MANY companies value team work on the road to innovation but often nothing valuable happens when top management rely on redundant, semi-autocratic concepts to motivate teams or employees to change their behaviour to move from “survival mode to breakthrough performance“.

Jon Katzenbach, co-author of the Wisdom of Teams, explains in an interview how to effectively use the formal and informal elements in an organisation to use teams for the successful turnaround of a company (see www.ideaconnection.com  for the full interview of Katzenbach by Graham Duncan).

The article is about teams but the philosophy can apply holistically from the CEO to the clerk as companies need to redefine themselves in recessionary times.

Most companies rely on formal dimensions such as money, promotion and retention while leaving informal dynamics to chance which include value, culture, emotional energy and collaboration. The new paradigm is to integrate and find a balance between both.

It has been a given since the industrial revolution that employees are paid a salary for rational compliance but to motivate the energy of a team beyond that norm requires more than just throwing more money at them.

According to Katzenbach,  the “master motivators” in any organisation concentrate on connecting employees emotionally to their jobs so they feel good about the work they do no matter how routine or difficult it is.

The next step is pride, which is a more powerful motivating force for change in behaviour than money or promotion. 

Shifting leadership

When employees are self motivated, leadership takes on a more democratic role.

The leader in a team is less important than a clear, compelling performance challenge that results in trust and mutual accountability. The leader’s most important role is to ensure common commitment and balanced integration of members’ skills.

In a real team, the leadership role shifts among members according to whose skills and experience are most relevant to fit a particular task. The designated leader ensures the leadership role shifts when needed but this is built on the foundation of mutual accountability and self-discipline to ensure a project succeeds.

For a closer look at the book, click here.