Motivation Through Competition A 5-minute Guide for Preventing DFA Team Burnout

Why Competition? Good teams do more as a collective whole than they do individually https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DI4zp7yeuMU Projects that do not have continuous progress lead to burnouts The lack of accountability leads to a diffusion of responsibly, competition fixes these issues Competition is a PROVEN method for increasing motivation among team members (see references) Competition is fun and can promote team bonding

Competition as a Leadership Asset According to the Gallup’s Tom Rath, years of research has led to the conclusion that Competition is a leadership asset (or talent) Leaders who are competitive by nature measure their progress against others and work to be first among many. This helps them build trust, show compassion, provide stability for the team, and create hope for a better future end result A Team Lead who is competitive with other DFA teams can help the leader’s team members work more productively Team Members who compete against one another in friendly competition make use of this leadership asset at the TM level

A Cautionary Word The Harvard Business Review’s top 10 leadership book on leadership warns against unfriendly competition: it is only effective when there are not threats and Team Members are interested Ideally, competition will direct more work toward the goals of the team as well as the individuals previously discussed in the Team Charter Competition may make workers more individually focused rather than group-focused in the long-run Competition, when unhealthy, can make Team Members stressed and unhappy

5 Minute Activities: A Fun Break We have been talking about Long-Term Competition. However, these short competitive activities can rejuvenate a team that is “burning out” Friendly Competition Ideas Break the team into groups of two: have the first team build marshmellow tower with toothpicks and marshmallows. The second team starts half a minute later. The first team works for 2 minutes, while the second team takes 1.5 minutes This also teaches time management Break the team into 2: have each team build a catch and equipment to drop an egg without breaking it This also teaches cooperation because one cannot do this alone

Long Term Competition Give team members incentives for completing their own work better: The team member who comes with the most creative solution to a problem given at the end of the previous meeting receives a reward Give Team members incentives to address problems with the current way of doing things The team member who gives the best assessment of what’s currently going on and can think of better ideas receives recognition or a reward at the beginning of the next meeting Give Team members incentives for helping one another out: Any team member who works on a problem that does not fall on one’s individual responsibility is rewarded for the next meeting

How to Set Long Term Goals Go in a circle around table and ask for each members individual goals, what they want out of the experience (some may say skills or resume boost, while others may be genuinely most interested in doing good work in DFA) Restate the team goals stated in the Team Charter Come together to form goals for each week that combines both individual goals as well as the team goals Examples include: have team members with certain skills teach them to other team members, Come together for a reward and punishment system The Team Lead or an assigned individual is responsible for presenting the reward or punishment at the beginning of each team meeting

Resources Used Beersma, B., Hollenbeck, J. R., Humphrey, S. E., Moon, H., Conlon, D. E., & Ilgen, D. R. (2003). Cooperation, Competition, and Team Performance: Toward a Contingency Approach. Academy Of Management Journal,46(5), 572-590. doi:10.2307/30040650 Tauer, J. M., & Harackiewicz, J. M. (2004). The Effects of Cooperation and Competition on Intrinsic Motivation and Performance. Journal Of Personality And Social Psychology, 86(6), 849-861. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.86.6.849 Hbr's 10 Must Reads on Leadership. Boston: Harvard Business Review Press, 2011. Print. Rath, Tom, and Barry Conchie. Strengths Based Leadership: Great Leaders, Teams, and Why People Follow. New York: Gallup Press, 2008. Print.