Episode #7: The Deadly Seven Are Killing Your Team

Getting the team motivated is hard enough without us screwing it up. Here are seven things we should eliminate:

1. Showing a lack of common courtesy

You are a super busy boss. Are you barking out commands like a tyrant, with no thought to say “please” when requesting action or adding a ”thank you” when it is completed? Do you come to work full of worries, with a cartoon rain cloud above your head - black and ominous? Is the pressure making your mood grim and subject to major fluctuations during the day. It is hard to feel motivated working for Grumpy, so just double check you are showing sufficient respect for the team.

2. Possess poor listening skills

How long do we usually keep trying to talk to people who don’t want to listen? Once! If that is you, then we keep our best thoughts, ideas, innovations and insights to ourselves, because we know we are wasting our breath. If you to notice that you are the source of all the ideas, that should be a warning signal.

3. Perpetrate the Soul Destroying 3Cs – criticizing, condemning and complaining

Many of us have seen demanding leaders explode with rage and disappointment, publically tongue lash the troops and speak ill of individuals to whoever happens to be around. This behavior guarantees fostering no risk taking, slow decision making and sycophants. Maybe you are not that toxic, but putting people down makes it difficult to lift the results, so study how to best deal with your people’s mistakes.

4. Promoting the black arts of cynicism and sarcasm

The clumsy sarcastic comments of the leader fillets team motivation. The cynicism of the corner office “prophet of doom” eventually kills all hopes for the future. Your team are certified experts in “boss watching”; they take their lead from you. Want positive outcomes – be positive in verbal and body language, as well as action!

5. Playing favourites

Childhood memories of the bitter taste of hopes and aspirations delayed or destroyed by favouritism, pop up in the work place whenever the boss is clearly favouring the few. You may be blissfully and innocently unaware you are even doing this. Remember, your job is to build people and manage processes. If you want to increase motivation, that means build all the people, not just your best buddies.

6. Using secrets as a power play

Everyone in the team likes to know what is going on, because we definitely don’t like surprises at work. Obviously keeping secrets, holding closed-door meetings and announcing sudden changes mangles the team commitment. Managers themselves are often greedy to access the information trickle dripping down from above, but are miserly in passing it on. How about you?

7. Lack of interaction

Every busy boss is balancing the tradeoff of their own concentrated personal production hours, with spending more time with the team. The question remains though, in a busy life, how do we build common understanding, share ideas, experiences and views? These activities require time. The introverted boss or the selfish “they died taking the hill but I got my promotion ” leader, fails to garner any real engagement. Don’t go that route - communicate, involve, share – these work wonders for team spirit.

Get your self-awareness mojo on full blast and check this is not you: Showing a lack of common courtesy, possess poor listening skills, perpetrate the Soul Destroying 3Cs – criticizing, condemning and complaining, promoting the black arts of cynicism and sarcasm, playing favourites, using secrets as a power play and lack of interaction.