Let’s start with a little analogy of teamwork. Have you observed how a flock of geese fly? They usually fly in V formation and those at the back will usually honk at the one in front. This is to encourage the lead geese who puts in most of the work to overcome wind resistance. Once the leader tires, he moves to the back and another geese moves in to take his place. This form of support helps the entire flock of geese to fly about 71% further than if each geese were to fly on its own. In addition, if a geese were sick or got injured, two of them will slow down to help or protect him.

Isn’t it a wonder how birds know the essentials of teamwork? We humans can do far better with the brain that we’ve got. Explained below are the 10 ways how leaders can inspire team members to consistently give their best for the entire team.

1. Develop trust

Trust is the principle by which the team functions. If the leaders and members have the trust of every person in a team, everyone will be motivated to give their best without inhibitions or fear of being exploited.

2. Involve everybody

When the leaders share information with team members and ask for opinions, a feeling of camaraderie is created and members feel motivated to perform better. Important note: People want their opinions to be heard and know that it considered and acted upon if reasonable.

3. Be a good leader

As a leader, you must be 100 percent clear and confident of what you are doing and what you are getting done from the team. Faith in the leader boosts motivation among the team members. I have been consulted many times by leaders on how to improve their teams and the first place I always look at is the leader. Great Leadership = Great Teams.

4. Give feedback

Everybody needs a feedback on his or her work. Everyone needs to know how they have performed and what they need to do better. Nothing can be more motivating than a constructive feedback. Be sure to start with the positives though.

5. Active Listening

Actively listen to the team members. Listen to their ideas, complaints, grudges, suggestions… anything they may want to share. Just listening to them will give them will help them know that you care and support them.

6. Perform periodic assessments

Periodically assess the progress of the team as a whole and each individual in particular. If any team member is complacent, he or she will wake up and start performing to the best of his or her abilities.

7. Allow team members to give feedback to you

Let the team members give feedback to the leader at regular intervals. This builds mutual respect, mutual trust and confidence. Give them an avenue to tell you what needs to be changed.

8. Hold a weekly interactive session

Let each member of the team have his or her chance to address the team from the front. As a leader, it is always good to show how well the team has performed. If you consistently concentrate on the positives, you will tend to see a more positive behavior in the group.

9. Hold one-on-one meetings

With one-on-one meetings the leaders get a chance to know about personal difficulties of each member. Those who need extra help or extra training should be given so most gladly. Think of the goodwill it will generate.

10. Celebrate success of the team

If you constantly celebrate the successes of your team, both great and small wins, you will find that people will constantly want to share their successes and win even more! Success always breeds more success, and you need to keep the momentum up and running.

Conclusion:
If you want to multiply your efforts and receive exponential results, you definitely need a great team. For every successful person, there is always a successful team behind him/her.

PS: If you have other ideas that you want to share, please leave it down. Click on the “Leave your comment” on the top right hand of this post.

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Winning an argument is tempting for most people working in a team. Who does not wish to be right? Who does not want to have the last say and feel victorious? But if your focus is on the team’s progress and not on personal whims, sometimes it is better in the first place not to get into an argument. The best way to get your message across to people is to win them over instead of winning an argument with them.

What happens when you try to win arguments

When you get into an argument with people, they become defensive. Both of you try to assert your point of view without bothering to listen to the other person whether or not he/she is right. This makes both of you even more fixed on your opinions. Arguments never reach a satisfactory conclusion.

You can never achieve the right thing for your team by trying to win an argument and forcing them to accept your views. You may not always be right. And even if you are right, by arguing, you only harm your working relationships.

How arguments affect working relationships with each other

When you argue, you are trying to control the other person’s thoughts, feelings and actions. Nobody likes that. When you are out to prove that you are right, it only provokes the other person. Passive aggression, frustration, and lack of distrust will follow. Some people might not show it outwardly, but they will silently think of how to settle scores.

For the sake of your team, collective goals and healthy working relationships with each other, do not get into arguments. Instead, use the following tips to converse with people and arrive at the right conclusion.

How to win people over rather than winning arguments

1. Stay calm: Maintain your composure when you talk. If you lose it, the talk will turn into an argument.

2. Be Present and Listen: Never interrupt people when they talk. Not only is this irritating to them, but you may also lose out on some useful important point that they may have. Listen intently and acknowledge what they say before putting forth your point.

3. Be logical: Spell out your thoughts in a logical sequence to make them understand your point. Use pauses to allow them to comprehend. Ask “Does this make sense?” to help you check if the other party understands what you say.

4. Find a win-win situation: Try to accommodate some of the valid points that people raise. The challenge is usually to find the things that you both agree on and work on it.In one of my trainings, we practice the 101% principle, this means that sometimes you have to find the 1% we both agree on and give it our 100%.

Ensure that everyone can WIN from the disagreement and how to arrive at the best agreement.

For example, if a team member wants a pay raise and his manager is reluctant, an argument will naturally ensue. But what if the manager agrees on the condition that the team member learns a new skill or hits certain Key Performance Indicators (KPI)? Both will benefit.

Remember, winning a person over is more important than winning arguments. This is because relationships last for a long time while problems are only temporary.

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Have you ever failed in your goals?

Have you given up on things that matter?

I may have a reason why this is happening and after reading this, you will want to act on it.

If you have failed before, my question to you is this “Are you committed to it?”

Image by eschipul via Flickr

There are many times we want to do something, however, when times are difficult, our habits or weaknesses overcome our desire to do it. Wanting to do something may not be compelling enough to overcome our natural desires to be lazy. I have heard many times that people WANT to lose weight, WANT to lower their cholesterol, WANT to be more disciplined. But nothing sustainable happens.

If you belong to the majority of the population, most likely you will fail. Why? This is because we are simply NOT committed to getting results. What do I mean by commitment? Let me share with you more by asking some more questions:

Have you ever been absorbed by a task and were committed to finish a project by a deadline that you did not have your meals?

Have you ever seen a lady holding 2 jobs in the day and night simply because she is a widow and has 3 kids to feed?

In every one of the descriptions above, I have seen people really being committed to what they do. They are willing to give up short term gains, simply because they have committed themselves to achieve certain results. They know that there is a price to pay for everything. Hard work and discipline must follow through to get the results that they need. I’m not advocating that we should skip our meals, but I just want to highlight that there is a deep level of commitment to what we have set out minds to do.

Without commitment, you will fail. You will just WANT, but NEVER achieve. I’m sorry to be harsh, but this is the truth. I realised that most of my recent success in corporate training is because I was extremely committed while the first few years of my business was not eventful because I was not committed to myself, staff and my family.

If you are sick and tired of NOT getting the results you want, maybe its time to be committed? If so, what price will you pay for it?

Do leave your comments and your commitments down; I hope to hear from you.

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Kenneth speaking to 120 of Becton Dickinson's Asia Pacific Staff

Do you personally think that motivational talks are important? Or is it some kind of high energy rubbish designed to make people feel good for one day and before it dissipates next day?

So… What do the experts got to say?

First of all, I’m a Certified Behaviourial Consultant and according to motivational theory, it is believed that we cannot ‘motivate’ another person. A person can only motivate himself/herself. Therefore, we cannot ‘change’ a person, but we can influence them. We can influence them to a set of thinking patterns and help them create more empowering belief systems that will make them be more resourceful in life. This leads to them becoming more successful.

People have asked me whether motivation really works and my magic answer to them is:

“It depends….”

It depends if this person is open to change.

It depends if this person is currently happy with the results that he/she is getting.

It depends whether this person at this stage of his/her life is hungry to learn.

I have given many talks to multi-national corporations and government agencies. In my experience, no two people are similar in their appetite for learning and growth. One person can be so fired up and talking about the philosophies that I have just shared, while the other person next to him just claps his hands and asks when is lunch break?

Kenneth sharing a personal story

But one thing I know, I can influence a crowd to relook at their lives, look at where they are and how much greater they can be. What I am doing is creating a desire for change and it will be up to them to decide how they want to change their lives. When people understand that they have the power to change and make a difference, they will not want to be the same again.

When you truly empower people, the results are phenomenal. I have a lot of people usually coming up to me at the end of the seminar saying that it has changed the way they think and the principles taught are really useful for the workplace.

CAUTION: Let me warn you… motivation is like eating. You need to feed yourself with a healthy dose of it every day. I mean… can you survive a week just by eating a day? Some people have this weird belief that motivation is a one day thing that will TOTALLY change your live. I see it as a process where we find out what motivates us and bathe in it every day to get the results that you want.

So… back to the question, does motivation really change you and make you successful? It depends whether you choose to let it and then take massive action to make things happen.

PS: If you need someone to get people to be pro-active and change mindsets, you can engage me to speak for your organisation.

Related Readings:

The One Decision That Changed My Life

How to Motivate Yourself for Greater Heights!

Importance of Surrounding Yourself With the Right People

How Do You Change Yourself?

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