How to Recognise and Work With Highly Motivated Team Members?

Having talented and highly motivated team members is a beautiful thing and it can also be challenging at times. Here are some of my views on how to get the most out of the relationship.

In the vibrant offices of Acme Corp., an up and coming technology company, there was a section in which a group of young people were sitting. Among them was Willy, a fresh graduate who has joined Acme as part of their internship program.

Through the internship program, a group of 10 interns were able to work in several departments of the company and get to know how different teams work and cooperate. One person standing out during the whole internship was Willy, it seemed as though he could grasp the workings of different departments with ease. He was able to take on tasks that were more complex than others and finish them asking for minor guidance.

With the internship coming to an end, it was time to decide if the interns will stay in the company and which department would suit them and the company best. Keeping Willy was not a tough decision, but on the other hand, it was really tough for Willy to decide which department to join. Having a Masters degree in Computer Science, he was initially more inclined to go towards Engineering, but through the course of the internship he saw positive sides of some of other departments in Acme.

Finally, after careful consideration, Willy surprised even himself when he decided to join Consulting team, he found working closer with diverse clients would push him in direction of acquiring new skills and while working on diverse projects, he would need to follow the technology trends closely.

Willy joined a newly formed consultant team led by Ben that had 5 team members who were only a bit more senior than Willy, all of them had at least 1 year of experience in the Consultant role, but none of them had more than 2 years of working experience in total.

Within Ben’s team, Willy started getting tasks that probably all interns everywhere get. Small tasks that were a bit of a nuisance to other more senior team members. Given that Willy was still new to the team, he initially viewed them as tasks that will help him learn the ropes before tackling more complex ones. But, it turned out, this way of work persisted for some time, affecting Willy’s motivation and he started seeking other opportunities.

Is there something Ben could’ve done differently?

Highly motivated team members come in all shapes and sizes, they can be interns like Willy, but they might also be more experienced employees with a proven track record. They might be in the team for a longer period of time or new joiners. What is similar to all of them is that they require a slightly different approach from the team leader.

Good team leaders make sure that they have a regular cadence with each team member, depending on the company, the work done and the way of work, the cadence will differ from a weekly, bi-weekly or a monthly occurrence, but it should be set in the calendar and known to both team leader and team member.

These 1:1 meetings are used to discuss topics team members find relevant for them at the moment, maybe they need extra help with a project or a task or they would like to discuss their career. What is going to be different with highly motivated team members is that they will want to discuss types of tasks or projects they are working on, they will want to see how these tasks will help them expand their knowledge and elevate their career. They will ask if there are certain other aspects of work they might help you with other than already known tasks as prescribed by the role and responsibilities connected to it.

It’s team leader’s responsibility to find out what motivates each team member through conversations during those 1:1 meetings and then seeking opportunities through which they can connect the team member with a task that is connected to their desire.

In Ben and Willy’s case, it might be that there was an internal company or departmental initiative, Willy could have contributed to. Or Willy could have mentioned that he still wants to brush up on his technical skills given his degree in Computer Science and there might have been a client project on which there was a more technical task that needed to be handled.

The key to unlocking these insights is building a relationship with every team member. Setting up regular personal meetings devoted to individual employee, on which team members can voice out whatever is pressing them the most at that particular moment, working with them on building out their personal development plan and keeping them accountable while connecting them with opportunities to expand in the field they want, this is the part in which a team leader has opportunity to nurture them and help them grow.

How to have meaningful 1:1 meetings?

With the modern ways of work, it might be more challenging to meet in person these days, but if you have a chance, make sure that you meet with your team member face to face from time to time. Having Zoom or Teams calls is normal, but it sometimes drives you to immediately jump to the details in stead of easing your way into the conversation.

The initial part of the meeting is a chance to get to know the team member better, to find what their interests are and what motivates them. This lets you know them better and these are bits of information that will help you make better decisions in the future.

It is important to note that the “owner” of this meeting should be the team member. This person is the reason you have this meeting, you need to focus on their work, their workload and their career. This also means that they are also the ones that should co-drive the topics that you will cover in the meeting. Yes, there are things you will need to cover with the team member, e.g. you might need more information on a work item they are working on, but make sure that this only takes part of the time allocated.

Things to talk about regularly:

• How are you? Is there an important topic you want to cover today?
• Has something happened that you are really proud of since we last spoke?
• Do you have any blockers?
• Do you need assistance on a work item from someone? Is there something I might assist you with?
• What is your perspective of the situation within the team, anything worrisome?

Things to focus on from time to time should focus around team member’s personal development. It is good to have an Individual Development Plan established, a list of 2-3 items person will work in the upcoming period. To have a meaningful Development Plan, you should wait for the team member to finish onboarding and then discuss with them, what are the expectations from a person working in this role, how they view themselves around those expectations and providing them feedback on how you see them.

Making sure you have an established relationship and knowing what motivates and interests your team members will help you work with your team more easily and this approach will provide assurance to the highly motivated team members that you will support them in their career growth while also providing the same opportunity to grow to the team members that might not be so vocal around their career growth as others.