My principle of the least-invested coworker states:

Any, and every, team will perform to the level of its least-invested member

As dire as that prediction sounds, it’s true and straight-forward — and that makes finding a remedy for getting a team back on track straight-forward. Only a leader in denial will ignore team member motivation when assessing his or her team’s potential to perform highly.

Why is this prediction true? It’s true because teammates who are less interested in the collective project (regardless of technical skill set) show their lack of motivation through their level of engagement and effort.

When other — more invested — team members observe this, they grow increasingly resentful. Why? Because the project responsibility is shared, which means individual efforts are interdependent and the rewards are shared. Everyone can recognize a free-loader in their team, and no one enjoys or looks forward to picking up the slack for them.

Instead, teammates subconsciously reduce their expectations — and thus their motivations — until they match the level of investment of the least-motivated coworker. You could think of it as a form of subconscious self-organized justice. For higher performers, this means they will shift their motivations to some other aspect of their work or life until they can get off of this project and move on to a project with more highly-invested partners.

So what’s the smart leader or teammate to do?

1. Let go of the idea that people should be motivated by a paycheck or company or team loyalty. See things as they are instead of the illusion you would like them to be.
2. Attend to issues of buy-in, commitment, interest, and motivation early and often. Learn to ask, “what is in it for you to work together with the rest of us on this project?” and pay attention to the responses. Play them back for understanding and clarification. Talk about interests as a team and acknowledge that “win/win” isn’t just a slogan, it actually means meeting everyone’s interests.
3. Learn about and use the potency of intrinsic (i.e., internal) motivation to your advantage. External motivators like compensation, benefits, and rewards may get people to show up and occupy space, but they don’t drive personal investment. Also, since peer team leaders don’t have much say over extrinsic motivators (like salary and bonuses), they assume there is nothing they can do about managing peer motivation. Not true! Remember, high performance is voluntary. And that’s an issue of intrinsic motivation — motivation that is defined inside.
4. Develop your proficiency at collaborative and participative communication practices. When team members have a legitimate say in what’s happening, their commitment tends to increase. When people are excluded, their commitment level goes down.

Technical skill sets are critically important for successful work, but team member motivation is the long lever of team dynamics. Empowering employees or team members will be rewarded with workers who are stepping up their performance.

Christopher Avery helps leaders worldwide to operate their business — and lives — far more productively and successfully. Find additional resources to master leadership and build responsible teams at ChristopherAvery.com and The Leadership Gift.

Agile Day 2010

When: September 15, 2010

Where: NYC, NY, USA

Organized by the NYC APLN, Agile Day 2010 will be an intimate conference of just 100 people in an exciting venue at Times Square. I’ll offer the opening keynote: Are We as Agile as We Think? Get your ticket ASAP. Website for more information.

Agile Boston Open 2010

When: September 16, 2010

Where: Boston, MA, USA

Organized by Agile Boston, Agile Boston Open 2010 features a number of amazing speakers and Open Space conveners (which is what I’ll be doing there). I look forward to hanging with my agile friends in Boston. Register very soon. Website for more information.

Agile Business Conference 2010

When: October 5-6, 2010

Where: London, England

Organized by DSDM Consortium, the Agile Business Conference is always a premier event. I look forward to returning. I’ll be offering back-to-back sessions on Demonstrating Responsibility: the Mindset of An Agile Leader, and How to Develop Your Leadership Gift Daily: An Agile Approach to Growth. How exciting. Website for more information.

Focus on Elaine McNaughton

Interviewed by Christopher. Interview notes: a charter member of the Leadership Gift… Elaine is an unabashed child of God (comment: the Leadership Gift supports people of faith and science). Elaine offers an example to other leaders who may be examining their own faith in relation to the Leadership Gift… a project manager at American Airlines, Elaine has benefitted from many breakthroughs in her first 6 months in the Leadership Gift eprogram… “I’m able to recognize upset happening inside of me, and I’m able to recognize where I am in the Responsibility Process and get myself through the upset… and I can do that pretty quickly now.” Learn how Elaine is using and introducing the Leadership Gift with her teams, peers, and even superiors at work…

Click to listen or right-click to download the interview with Elaine MP3 (31 mins)

What is the Leadership Gift?

The Leadership Gift unlocks your innate leadership ability by helping you master, step-by-step, your mind’s Responsibility Process — your internal regulator for completely owning your life and generating ever more freedom, power, and choice, versus settling for less.

Get This Month’s Interview

Join the Leadership Gift now as a Free, Silver, or Gold Member to get access to my December 2009 interview with Dayan Douse, Audit Manager at DTE Energy as soon as it is posted. Here’s how…

Leadership Gift Links

Join the Leadership Gift eProgram and community as a Free, Silver, or Gold member

Order your Leadership Gift Toolkit to bring the Leadership Gift to your team and organization

Check out the next Leadership Gift free preview.

Develop Your Leadership Gift at Leon Valley Chamber of Commerce December Meeting

What does it say?

Here’s the content of the release:

Develop Your Leadership Gift at Leon Valley Chamber of Commerce December Meeting

International business adviser and author Christopher Avery, Ph.D. (http://www.ChristopherAvery.com) has agreed to speak at a special meeting of the Leon Valley Area Chamber of Commerce. Dr. Avery’s keynote titled “The Leadership Gift” will be featured at the December 16, 2009 meeting at Texian’s Cocina & Cantina, 6430 Bandera RD, San Antonio, TX.

San Antonio, TX (PRWEB) December 10, 2009 — International business adviser and author Christopher Avery, Ph.D. (http://www.ChristopherAvery.com) has agreed to speak at a special meeting of the Leon Valley Area Chamber of Commerce. Dr. Avery’s keynote titled “The Leadership Gift” will be featured at the December 16, 2009 meeting at Texian’s Cocina & Cantina, 6430 Bandera RD, San Antonio, TX. Dr. Avery will share his research from 18 years on the front-lines of leadership about how anyone can unlock and unleash their innate leadership power. Audience members will gain valuable tools and insights they can immediately use to produce results.

Leaders worldwide study Avery’s research because it shows them how to consciously expand their leadership power and ability everyday so they can grow faster, overcome challenges, and achieve their potential while energizing their teams and organizations. “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to share this extraordinary information with leaders in Leon Valley, Texas” says Christopher, “These rich discoveries are changing how people live more fulfilling lives; how leaders lead; how teams get built; and how coaches and parents teach and inspire personal responsibility in their charges.” You can learn more about Dr. Avery at http://www.ChristopherAvery.com.

Every audience member will get a copy of Dr. Avery’s popular Responsibility Process™ poster, and some audience members will win valuable door prizes such as one of Christopher’s books, CD sets, or DVD workshops for their business. All will have an opportunity to join the worldwide Leadership Gift community of leaders being mentored by Christopher.

Chamber members and others who are interested can find more information at http://www.LeonValleyChamber.org or by calling 210-521-2007.

###

How to Unlock & Unleash The Leadership Gift in You

Date:  Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Time: 4pm GMT/UTC, Noon EST, 11AM CST, 10AM MST, 9AM PST

or

Midnight GMT/UTC, 8 EST, 7PM CST, 6PM MST, 5PM PST

Request your VIP invitation to attend this valuable webinar.

Who Should Attend

Leaders who

1. want to consciously grow and expand their leadership power and ability everyday, and
2. can appreciate a research-based approach to doing so that effectively leverages your most precious resources: your time, attention, and resources

Register now.

If you are wondering if you are a candidate for The Leadership Gift, think about this:

Are you doing something really important with your life?

Are you pursuing goals that matter?

Are you making a difference?

Do you wish there was a more humane, more productive way to live and work?Leadership gift

Would you like to be part of a community of bright and successful leaders and coaches who are mastering their ability to make a differece?

Register now.

Do you often feel trapped in a life you don’t want, and wish you knew the way to greater freedom?

Would you like to really take charge — not in a selfish and manipulative way, but in a way that honors your spirit and the spirits of those around you?

Check out The Leadership Gift preview call.

Focus on Curtis Verstraete

Interviewed by Christopher. Interview notes: one of the most giving and self-depracating people… I’m so pleased to call Curtis a friend, coach, teammate

and member of our community. Genius at helping service providers package and market their unique value (learn of his role in conceiving of The Leadership Gift e-program). Also hear how he freely gives qualified prospective clients up to 90 minutes of his coaching and doesn’t hold anything back (it’s worth many thousands of dollars). We talk about his initial response to the Responsibility Process, how he pratices responsibility in his life and work, how it’s like having an extra appendage or sense, and about his passion for motorcycles…

Download (right click) or Listen now (click) to Curtis’s interview MP3 (28 mins)

What is the Leadership Gift?

The Leadership Gift unlocks your innate leadership ability by helping you master, step-by-step, your mind’s Responsibility Process — your internal regulator for completely owning your life and generating ever more freedom, power, and choice, versus settling for less.

Get This Month’s Interview

Join the Leadership Gift now as a Free, Silver, or Gold Member to get immediate access to my November 2009 interview with Elaine McNaughton, Project Manager at American Airlines. Here’s how…

Leadership Gift Links

Join the Leadership Gift eProgram and community as a Free, Silver, or Gold member

Order your Leadership Gift Toolkit to bring the Leadership Gift to your team and organization

Check out the next Leadership Gift free preview call

Register now.

If you are wondering if you are a candidate for The Leadership Gift, think about this:

Are you doing something really important with your life?

Are you pursuing goals that matter?

Are you making a difference?

Do you wish there was a more humane, more productive way to live and work?

Would you like to be part of a community of bright and successful leaders and coaches who are mastering their ability to make a differece?

Register now.

Do you often feel trapped in a life you don’t want, and wish you knew the way to greater freedom?

Would you like to really take charge — not in a selfish and manipulative way, but in a way that honors your spirit and the spirits of those around you?

Check out The Leadership Gift preview call.

]]> http://www.christopheravery.com/blog/next-free-preview-call-scheduled-for-the-leadership-gift/feed/ 0 http://www.christopheravery.com/blog/leadership-gift-free-preview-call/ http://www.christopheravery.com/blog/leadership-gift-free-preview-call/#comments Tue, 29 Sep 2009 14:59:45 +0000 christopher http://www.christopheravery.com/blog/?p=454 Continue reading →]]> I’m prepping for The Leadership Gift free preview call tomorrow, Wednesday, September 30 (but if you are reading this later, there should be another one within a few weeks). This will interest what I call “enlightened” leaders—anyone in a leadership role of any kind who understands their consciousness is part of any problem they face, and who wants to be able to expand their consciousness daily as a way to grow as a leader.

There will be plenty of valuable content for you to soak up and chew on, and I’ll spend a few minutes telling you about The Leadership Gift Toolkit for those who are interested.