02 Jun How to Increase Team Performance
How to increase the performance of everyone in your team – there really is a way to do this
A guest post by Sonia Gavira of discoveryourmotivationtoday.com who is introducing a tool that can help with team performance and motivation.
A bold claim I know, and yet there really is a way to do this that is simpler than you think.
When we look at ways to increase the performance of someone on our team, we first look at the goals. What do they need to achieve and in what space of time? Then we tend to assess their skill level – do they have the skills that they need or do they need to learn something new in order to achieve those goals, or even achieve them with more ease or in less time.
This is all great. We definitely need goals and we definitely need to learn the skills to achieve them.
What comes before goals?
But what if you set great goals, you give them all the opportunities to learn the new skills and they even go to all the courses, but they don’t have the drive, energy or in other words, motivation, to achieve them?
Just think about yourself – how many times have you set a goal, objective or target with all the best intentions, then bought the book or the course and still not got started?
One of my previous bosses had me divide my to do list into two piles and one of the piles was called the “too hard to do pile”. This was a list of things that I found hard – not because I couldn’t do them, but because they just did not motivate me.
Motivation
Without motivation it is very difficult to get to great performance – at least not without a great deal of stress and hardship. With wellbeing so high on the agenda these days, this is something you really want to avoid.
So how do you make sure that you are doing things in a way that motivates you? And how can you make sure that your people are able to do this too?
The key is to uncover what it is that gives you energy, that gets you in the zone or motivates you, and now there is a tool called Motivational Maps, which allows you to do that.
Motivational Maps
Motivational Maps by James Sale, identifies 9 key motivators. We usually have about 3 of them that are on our radar and that if we were in a situation where they were not being satisfied, we would feel it emotionally and even physically.
The 9 motivators can be summarised as follows:
| Motivator | Motivated by |
| Searcher | Making a difference, having a purpose |
| Spirit | Freedom, independence |
| Creator | Innovation, solving problems in a creative way |
| Friend | Belonging |
| Defender | Security, safety, predictability |
| Star | External recognition, respect |
| Builder | Material rewards, money |
| Expert | Knowledge, expertise, mastery |
| Director | Power and influence |
Find Your Why
The best way to start, as with most things, is with yourself, so have a look at the motivators above and pick three that you believe really drive you, which ones define your “why”.
Then think of something that you have been trying to achieve or have had as a goal for a while, but just don’t seem to be getting any traction with. Got something?
Then ask yourself:
- How does this goal fit into my motivators?
- How will achieving it get me what drives me?
- Is there a way that I could think about this goal that would be in line with what drives me?
It is very likely that your motivators are not supporting your goal or vision, which is why it is hard to get yourself off the blocks, even if you believe that it is important for you to do it.
Here’s an example (if you need some help):
Say you realise that security or safety is really important to you (Defender), as is being in charge (Director). You have been looking at going into a new market where you will need to recruit people who have experience in that sector as you have none. If you are not getting going with this new project, is it because the thought of it makes you feel unsafe? How risky is the project? Will your authority and your position be compromised? If so, this may be why you are not getting on with it.
Reframing Your Thinking
So how could you reframe your thinking to enable you? What if you were able to see that going into this new market would actually provide you with more long-term security? What if you could see that the new people would add to YOUR team and give you more authority?
Suddenly, you would be more willing and able to take action.
So here are some questions you could ask yourself depending on what it is that motivates you:
| Motivator | Motivated by | Questions |
| Searcher | Making a difference, having a purpose | What difference do you want to make?
How can you do that in your current role? What other roles or opportunities do you need to look for to really make a difference?
|
| Spirit | Freedom, independence | What does freedom or independence mean to you? How much is enough?
Do you have enough? How can you get more?
|
| Creator | Innovation, solving problems in a creative way | How do you live and experience creativity and innovation?
What opportunities do you have to be creative right now? How can you use your creativity to solve current situations or problems? What new opportunities are there out there for you?
|
| Friend | Belonging | What communities do you belong to?
How do you contribute to your team / groups? What is it about belonging that really motivates you?
|
| Defender | Security, safety, predictability | What sort of security and safety do you want?
It it linked to anything? (Recognition, expertise, money?) What steps are you taking to make you secure?
|
| Star | External recognition, respect | What do you want to be known for?
Who do you want recognition from? How can you raise your profile?
|
| Builder | Material rewards, money | What do you want to be rewarded for?
What goals have you set? How could you link what you do to financial goals?
|
| Expert | Knowledge, expertise, mastery | Pin-point the opportunities for learning that you have
What opportunities do you have to share your learning? Do know what you want to focus on and be an expert on?
|
| Director | Power and influence | What do you want to be in control of?
What opportunities do you have to influence? How are you doing it?
|
If you would like to find out exactly what your motivators are right now and how you can use them for yourself and for your team to increase performance, drop me a line at Sonia@discoveryourmotivationtoday.com and I will send you a special offer coupon to use for your own motivational map and feedback session from me. Usually priced at £199 + vat, but for the readers of this blog, you will get it for £99 + vat.
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