Team Building Tips

Do you use manipulation to motivate your team? Most of us would say no, but the pure nature of our position should tell us that we do.

Manipulation would be defined as causing our team members to perform in desired way, in order for them to receive compensation or other rewards (or punishments) for positive (negative) behavior. We may never be able to remove all the manipulation from our actions, but we can bring another motivator into play as the primary driver.

The vast majority of employees today, do what they do and perform at the level they do, because it has been clearly communicated as a requirement for compensation. So most are doing just enough to keep their job, and their paycheck. But what if we could minimize manipulation as a motivator? Would performance improve? Most research shows that if we can get our people to 'want' to perform well because they support and believe in what they are doing, their quality and quantity will improve.

If you are a leader that focuses on reward and punishment as a means to produce results, your in for a continual roller coaster ride of good and bad performance. When team members know there is no one watching, they don't always do the right things. That means for every minute of the day you are not monitoring your team, less than desirable activities can take place. If you learn to focus on building your credibility, and the credibility of the organization, team members always do the right thing, because their behavior is not driven from a reward/punishment perspective, rather doing the right thing.

The primary focus for making this shift should be two things. One, as a leader build your credibility. We do this by making sure we do what we say we will do. The fastest way to turn your team against you is to be inconsistent about what team members hear and what they see. The second focus should be on teaching each team member how they fit into the bigger picture and support a bigger cause. We need the team to buy into the leader first, then the company, and then how they fit into that company. One of the primary needs people have is to feel part of something bigger. How they contribute.  If you try to sell the company, and people have not bought into you as a leader yet, your results will be minimal.

Ultimately, people understand that as a leader you hold the ability to punish and reward based on performance. But if they feel you are only using those as a final alternative, you no longer need to micromanage people and continually use manipulation as a means of producing results. And the best part is you don't even need to be around for team members to do the right thing!!

Kreg Enderson is a certified coach and owner operator of http://www.LeadershipMentor.com a learning community for new leaders.