Keeping Your Team Motivated
Dr. Jim,
As a leader with a reduced workforce due to layoffs, how do I keep my remaining team motivated and engaged to continue to be productive?
-Julie
Hello Julie,
This is a challenge. Assuming this is the first time that your team is working remotely, I would first meet with each team member for about 10 minutes and ask for ideas around what they think they can do to help stay motivated and what roadblocks or challenges they are having. Ask how you can help them.
Next, meet as a team to talk about their experiences so far with all the changes brought on due to Coronavirus. Things they've learned about themselves, things they were surprised about, and what they might be looking forward to in the future. Also, you as the leader should clearly communicate the ground rules, values, and the behaviors you are looking for during this remote time.
Finally, 2 or 3 times a week I would do what we at Vivo Team call a Direct Ongoing Swift Encounter (D.O.S.E.). Go around and have each team member state what they are currently working on, next any stuck points they are dealing with, and lastly get each person say a recent win, either personal or work related, big or small. This should take no longer than 10-12 minutes and everyone will get into the flow of doing that regularly. The main thing is to stay in touch. Don't bug people, connect with people.
- Dr. Jim
*names have been changed
