Fight Entropy Every Day

by Jeff Antos

“My whole team suddenly ran out of steam.”

One of our clients mentioned that his team’s productivity had dropped off, and was wondering how to remedy the situation. It’s not unusual for high performance teams to experience highs and lows, especially after achieving great successes. It is difficult to maintain peak performance. Even if your team is populated by self-motivated, high achievers, entropy will be a constant foe. I hope you will forgive me for using a thermodynamic term to describe team behavior, but Webster’s defines entropy as: a process of degradation or running down or a trend to disorder.

Even the best teams need to be motivated by their leaders. How do we keep our teams at peak performance? Use the following techniques to fight entropy every day:

Lead by Example:

Do you want your team to make its milestones? You’d better make yours. If you want meetings to start on time, you’d better be punctual.

Focus on Results:

Focus first on results, then on hours. If a team member is not achieving results, he or she may not be expending enough effort.

Get to Know Each Team Member:

Individuals are motivated by unique factors. You must understand what is important to each team member.

Explain Why:

Realize that your team members do not share your brain. What is important to you is not automatically important to them. Explain your priorities (e.g. why the next milestone is critical).

Ease Off:

It’s counterproductive to constantly push your team. A friend of mine, who is a world champion Lightening Class sailboat racer put it this way, “Accept the fact that you’re not going to win every race, but make sure you win the important ones.”

Praise and Critique:

If a team member has achieved a significant result, let him or her know about it; make sure that the individual is recognized. On the other hand, if performance has slipped, let the individual know you have noticed.

Have Fun:

Spend some quality time with your team at an off-site location. Hold a strategy meeting at a resort, or have a night out on the town.

Remember that as a leader, it is your job to fight entropy every day. Don’t let it win!

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