Creating Incentives For Teamwork

 

Situation: You need your team to come together quickly.

We often say that knowing the right questions to ask can be even more important than "knowing" what to do. For that reason, in Project Headway, each task level activity includes a section called "Questions that you ask of yourself and others". The section below lists out the questions we currently include in Creating Incentives for Teamwork.  What would you add or remove from this list?

Questions to Ask of Yourself and Others

To better understand how to create incentives for teamwork, consider asking yourself the following questions:

• How are you encouraging teamwork on the project?

• Are your team members working well together?

• Where are their areas of conflict?

• Do you understand what needs to be in place to promote teamwork on this team? 

Consider asking your HR person, trusted colleague, or the team member the same questions.

Task Description

Build a team; develop teamwork. Encourage individual participants to work with others as a team, giving the team the authority to act within their level of responsibility. Facilitate communication between individuals and foster an attitude of cooperation. Ensure that team members have a clear understanding of their own tasks, the tasks assigned to other team members, and the relationships between the two. Let the team balance individual empowerment and group collaboration. Allow individuals to control their own style of work, while encouraging team members to develop methods of coordination.

Consider team assignments carefully. Weigh individual strengths and weaknesses carefully in making team assignments. Vary the roles played by each individual and the groups of individuals who work together as a team on project tasks. Reward effective teamwork.

Tips and Tricks

Obviously, you want to encourage people to work more as a team. Consider the following:

• Understand incentives. Before you go and offer incentives, be sure that people actually see it as an incentive. Offering the team tickets to an upcoming soccer game may appeal to some people, but not everyone. Find out from the team what they appreciate and value as incentives and means of recognition.
• Vary partners. There may be opportunities to have people work together as partners or in smaller groups. Vary the groups on a periodic basis to given people the opportunity to work closely with others on the team.
• Caution: Don’t change things too often. Change for the sake of change is not always a good thing. If things are working really well, consider staying in a holding pattern for a while longer.