Keep Your Team Motivated by New Goals

Developing enthusiasm isn't the easiest thing to do considering the complexity of human behavior involved. Teams must find new challenges if they desire to survive and thrive. Challenges offer an opportunity for goal directed behaviors that further solidify the purpose and behaviors of the group. Making sure those goals have value for team members is important for longevity.

Considering that goals can be brought from outside the team or drawn from inside the team there is likely to be different motivations at play. When outside goals are artificially drawn from the team it is a matter of option and choice as to whether or not participants will adopt them as their own. Homegrown goals have the benefit of creating greater interest among team members.

Once goals are selected teams must have something to do that activates them. As long as they are working toward those goals everything seems to be just fine. People are mentally engaged and stay focused on certain tasks. Once the goals are completed teams often find themselves directionless and ripe for decline.

A good leader can find goals for the team to move toward. They give enough time to relax and enjoy the accomplishment of tasks but don't let lethargy and lack of direction make its way in.  Before the group begins to dissipate new goals are found and teams begin to work on those.

Skilled managers know how to play the balance between reaching for goals and relaxing. They don't burn out their teams nor do they let them just sit around endlessly. As the leader rises in skill he/she will become better on selecting goals that are tied more directly to the motivations of the team members while still staying toward goals the support the team's mission.