Managing long term projects is difficult. Expectations, circumstances, resources, and priorities change constantly. Often there are so many variables outside of your control. It’s easy to get distracted and lose interest.
I have recently led two separate projects that spanned longer than 6 months. Each presented it’s own unique set of challenges and setbacks. But a common struggle I’ve faced is maintaining motivation. Each project experienced periods when my team and I lost our motivation and wasted valuable time trying to find our way again.
Motivation is a key ingredient to the success of long term projects. You can have the best ideas, and the most talented individuals working on a project, but you may still come up short if you don’t maintain motivation through the life of the project.
Motivation is a catalyst for creative problem solving. It’s the driving force that gets us to go the extra mile. Without motivation on a long term project, we’re prone to be distracted by the whims and temptations of other activities.
So how do we motivate our team? There are many ways of course, but perhaps none simpler than finding opportunities to build momentum.
Momentum fuels motivation.
Rework
Success breeds a desire for more success. We are encouraged to keep playing after a win. It feels good. Momentum is a powerful force, both in nature and in human psychology. We must leverage momentum whenever possible and put ourselves, and our teams, in a position to build off prior success.
But let’s take it back one step further. How do we build momentum in the first place? What happens when we’ve been plagued by weeks of setbacks and we have neither motivation nor momentum?
If momentum fuels motivation, then quick wins are the kindling used to spark momentum.
Seeking quick wins isn’t a novel concept. It’s in our human nature to start out easy and then move on to more difficult tasks. It’s why a basketball player begins his warmup routine with layups before moving beyond the arc. You instinctively want to see the ball go through the hoop a few times to build the confidence to practice your baseline jumper.
While managing long term projects, I’ve often made the mistake of neglecting the value of quick wins in building team momentum. There have been months when I set my team on a path to accomplish something too large and too difficult to guarantee success. Circumstances and priorities inevitably changed in time, and it left my team discouraged and zapped of all momentum.
A better approach I’ve learned is to focus on accomplishing quick wins. Long term projects must be broken down into small, digestible pieces. Start with your goals for the quarter, and then break it down into monthly priorities, and then weekly tasks.
Outside variables are much less likely to change on any given week. Chances of success are high and each quick win builds upon the week prior. Pretty soon, a long and difficult project begins to feel more manageable.
Keep your focus on quick wins. Commit to smaller time frames. One small win at a time will keep your momentum going and help your team accomplish much more in the long term.
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