When members were recruited for the improvement project, they were told that whi

Question

When members were recruited for the improvement project, they were told that while the team's work would be in addition to their regular work responsibilities, they had to treat team activities as a high priority. They were expected to complete team assignments on time and were required to attend meetings. Despite being aware of these clear expectations, by the third week of the project, team members started arriving late to meetings, making excuses for not having completed their assigned tasks, and neglecting to return the leader's phone calls. What is the relationship between team motivation and quality improvement? If you were the team leader, how would you refocus and motivate the team toward achieving the performance improvement goal? Of the ground rules listed in Critical Concept 7.1 in your text, which three do you think are most important for a team to adopt? Why?

Explanation / Answer

A higher level of team motivation creates higher level of engagement by the team and its members, higher level of commitment and higher productivity as a team. It leads to the improvement in quality. So, there is a positive relationship between employee motivation and quality improvement. As a team leader, I will take following initiatives to bring back the focus towards the performance improvement goals:

A. Identify any gap between the job responsibilities and the skills of the team members and provide the training to bridge the gap so that employees can eliminate the anxiety at work and relax enough to deliver the desired performance.

B. Setting up a performance based reward system and linking it with their different needs. It will create motivation among the team members and drive them towards the performance improvement goals.

C. Counselling of the team members in a group or one to one basis so that their fear and concerns are addressed.

It is very important to have a synergy in the team without any specific dominance by any one in the team to make them work upon the performance improvement goals. Besides, bringing motivation by monetary and non-monetary program is also very useful to help them achieve the goals.

The three important rules are as follows:

1. Follow the commitment towards the assignment and complete it. A team and its members should show the commitment towards the goals to be achieved via completions of the assignment. It should create the motivation in the team.

2. Contribution is important, but without the domination. Everybody should contribute with the best of ideas and work. But, nobody should inhibit anybody in sharing the ideas and doing the work. Promotion of the originality of ideas, is the key.

3. Criticize Ideas, rather people. Idea should be discussed for its pros and cons without disrespecting anyone. It keeps the moral high and motivation intact for the assignment.

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