will be extremely important to
    have team members who would be happy with that reward/motivator.
    Determining each group members' types and levels of motivation
    requires the organizer to know each member. Both intrinsic and
    extrinsic motivators can be used to motivate the group. One common
    device used to help understand a person and there by determine their
    motivators is personality testing. Many managers find it difficult
    to find the time to spend with each group member individually to
    discover their motivators. It would certainly be ideal if they could
    find the time as it helps put them on a more personable level;
    however even when they have the time they may find it uncomfortable
    to ask questions of a personal nature. For this reason personality
    tests can be very useful. Developing understanding of personality
    typology, personality traits, thinking styles and learning styles is
    a useful way to improve your knowledge of motivation and behavior of
    self and others, in the workplace and beyond. The more you
    understand about personality, the better able you are to judge what
    motivates people - and yourself. Some examples of easily accessible
    online Personality tests are:

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:

    :   Four Temperaments/Four
        Humours/"
    :   Jung\'s Psychological
        Types"
    :   Briggs® personality types theory (MBTI®
        model)"
    :   personality types theory (Temperament Sorter
        model)"
    :   Eysenck\'s personality types
        theory"
    :   Benziger\'s Brain Type
        theory"
    :   Moulton Marston\'s DISC personality theory (Inscape, Thomas
        Int.,
        etc)"
    :   Team Roles and personality types
        theory"
    :   \'Big Five\' Factors personality
        model"
    :   \[http://www.businessballs.com/personalitystylesmodels.htm#firo-b_personality_assessment_model/"-FIRO-B®
        Personality Assessment model"\]
    :   Birkman
        Method®"
    :   personality theories and psychometrics tests
        models

## Motivation in Challenging Group and Team Environments

### **Potential causes for a poorly motivated groups and team**

:   The lack of motivation or poor motivation; most often will cripple a
    group's ability to succeed and or hinder its progress. For the most
    part it is widely known that when a group is not motivated to
    perform, it will not succeed to a level of satisfaction that was
    previously desired. So the question remains; why are some groups not
    given the motivation to succeed? Two possible scenarios potentially
    explain this phenomenon:

    :   1\. The group leader provides the wrong type of motivation.
    :   2\. The group is unwilling to be motivated.
:   Some type of motivation is always provided for a group to succeed.
    The problem is that in several instances the methods for motivation
    are not correct and thus do not produce the sought after results.
    The first scenario states that there are occasions when the wrong
    motivator is provided. As described in the section "How to Motivate
    a Group;" the group leader must determine how the group needs to be
    motivated in order to be successful. Presuming that the group leader
    has successfully followed the prescribed advice and now knows what
    his group needs to be positively motivated; if the group fails based
    on motivation, what has happened? Either the group leader
    disregarded his findings or he has misunderstood them.\

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:   There may be situations when a group requires motivation that is
    unrealistic or not within the power of the group leader. There may
    also be situations when a group leader is simply unwilling to
    motivate the group. When she/he is unwilling and able; this will be
    a situation where the group leader may not be motivated properly and
    may need to be replaced. On the other hand when a group requests a
    bonus which the leader is unable to provide; even though she/he is
    willing, this is a situation where the team may need to be dissolved
    or changed.\

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:   The second possible scenario states that the group itself is
    unwilling to be motivated. Typically this will mean that either
    their desires are elsewhere or they no longer have faith in what
    they are doing. Take the example of a business owner who earns a
    healthy income. She is part of a group that provides a service at a
    premium. Over time she realizes that she does not believe in the
    product any more. She feels that it does not provide the value she
    has been promising. Will she continue to be an effective leader and
    support the rest of her team members in this business? The answer is
    that it depends on what motivates her. If she is motivated by money
    alone then, yes, she will continue to be an effective team member.
    However, if she is not motivated by money than she will begin to
    lose interest and become very ineffective as a manager for the team.
    If one important motivation to her is providing a quality product to
    the consumer, then if the product were to change to be a better
    quality one, then she would be properly motivated again and would
    again be effective as a manager.\

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:   Both scenarios boil down to a leader knowing what truly motivates
    his or her group and finding a way to provide that motivation.\

### **Motivating a team within a negative environment**

:   Before you are able to motivate a team who has a negative view of a
    project, you must first understand what caused the negative view to
    be held. It is best to directly talk with each team member to
    determine the root cause. Once it is known where the negative view
    comes from, actions can be taken. To begin with, the root cause
    should be examined. To determine the cause, it is important to
    analyze the responses to questions such as:

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:

    :   1\. Is it an appropriate factor to have at the work environment
        (e.g. tight timelines)?
    :   2\. Is it due to a disruptive team member?
    :   3\. Is it due to stress surrounding the project (e.g. new
        procedures, difficult paperwork, etc.)?

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:   Once the main factor has been examined and assessed, it is important
    to determine if there are additional underlying factors that can be
    adversely impacting team members (e.g. no vacation in six months,
    new child, divorce, etc.).\

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:   With the main factor (and underlying factors) in hand, the negative
    views can be addressed head on. It is important to help shift the
    team's perspective to a positive mindset. If the team is struggling
    against tight timelines, incentives can be put into place for when
    the team hits the timeline. Something as simple as a promising a
    launch party can successfully change the team's dynamics. This
    example is a large form of recognition, but smaller forms can also
    be helpful in changing the team's dynamics.\

### **Motivating teams in a Cross-Functional environment**

:   Before learning how to motivate teams, it is best to understand what
    can de-motivate them. A Bnet.com^1^ article provides the top ten
    de-motivators for team members as, "Relations with project manager,
    co-worker relations, remuneration, leadership, security, working
    conditions, the organization's policy, team subordinate relations,
    personal time, title/status".\

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:   Cross-functional teams can be especially difficult to motivate as
    each individual comes from a different group. Each group can have
    different goals and incentives to motivate employees. When the
    individuals of a cross-functional team have different goals and
    incentives, the results can become more individualized. In addition
    to different groups, cross-functional team members come from
    different backgrounds and ways of thinking. These differences can
    pull a team apart, thus de-motivating them to work together. This
    does not necessarily need to happen. If differences are managed
    well, they can be leveraged to make the team stronger and ultimately
    more motivated to perform well as a group. Furthermore, each
    cross-functional team will go through the four stages of a team:
    forming, storming, norming, and performing. It may be difficult to
    motivate a team during the norming and storming phases. As such, it
    is important to take the phase the team is at into consideration.\

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:   Motivating a cross-functional team, however, is possible. Rowe^2^
    explored the motivational issues on cross-functional teams
    specifically focusing on the free-rider problem. Through different
    experiments, Rowe found that the severity of the free-rider problem
    in groups was severely underestimated. So not only was there an
    issue within the team, but it was much larger than perceived by the
    team. The free-rider problem can be reduced by building trust and
    collectivism within the team. Rowe also found that, "when properly
    aligned, accounting and team structures operate interactively as a
    powerful group framing device that helps to resolve the free-rider
    problem." By focusing more on aligning the incentives and goals of a
    group, a diversified team can be motivated to perform successfully.\

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:   One way to align the incentives and goals within a cross-functional
    group is to create a project scope document. This is an exercise
    that not only allows the team to work together to define a project,
    but also gets buy-in from the team on the goals of the project. The
    team discusses the different aspects of the project and identifies
    assumptions made, items that are in/out of the scope of the project,
    and also identifies risks and constraints on the project. At the end
    of the meeting, a project scope document is formed. All team members
    are responsible for reviewing the document and will approve the
    document if everything documented fits their understanding.\

### **Conclusion**

:   In this chapter, we have discussed what motivation is, what groups
    can do to motivate others, and some of the challenges that groups
    face when trying to address motivation. Motivation can take several
    forms. There are also many ways to approach motivation. It is
    important to evaluate the situation that you are in and then take
    the approach that will motivate the group to achieve the desired
    outcome. Without proper motivation, groups may not achieve their
    full potential or accomplish the goals that they set. Groups must
    work together to set goals and work to accomplish them. Proper
    motivation can ensure that groups will work together and everyone
    will do their part to achieve the goals of the group.\

### **Bibliography**

:::#http://www.bnet.com/2410-13059_23-68765.html

:::#The Effect of Accounting Report Structure and Team Structure on
Performance in Cross-Functional Teams, Casey Rowe, The Accounting
Review, Vol. 79, No. 4, 2004, pp.1153-1180

:::#http://www.eioba.com/a41068/extrinsic_and_intrinsic_motivations

:::#http://www.businessballs.com/personalitystylesmodels.htm

:::#Denny, Richard. 2005. Motivate to Win (3rd Edition). Kogan Page,
Limited.

:::#Ephross, Paul H. and Vassil, Thomas V. 2005. Groups that work:
Structure and Process. Columbia University Press

:::#Forsyth, Patrick. 2006. How to Motivate People (2nd Edition). Kogan
Page, Limited.


# Managing Groups and Teams/Team Inclusion

## Introduction of Best Members for Team Inclusion

How can teams include the \"best\" members and what does \"best\" mean
in selecting members? What key attributes, skills, competencies, etc,
should be looked for in selecting team members, which ones can be
sacrificed?

When selecting team members, it is important to select the "best" team
members. "Best" in this circumstance could be defined as the right team
members with the necessary skills and abilities to function together as
a team. However selecting the best team members can be very difficult.
Thus it is important to have a process in place to assist in team
selection. The proper selection will lead to better inclusion.

If you are not included in a team that you consider will get a benefit
with your inclusion, here is presented some steps that can help you to
approach the situation.

## What Is the Process of Member Selection?

What process should be followed in order to select team members, or
should a formal process exist?

The Process should exist, but be somewhat flexible. Flexibility is
important to allow for small change within each organization. The three
step process as defined below can be used as a foundation for a process.

### Identify goal or team purpose

Goal : Defining a clear goal is important so the group understands what it is trying to achieve. Without a clear goal or purpose, the team may not be able to identify when the task has been completed or finished. With a clear goal, the team can unify and focus on the objectives rather than determine what the objectives should be.

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Timeline : It is important to establish a timeline for group selection as well as project finish date (the project finish date may be defined as ongoing or indefinite). While selecting the \"best\" members of a group, one must not loose track of the date by which the group must be formed.

### Identify Group Needs

Experience : Identifying experience is important for group confidence. Experience in particular areas can help the group identify with individuals and allow individuals to shine in their appropriate areas.

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Attributes : Identify attributes that are important to your project as this can either help or hurt the group cohesion. Identifying whether potential members are aggressive, passive, compassionate, dedicated, or motivated can directly influence the speed and accuracy of the completion of team objectives. It is important to have a well rounded team so they can effectively challenge and complement one another.

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Specialty interest : Identify passions or non-passions. Identifying individual passions or non-passions can help identify an individual\'s motivation. If a team member does not care about the outcome of the project, their motivation and contribution may be limited. On the other hand, someone with extreme passion may be overbearing and inhibit team success. Finding individuals with the appropriate interest levels must be balanced.

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Skills : The necessary skill level is important so highly skilled individuals aren't bored with the project at hand. However it is important to have appropriately skilled individuals to be able to accomplish the task at hand.

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Personalities : Are ideas going to be challenged? This question is important. If you have a group of individuals that behave in the same manner, will the ideas presented in the group environment be challenged sufficiently to be identified as the best possible solution or end product? Allowing individuals to be challenged, or defend particular point of views can allow healthy collaboration. However with personalities that are overbearing and domineering it can lead to a very "unsafe" group environment. This can lead to other problems like group polarization.

### Identify Possible Team Members

The third step in the process is to identify individuals who may fit
within the team. Identify the "best" team members according to the group
needs and the defined goal, so the group has appropriate motivation and
does not stagnate.

These three steps are starting points to form the "best" team. Following
these three processes can allow a group to be interdependent on each
other to complete group tasks. Not only can interdependence help the
group work together, it fosters a sense of inclusion, because every
group member feels that she is needed. As well, a simple process
identifying the "best" individuals can help a group overcome
stereotyping, social loafing, group process loss.

## Team Relationships

*To what extent should interpersonal relationships dictate who is
included?*

It is very important to understand interpersonal relationships to create
the best team. The different relationships in a team can destine it for
failure or success, so it is very important to consider each person who
is part of a team. Also, depending on the task or goal of a team, there
may be better types of relationships for that team. A team\'s sense of
inclusion and interpersonal relationships can be improved with training
and experience.

In order to answer the posed question, it is important to understand
what is involved in interpersonal relationships. These relationships are
as diverse as there are different types of personalities. Every person
has a personality that has been shaped by years of experiences. Some are
very aggressive and others very relaxed. There are outspoken people and
quiet people, analytical and qualitative, and many others. All of these
things are important in understanding how team members will handle
different situations and problems that they will face in a team. A good
team facilitator will quickly pick up on the different team member's
skills and personalities and then use this information to make the team
effective.

The qualities of relationships that are the best for teams to be
effective include being productive, having mutual understanding, and
being willing to be self corrective. These things need to be evaluated
in who is picked for a team.

Productivity : A team needs to be productive, and therefore the relationships within a team need to be productive as well. When all team members are included and involved in the team process, the team becomes very productive. We have all probably been assigned to teams that were too large and where it did not feel like your individual effort mattered. When teams get too large, there is no longer a mutual need for the input of every member. Despite having information or skills that the team needs, individuals may no longer put as much effort into a project when there are too many members, what we call social loafing. Also in large groups, members tend to have a perception of "someone else will go it", so there is no need to be assertive. There usually are a number of members that will no longer participate and feel like their time is being wasted. Having too large of a team is a common way to lose the inclusion of all members.

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Mutual understanding : Maybe you have been part of a team where certain members took over and made it harder for others to be involved. Some members are reluctant to express conflicting ideas depending upon who is involved or in charge of the meeting. Overly aggressive members can really stifle a team's creativeness and productivity. The mutual understanding and focus on a group task gets demoted by the over aggressiveness or ego of someone who dominates a team. When everyone in a team feels free to contribute, the mutual strength of the team increases. So it is important to pick team members with relationships that will create a collaborative environment.

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Self corrective : When selecting members of a team it is good too look at each individual's skills in communicating with others and their ability to work with others. Depending upon the type of problem to be solved by a group or team, there may be a need for homogeneity, or a need for great diversity. In teams where everyone has very similar backgrounds, values, and personalities, there is very low risk of conflicts. These teams also tend to be more likely to make mistakes and to not explore all of the possibilities in solving problems. They can have a hard time finding their mistakes and correcting them. Teams that have a large difference in personality and background tend to have much more conflict and less cooperation. Despite these challenges, these teams can be very effective in solving challenging issues, even relationship issues. One key to making diverse teams be productive is to create a collaborate environment and keep the team focused on the goal or task of the group. Diverse teams that understand the value of conflict resolution and the value of their diversity, can be self correcting and ease the burden of a team leader or facilitator. Good team skill training and time together with a team can really help diverse teams.

The interpersonal relationships in a team are keys to being successful.
So to what extent should they dictate who is included? To a large
extent! A good manager will try to understand the different
personalities in his organization and be able to include those in teams
that can be the most productive in resolving an issue or reaching the
team goal.

## Being Part of a Team

*If you are not included in a team that you think could benefit from you
being included, how do you approach the team leader and/or existing team
members to be included, or should you at all?*

If you are not included in a team that you consider you should be, the
best thing to do is to present your concerns to your team leader, your
supervisor or manager. From my own experience, you can proceed according
with the following steps that have helped me through my last 10 years of
work experience:

1.  Request a meeting
2.  Present your concern
3.  Present your point of view
4.  Discuss the answers to questions
5.  Conclude the meeting
6.  Follow up

As part of a team, we need to have an open and honest communication not
only with our managers and supervisors, but also with our team leader
and co-workers. Communication is the key to success. Communication is
more than talking to others or writing e-mails or letters, it also
includes the art of "listening". Also I will explain in detail each of
what I call "my golden key to success" in this type of situation:

1.  Request a meeting: Is a good idea to request a meeting, especially
    with superiors, because usually they are busy and you will want to
    capture all of his/her attention. When you request a meeting, you
    can be sure that the other person will pay attention to your
    concern. Usually this type of meeting doesn't last very long.
    Remember that our bosses are busy. A half hour to an hour will be
    enough.
2.  Present your concern: Don't be afraid, present your concern. Be open
    and honest. Ask why you were not considered. The majority of the
    times you will be surprised that a) there was not a reason behind
    their decision not to include you on the team, they just didn't
    think about you or b) you can realize the reason behind the
    decision. At this point, you will have the opportunity to clarify
    the perception or you can ask how you can perform better or in a
    different way in order to be considered in future projects.
3.  Present your point of view and the reason(s) why you consider
    yourself to be a great asset to the team: If the reason is they
    didn't think about you, sell yourself and present your ideas.
    Showing them that you have the experience and knowledge, as well as
    the skills and background that can benefit the team selected. If you
    are still not considered, at least they will have an idea of who you
    are and it will be a possibility in the future that they will select
    you. Remember: be clear, concise and simple.
4.  Discuss the answers to questions: Be prepared to defend your ideas,
    also to answer questions. Usually the other person just wants to
    better understand your point of view. Other times they just want to
    know if you really have the knowledge and the experience that you
    said you have. Don\'t be afraid to sell yourself and tell them about
    your experience and knowledge. An excellent way to do this is
    telling stories.
5.  Conclude the meeting: Always conclude the meeting on a positive
    note. Most of the times a diplomatic conversation is more valuable
    and can open other opportunities.
6.  If necessary, always follow up the conversation: If after the
    meeting you get a possibility to be included in the team, always
    follow up the conversation to show that you are interested.

As a lesson: Always confront the conflict, never avoid it. Be a
peacemaker and not a peacekeeper. An article called " Avoiding Conflict
at any cost" recommends that we should confront the situations and not
be afraid to express our feelings. If you truly believe that you should
be included in a team, express your concerns.

## Managing Inclusion

*How do teams effectively deal with changes in team member inclusion?*

Changes to the makeup of an existing team can be very disruptive
especially if that team is an effectively functioning group. By changing
the group membership of an effective team you can cause them to redirect
their focus from the tasks and processes at hand, to having to focus on
relationships, which can quickly turn that team into an ineffective
unit. When changing the membership of a team, there are certain measures
which both the existing team and the new members should consider in
order to make for a smooth and successful transition.

### Suggestions for Existing Team Members

Socialize : Anytime someone joins a new group they are coming in as an outsider. Entering into an existing team situation may stifle that person\'s ability to be effective and to focus on the task at hand. It is the responsibility of the existing team members to socialize with the new member, help them feel that they belong, let them know that they have a valid voice and that they can and should contribute just as much as any other member of the team.

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Educate : It will also be necessary for the existing team members to educate the new member on the history of the team. This includes helping them to learn about and understand the goals of the team, and to learn about the progress which has been made. This will include learning about the obstacles that have been overcome and the obstacles which now lay before them. This is also a good opportunity to let the new member know what everyone\'s role is on the team and what the new member\'s role should be.

### Suggestions for New Team Members

Integrate : Whenever a team is created there will be several key roles which must be filled. These roles can include; Controller, Adviser, Creator, Organizer, Producer and several others. When someone joins an existing team they should determine which roles are already filled, which are vacant, and how their skills can best fit into one of these vacancies.

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Self-Education : A new member must be proactive in their education. They will need to be proactive in learning what has been addressed and what has yet to be addressed. They can't be shy about asking questions. In addition, the new member must realize that they are an asset and important part of the team. They possess a different perspective which is unique from the rest of the team because of their skills and experience which may benefit the entire team. If they don't speak up, they may be holding up the progress of the team.

## How To Lead for Team Inclusion

*From leader's perspective, what are the ways to insure full
participation/inclusion/contribution of team members? How does the
leader or other team members insure the involvment of a passive and
uninterested team member?*

Every team consists of different individuals with different
personalities, background and values. Some team members are more active
than others, some contribute more than others, some are more motivated
than others. To ensure a viable and effective team, a team leader must
make sure that every team member participates, contributes and feels as
part of the team.

Put yourself in his/her shoes : In order to influence the behavior of a team member, a team leader must first understand that team member. In order to do so, one should understand the background and values of each team member. Acknowledging the fact that each team member is different will show respect and consideration. In addition, understanding the values will help to identify what kind of things a certain person would cherish or neglect. Values come in handy when a leader needs to use motivation. Overall, the objective of the leader in this step is to get to know his/her team members, in other words, a leader needs to to think as a team member does.

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Motivation : Motivation is perhaps the most important factor to ensure effective inclusion of team member. The foundation of recognition and motivation is that people need and want acceptance, approval and appreciation. Almost all positive motivation is based on these needs. People want to know that what they do makes a difference. Just recognizing the staff is the most important step one can take. In addition to financial rewards, there are number of other ways that can be effectively utilized. One of them is to reward the team members for their contributions to the team. A gift certificate or a free dinner might go a long way. The recognition given for work that is well done and public praise will also strengthen the sense of importance and belonging to the team.

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Build Confidence : Part of the reason that a team member will not fully contribute could be the lack of confidence in self and his/her abilities to perform the job. A leader\'s duty is to notice and take steps to improve the behavior of the team member. Even though building self-confidence is a personal matter and a leader may have little influence over it, a leader should be able to identify the strengths of team players and build on those. One way to do it is to delegate responsibilities with freedom to think and act. It is also important to remain fair and impartial as slight advantage given to one member over the other may hinder the progress and undermine the efforts of some team members. Accentuating the positives is another tool a leader should continually keep in his or her arsenal.

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Ensure collaborative climate : Lastly, the team\'s ability to effectively collaborate, share data and insight in open and positive climate will affect the degree of participation of its members. Non-judgmental attitude void of team politics is an essential ingredient to building such climate in teams. In addition, a team leader should should be able to establish open and direct relationship with a passive or uninterested team member and encourage other team members to do the same.