Thoughts from The 100: Motivating Team Members

The-100-Title-OnlyRegular readers know I believe in putting people first. When people work in teams, individuals need to know what matters from an organizational perspective. As we often say at Intertech, “There is no ‘I’ in team!”

As a manager, you have a special responsibility to lead and help your team members grow – as individuals and as team members. This next series of posts will share my thoughts on this important topic, as originally noted in my new book, “The 100: Building Blocks for Business Leadership.”

Engagement, which I covered in earlier posts, bears another mention in this series on leading and managing teams. Why? Keeping people motivated goes a long way toward building effective teams and reducing attrition.

New research by Gallup suggests that a vast majority of people are not motivated at work. Another survey, recently released by the Associated Press, found that more than 70 percent of workers are opting for early retirement even though it means receiving lower Social Security benefits. This suggests to me a lack of engagement.

So how can you keep your people motivated?

Don’t be afraid to push employees beyond their professional comfort zones (although give new employees a few months to adjust before you ask them to “up their game!”). Motivated employees want to build their skills by working with high-profile companies on challenging assignments. We help to make that happen by building in a specific learning goal into each employee’s performance plan at the beginning of each year and even occasionally turning down client projects that might bore our people to tears. Less experienced employees are encouraged to work on internal projects that help our firm, while helping them learn new skills (but not on our clients’ dime).

Of course, challenging work that engages employee strengths is key to helping folks stay motivated. Sadly, a whopping 80 percent of U.S. workers say they do not use their strengths every day (Gallup 2013). Savvy managers make an effort to match the needs of their clients with the needs of employees to stay challenged. It also helps to let people know how they rate compared to others and how they fit within the overall organization. Mostly, though, employees need to know that the work they are doing is important–that it matters—as an individual and as a team.

Much of what I’ve been talking about describes a perfect world: engaged, motivated employees happily learning new skills while doing top-notch work for customers. Yet, even though I dread admitting it, the world in which we live and work is rarely perfect. Sometimes our long-time clients need our help with work that is, frankly, boring. To make matters worse, that work can be repetitive with significant time pressure, with no end in sight. While this may sound like a work nightmare, there are things leaders can do to help employees get through the challenge while avoiding burnout. Believe me, it’s in your interest to do so – otherwise you risk losing your best people to other employers. Here’s what we do to help employees deal with mind-numbing assignments:

  • Verbally recognize the nature of the task and express our gratitude
  • Offer more interesting additional assignments or a training opportunity
  • Put a time cap on the dreary assignment (most people can endure almost anything if they know when it will end)

Intertech Announces 2016 STEM Scholarship Recipient

STEM-Logo-300x178For the past two years, Intertech Foundation has provided a $2,500 scholarship to an exceptional college-bound young woman planning to study computer science. Last year we awarded the Intertech Foundation STEM scholarship to an impressive high school senior named Annina Hanlon.

Annina, now a student at Stanford, has successfully battled cancer and channeled her personal health challenge into an innovative iPhone app to help raise funds for pediatric cancer research. Her career goal is to (continue to!) combine science and technology in ways that help humanity.

This year, the Intertech Foundation STEM scholarship has been awarded to Alexina Boudreaux-Allen, another outstanding student with innovative dreams involving technology and the arts. Read on to learn how Alexina plans to use technology to make a difference in the world:

  1. Why computer science?

I am interested in computer science because I enjoy coding and think that learning to code will provide me with a way to share ideas with a global community.

  1. How did you first get interested in coding?

In high school I enrolled in AP Computer Science during my senior year. I thought it sounded like an interesting class (although) I had no prior experience with the subject. This class ended up being the most enjoyable class I took in high school.  So I decided to pursue my newfound passion for computer science in college.

  1. Why do you want to attend USC?

I selected the University of Southern California because it provides me with the unique opportunity to pursue both technology and the arts. Through the engineering school I take computer science classes for my major, through the music school I can take computer recording and editing classes, and through the film school I can take 3D animation classes. I think it is important to integrate technology and art, and the best place for me to do that is USC.

  1. What is the USC Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT)?

The USC Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT) is an academic research institute that collaborates film and game artists with computer and social scientists to find ways to digitally improve mental help therapy, military preparation, and other services. I want to intern at ICT because it would provide me with a great way to explore a meaningful real-life integration of art and computer science.

  1. Can you give an example of how you might combine computer science and art?

One example I have in mind is a virtual reality program for musicians where they can work on getting over stage fright. In this program, the user would put on VR goggles and play an instrument and be able to play in front of a “real” (virtual) audience. This could also be used as a fun program rather than just a therapeutic one, and it possibly could incent kids to learn to play real instruments rather than video game versions, such as Rock Band. Hopefully after studying music and computer science at USC, I will be able to integrate these two fields in a way that can positively impact the community around me.

  1. How useful will the Intertech Foundation scholarship be in funding your studies?

Although I wouldn’t want to go anywhere else for college, the University of Southern California is very expensive. The Intertech Foundation scholarship puts me one step closer towards graduating loan-free, and I am very grateful to be receiving the award.

  1. How do you feel about entering a male-dominated field?

Computer science is a male-dominated field, and often times, as a woman, I find myself receiving help that I do not want and never asked for. In order to really learn something, it is important to make mistakes. So, when coding, don’t be afraid to mess up and do something wrong.  Be confident in your abilities and take some time to try solve your mistakes on your own!

Congratulations Alexina. We look forward to hearing great things from you in the future!