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People are constantly seeking motivation, whether it be in their personal or professional life. Perhaps motivation itself is actually a byproduct of something else – purpose. I personally owe this revelation to Robin Arzón, an American ultramarathon runner and author of the book, “Shut Up and Run”. Robin is also the VP of Fitness Programming and an Instructor at Peloton. She talks about purpose regularly during her very challenging cycling classes. Check out her Tabata or HIIT & Hills, if you dare!
Knowing and believing in your purpose in your personal life and career will result in the motivation to succeed. Most people in the workplace don’t wake up every day with a never-ending Well of Motivation to pull from, and it is important to realize that as both a manager and a teammate. If everyone on a team has a clearly defined purpose that aligns with who they are as an individual, I find creative strategies to motivate teams are less likely needed. That isn’t to say rewards shouldn’t be provided (we’ll get to that next). First, ensure everyone on the team has a clear purpose (outside of what is written in their job descriptions) which aligns with their unique skill set and individual goals.
It is obvious when teams are motivated and succeeding. It’s important to recognize that success is key to keeping the Motivation Well full. Rather than just rewarding people for doing their jobs, gamification encourages cross-team collaboration, peer-to-peer recognition, and recognizes people for going above and beyond. At Solving IT, we have a game of Badgerball that lasts annually, with different competitions each month. Both peers and managers can award badges for anything from just saying ‘Thanks’ to recognizing awesome feedback from a client. Having two distinct lines of business, this provides companywide visibility into wins we may not otherwise hear about. Not only does this keep our team motivated, but it also provides a healthy degree of competition as the person with most points at the end of the year wins a fabulous prize! Layer this on top of a team with defined individual and common purpose, and you’ll have a motivated force to be reckoned with.
