Obstacle #6 Lack of focus on team rewards and appreciation (Teamwork Tuesday)

About a month ago I asked the question on several LinkedIn Groups “What is so difficult about teamwork?” I received well over 200 responses. My intention was to rank each of them and then figure out ways we can create better teamwork.

Today we will discuss obstacle number Six – Lack of focus on team rewards and appreciation.

1. Lack of a competent leader (27)
2. Lack of goals and goal alignment (26)
3. Individuals focused on themselves and not the team (21)
4. Lack of understanding of team members (20)
5. Lack of clarity on team roles, and/or the purpose and vision of the team (15)
6. Lack of focus on team rewards and appreciation (12)
7. Lack of spending time together as a team (9)
8. Poor communication (8)
9. Lack of trust (7)
10. Lack of accountability (6)

This is a self inflicted obstacle that teams encounter quite often. If you focus on rewarding individuals in a team environment, you will get a bunch of self-centered team members. It’s that simple. I have seen this with teams that I have developed over the years. The leader with good intentions decides that he or she will begin to introduce competition among the team. So individual productivity based rewards are introduced to the team as a way to drum up “healthy” competition. What the leader gets instead are team members not willing to give help, ask for help, provide best practices etc… Much like many of the team based reality games on television today like the “Biggest Loser” or “Survivor” team members will turn on teammates if it means they might win the game.

Is a focus on individual rewards always a bad thing?

Mike Rogers
Check out my blog at www.teamworkandleadership.com

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Comments

[Rick Stanuikynas]

I am impressed with the great response you received! I would add that establishing a positive mood by the leader inspires and motivates a team. Teams need to be reminded about what they are doing well and how to leverage their strengths to meet the challenges they face. I was working with a team at UC Berkeley which was working on a strategic plan to align with the department's goals. Through conversations in dyads, they realized that one of their "informal" strengths were the conversations they had in the hallway about the work they were doing. They decided to set up a cross-functional model to ensure flow of information, continuity and commitment in aligning their activities with the strategic plan. They also had fun empowering themselves at the service of their everyday collaboration and the department's goals. I used the appreciative inquiry method to accomplish this. Does anyone have any more tools they use to create team cohesion?

Rick Stanuikynas, CPC
Leadership Consultant
EQ Practitioner
www.impact-life.com

[Pamela]

Something I found to be effective in working with teams is to make sure that during the notes taking, the individual responsible for the task is listed, their timeline and a list of the items they will accomplish (This probably fits best under communication). Once this is implemented, repeatedly, when checking back when the team re-groups, the obvious leaders in recognition are those who stay up with their assignments and tasks. A very results driven way to recognize without overt rewards.

[Michael Rogers]

Rick, what are some of the AI methods you used? I am interested in hearing them. And do you have any resources you might recommend?

Pamela, I like the focus on results; ensuring accountability and recognizing those who are completing their tasks for the good of the team. Have you ever seen a leader who was struggling with performance use this and see results improve? Any stories?

Thanks for your comments Rick and Pamela.

[Geoff Edwards]

I feel the only difficulty with the biggest loser programs is that the individuals are conditioned for success based on the high intensity program only, that is, I will only achieve results when I do the intensive workout daily. Practicalities are that when they leave the show, they may not have all the time they had on the show and results may not last. Conditioning and beliefs need to be built around variability in programs and that success will be achieved anyway

[David Rough]

I find both shows to be fascinating studies on personal relationships and motivation. Because the "goal" is such a personal thing, team unity and loyalty is usually entered into as only a short term arrangement to be dissolved at the next level of the game.

I think it interesting that leadership (even good positive direction and counsel) is taken as a threat and the strongest players (physically, emotionally and intellectually) are often the first to be voted out of the game. Greed often takes over and integrity is sacrificed in terms of strategic planning....kind of like real life at times.

[Mike Rogers]

Yes, I have always struggled with the biggest loser for the reasons you outlined Geoff. How about the viewing audience? Do we all really think we need to spend more than an hour a day in the gym to lose weight? I don't think so. If we eat a balanced diet and exercise at least 30 minutes a day, most of us can get to our ideal weight. We just have to sustain that over time. The problem with most people is they give up (I’ve been there) and we are an all or nothing society. If you lose the battle for a day, then try harder the next. The key to losing weight is like the stone cutter. Though we may not always get what we want and think we aren't making progress, we need to persevere. Eventually we will see the old self become something new. I always get a chuckle when I hear someone say; “next Monday I start my diet.” Or “after the holidays I start getting real serious.” Why not tomorrow? Or right now? The longer you wait, the fatter you get, so why not now?

Okay, that was too much fun. Thanks for post Geoff.

[Mike Rogers]

Yes, David, that is the issue real teams have as well. When it is about individuals, greed often enters into teams. If the goal and rewards are very personal and not team focused, then you get the same result as we see with these reality shows.

[Phil Wrzesinski]

Mike, I have this discussion quite often in the realm of retail. Should I pay on commission or not?

The folks in favor of commission talk about the importance of measurable goals that help you weed out the bad salespeople and replace them with good salespeople. The folks against commission talk about the lack of team morale, backstabbing, unhelpful attitudes, etc that follow with such individual rewards systems.

Me? I'm more in the latter group. My goal is to satisfy each and every customer. That often takes teamwork. That often takes a number of employees all working together for the same goal - the customer.

When inidividual rewards are the incentive, you get individuality. When team goals are the incentive, you get teamwork. Will there be team members not pulling their weight? Of course. But the team finds ways to either pull the weak links up or push them out.

Leadership is essential in team goals but not necessarily in individual goals. I think that is why leaders are often voted out early in those "unreality shows".

[Mike Rogers]

Thanks Phil. And I think that in your industry (toys and retail) it is even more critical to focus on team goals. If we are all working together, you are more likely to help me with a customer if you see them as a team customer, not just yours.

I have seen this in the insurance industry with producers and even with customer service reps that are assigned to a team with a producer. The attitude becomes, why should I help you with your account, it won't benefit me. Or, why would I share my secrets to success with you, there is no benefit to me.

And this happens even though we know the power of teamwork. And a big part of that is trust. Most people, if they can scratch a back, but don't feel they will get scratched back, won't scratch at all. That's why team focused goals and rewards are so important.