Introduction

One function that a leader of a team must perform is holding the team together. A leader is responsible for:

• ensuring project goals are met
• ensuring a full team effort
• keeping the team happy

Motivation

The key to holding the team together is motivation. To motivate is to:

In simple terms, motivation can be considered as the amount of effort an individual is willing to put into their work. Therefore, it is important to ensure that any team is highly motivated towards their work. A lack of motivation in any member of a team can have a negative affect, reducing the group's effectiveness and possibly leading to the demotivation of others. Given the fact that different people are motivated in different ways, the problem facing someone in the role of leader is to create an environment in which each individual fulfils their potential.

It is important to highlight the major influences in the motivation of people. According to the influential motivator-hygiene theory, motivation occurs when people have job satisfaction. Job satisfaction can be improved by increasing opportunities for:

• Achievement
• Recognition
• Responsibility
• Career advancement

While not increasing job satisfaction, improvements in the following areas can lessen job dissatisfaction:

• Supervision
• Salary
• Working conditions

6 Steps to Motivation

The following steps can be taken to help achieve and maintain group motivation:

• Provide opportunities for group members to become acquainted.
• Indicate the importance/value of the group.
• Make people feel they are important.
• Clarify goals.
• Identify progress.
• Acknowledge achievements.

Disputes

Inevitably, disputes ranging from minor differences in opinion, to fundamental differences in ideology, will arise. The role of the team leader is to handle such disagreements constructively, ensuring that the team remains focused on achieving its goal. The leader must encourage team members to stand back from any disagreements and look at things objectively. By doing this, any differences between group members will be resolved and possible conflicts avoided.

Conclusion

The most important point for a team leader to remember is that each individual needs to think that they are working with the best people - to feel proud to be part of the team. By getting people into this state of mind a leader will instill a high level of group morale; people will work harder and achieve more.

References

1 Pocket Oxford Dictionary. Oxford University Press.

Bibliography

MOLANDER, C. (1989) Human Resource Management. Chartwell-Bratt.

BLAIR, G. "Accelerators for Team Development", Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Edinburgh

WARRINGTON, S. "What is a Project Manager ?", Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Edinburgh

GIBSON, N. WHITTAKER, J. (1996) Rules of Thumb, Journal of Management in Engineering.

Most recent revision 7 Feb 1997