Work hard, play hard – leading a team who enjoy their work
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You might be tempted to aim to keep your team 100% focused on the task at hand – especially when the workload keeps growing. But in reality, the key to a high morale, high performing team is to find a balance between working hard and having fun.
If you can create an environment where people enjoy themselves, their engagement will often lead to greater productivity. Recognising that your team are motivated by fun, and doing something about it, will also mean that you attract other people that want to work hard and enjoy themselves at the same time.
So, how can you make this happen?
- Create an environment where fun can happen. It’s partly about you – are you positive, enthusiastic and willing to join in with a joke and a laugh? People will take their lead from how you behave. Don’t force people to join in, but create a fun environment for them to opt into. People love a boss who can be a bit wicked or make a joke at their own expense!
- Create a sense of progress. Some people switch off when faced by too much ambiguity or a lack of clarity about a task. Knowing what we are doing, working towards it, and being praised for getting it done can create a real buzz. Create a very clear idea of the week’s goals, and make a big deal when these are ticked off! Creating strong work teams where people are delivering with each other’s help is very motivating.
- Create diversions. Not everyone finds their fun in work successes – for some it’s more about enjoying relationships, or showing the whole of themselves by sharing the things that they find fun at home. Encourage the occasional diversions. Finding ways to encourage people to bring their life into work can sometimes be the answer. PLEASE NOTE – this doesn’t mean you can bore them with your own “interesting stories”!
- Be different. Identify what is different or unique about your team. Rarely do two teams have fun in the same way, because they’re a different mix of people. What do your team enjoy doing – how can you help them to do more of it? Whether it’s holding team meetings in the local park, going for after work drinks, or holding your meetings whilst walking outside – find the thing that works for them.
- Encourage downtime. Focusing on work all of the time, including lunch time, results in energy being expended too quickly and makes work far harder. Encouraging people to take breaks and – even better – to get fresh air, is really helpful. Some offices let off steam by ordering in pizza, holding bake-off days, or finishing the day with a beer or glass of Prosecco and having a chance to kick back and talk. One office I worked at even had a Slamman for working off frustration!
- Celebrate a lot. Whether it’s successes, birthdays, achievements, or anything else – make a real fuss of the things that people are proud of. Get your team feeling like winners!
Pick something that you would never normally do and try it – then see how your team react.