Human nature is a complicated thing. Our actions are often controlled by impulses and motivations that are, simultaneously, simpler than we admit to and not as obvious as we like to think. As an entrepreneur as well as a team leader, it has been an important element in my life to look closely at what drives me, as well as the individuals who are my colleagues. In my experience, I have found that while external structures are an easy means to harness our efforts, it is our internal motivations that tend to be the most effective means to generate our actions. Ultimately, our human nature prevails, when it comes to creating effective teams and reaching our goals. In this context, one of the most important elements is how we perceive our actions as being appreciated and recognized.
There tend to be two distinct camps, when it comes to what is perceived as effective recognition. There are those among us who feel that some kind of financial or other material reward is the most effective way to recognize the contributions of individuals within a team. The other point of view stresses recognition itself as a more effective method of celebrating individual effort and keeping team members motivated. I find both these approaches simplistic and incomplete. To my mind, it can never be just one of those two outcomes that create the desired satisfaction within a striving individual. I have found that, in isolation neither material reward nor recognition through a public acknowledgement, feel complete. Human beings are social creatures; hence the desire to be recognized for our contribution to a collective task, by our peers, is somewhat obvious. However, mere acknowledgement can also feel hollow if our hard work does not translate into a tangible reward. In my opinion, teams that stay motivated and able to earn the loyalty of their members, find a way to balance both outcomes.
It is often said that sports are interesting to such a large percentage of the population because they have parallels to great human endeavours and accomplishments. When it comes to the dynamics of a team, this is especially true. Successful sports teams often have very clear cut and well defined roles for individual members. Naturally, certain roles attract more attention, even adulation. For instance, an attacking forward in football gets all the glory of scoring goals but any fan who understands the game would agree about the highly critical role played by defenders and the goalkeeper. A particularly high scoring batsman in cricket often becomes the focal point of a game – most often earning the player of the match tag – but those that understand the game appreciate the margins that have been gained by great fielding and smart bowling. My purpose in highlighting these two sporting examples is that while certain moments in a game capture the headlines and are a point of particular excitement, the results are often based on the cumulative striving of the entire team over many moments and instances. Given this context, it is interesting to note that individuals from successful teams constantly acknowledge each
other and their team culture. After all, the team celebrations that follow are often far more memorable and animated than the goal itself, in the course of a football game. This is not a coincidence. When each individual in a team owns the success of every other, a legacy of positive outcomes is created that can drive the entire collective for years.
At the same time, tangible benefit is also an equally natural human expectation. During the course of my entrepreneurial career, I have found it to be a universally effective motivation. This is hardly surprising. After all, if we look deep enough into every collective effort, its primary motivation is either to create or preserve a more desirable material state. It is not enough to expect that human beings will be satisfied by recognition alone. To an extent, our principles and morals are satisfied by the acknowledgement of our peers. However, it is also natural to measure our success through the accumulation of greater wealth, comfort or possessions. Particularly, if a collective effort has produced the desired result, individuals who have been part of the team have the expectation to share in the rewards produced.
Whether we consider ourselves as an individual, or the collective teams that we are a part of, idealism and practicality are both desirable. By being practical alone, we can perhaps secure a basic life, but much of the magic of being alive would be lost to us. Likewise, if we lean too far into being led by idealism, without securing the practical aspects of our lives, our efforts fail. This constant balance between acknowledging the world as it is but also embracing our power to create new circumstances based on our aspirations, is an important aspect of feeling fulfilled. Reward and recognition are mutually complimentary aspects that satisfy our need to have something to show for our efforts. One addresses our need to have created or consolidated a better material outcome, and the other, our need to be appreciated for our commitment to the process and hard work that created those outcomes. In order for us to continue to invest our dreams, creativity and toil in a cause or an endeavour, ultimately both these aspects of our human nature need to be satisfied and celebrated.
