Dr. Barton's "Creating Superior Performance" Method

Does the thought that the most effective methodology for motivation would come from your team members themselves ever cross your mind? Of course it does. Would you like a unique, sure-fire method for team members to self-motivate and to give superior levels of performance? Of course you would.

Management benefits from self-motivated team members because people who have chosen to do superior work on their own usually get the job done. Self-instilled goals are more powerful because the individuals who created them have the psychological need to succeed and the personal desire to achieve a higher level of performance.

Self-directed goals work best because there is a much higher level of ownership on the part of the team member. If your company can utilize this psychic advantage, everyone will benefit from this relationship - it's a win-win for all concerned.

What happens when your company goals and individual team member goals are aligned is that a synergy takes place and a bond is created. Everyone who wants to succeed also wants to be part of something greater than they are. In other words, they want to have a positive effect on the world. So inspiring your team members to create their own goals instills a drive in them that cannot be duplicated.

This is perhaps the most intense form of motivation available, and it can't be produced artificially. Allowing the team members to create their own job descriptions and then encouraging them to define exactly what it takes to do a superior job gives them the ultimate authority in creating their own destiny. A note of care here, if the team leader and the team members are not in alignment, psychically, they will work against each other rather than for each other. So make sure that everyone involved is on the same page.

There are three questions that need to be asked of a team member for them to "buy in" to doing a superior job. I think it's best to do this exercise in writing for two reasons; first writing requires you to slow down your thinking process and refine your thoughts. Second, you then have a document that can be used to refer back to if necessary and it also holds the author accountable.

Each question needs to be on a separate piece of paper and answered in order, one at a time. The person answering the questions will see the progression and it will open their eyes as to what is expected of them because they will have created those "superior standards."

The three questions, which need to be asked in this order to create the necessary psychological effect, are:
What is (your view of) your job description?
What are the basic requirements of doing your job?
What is required to do a superior job?

Knowing that the team members you have brought on board want to succeed beyond your (and their) expectations needs to be an important part of your hiring process. One of the questions I always ask prospective team members is how they want to be evaluated, either as an individual or as part of the team. If they choose an individual evaluation it makes me aware of two possibilities, either they do not have confidence in the other team members (or perhaps management) or that they are not team players.

In order to have what it takes to empower your team to create superior standards of performance, you have to know what you are going to do with this level of commitment and how you are going to recognize and reward it. Talk with your board of advisors, others in management and your executive coaches to create appropriate recognition techniques. This also may be a good time to revise your five-year plan because with this technique in place, your team may hit that mark long before you thought they would.