Set your team up for success (week 7 – 8)

What you can control and connectedness

What to do

It would be nice if the team just naturally connected with one another, and if everyone naturally focused on what you can control. In reality these are likely to be things that everyone needs to work on together. In these next two weeks you’re going to focus on some aspects of collective motivation.

Why do it

What you’re collectively aiming to do is not easy. So focusing on collective motivation is going to be important. This part of the plan will:

• Help everyone to focus on the things that you can collectively control
• Help everyone to feel like they are a part of something
• Help everyone know and understand their contribution to the greater good

How to do it

There are 3 steps to take with this. Read these through, look at the example and then create your own plan.

1. Keeping the momentum going

By now everyone should be clear on why you collectively exist (your purpose), what will tell you you’re on track and how you need to think and act. These are your why, what and how. In this part you’re going to share some more TPR content with everyone and help them to see how they can each add to the team sense of control and sense of connectedness and belonging.

2. Getting yourself ready

There are two tools for to send out to invite people to complete. This one about a sense of control https://www.theperformanceroom.co.uk/staying-in-control-of-what-matters/ and this one about a sense of connectedness https://www.theperformanceroom.co.uk/being-the-strong-link-in-the-chain/. You can familiarise yourself with these topics by reading the short guides that accompany them https://www.theperformanceroom.co.uk/a-matter-of-choice/ and https://www.theperformanceroom.co.uk/youve-got-to-get-yourself-connected/

3. Roles, responsibilities and action

Once again you’re probably going to want to get everyone together to discuss the impact of using the tools. It’s going to be worth talking about everyone having a role to play in contributing towards the collective motivation – and being sure of everyone’s acceptance of that role. Then you can do some collective planning about dos and don’ts.

1. The focus on collective motivation

Building on the work so far, you’re going to talk to everyone about collective motivation. In particular about the benefits of staying connected and focusing on what you can all control.

You don’t need to be an expert. You do need to take action to introduce these simple principles encourage everyone to want to do their bit.

2. Key messages to get across

1. Motivation goes up and down. There will have been times when each person has been highly motivated and very demotivated
2. You’re going to collectively focus on two elements of motivation – the sense of connectedness and collective sense of control
3. You’re aiming to come up with some simple actions that everyone can take to help with collective motivation

3. Communicating with the team

• Explain the key messages above to everyone
• Fix a date and time when you can all meet (preferably) and talk
• Ask everyone to complete the two tools referred to above – one on connectedness and one on sense of control
• When you’re together ask people what they took from completing the tools?
• Have a discussion on what individual and collective mindsets and actions you all want to take to increase the team sense of connectedness and control. These needn’t take much time or budget!
• Make these part of your team performance plan – then review and course correct as required

Coaching tips

You might want to consider the minimum you want to achieve in this part of your plan for setting the team up for success. And also what your ideal impact of the collective planning session might be. As an absolute minimum you might want everyone to agree to do at least one thing towards building team connectedness and/or sense of control.

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