Whether you’ve been brought into an organization to manage a project or you’ve put together your own team for a client, a freelancer faces some unique problems with team motivation.
Your team might be scattered, working remotely, living in different time zones, even on different continents. Maybe they’ve never worked together before, and maybe this is the first time you’ve worked with them.
Almost certainly, you’ll have no direct authority. You aren’t their line manager and aren’t responsible for appraisals.
So what can you do to keep your team motivated and your project on track?
Understanding your team
What are each of your team members’ goals? What makes them tick? If you understand what they want out of this project (money, exposure, portfolio building, networking opportunities, a vested interest in the project’s success etc) you can take a more individual approach to motivating each team member, rather than using a one-size-fits all approach. A volunteer working for a charity project will be encouraged by different incentives than a freelancer.
Bridge the distance
What problems do your team members face? Whether it’s working in a different time zone or juggling a family and a full-time job, if you meet their problems half-way and offer solutions early on, they’ll appreciate it. Whether it’s scheduling conference calls at a time convenient to everyone or asking how they’d like to receive project updates (by phone or by email?), a happy team is a motivated team
A problem shared…
When you run into a problem, you don’t have to struggle through it on your own. Being part of a team is a two-way process and if you involve them in coming up with solutions to project hiccups, they’ll understand the whole process better and be more likely to feel included.
Offering carrots
While most people work for the money, you can offer extra incentives for a job well done for free. Consider giving:
- testimonials for their website
- passing on their name to another client
- giving positive feedback
- promoting their work in your own publications
as ways of motivating them to go the extra distance.
…and sticks
You might not have any direct authority over your team but you can still use other methods to bring them into line if you feel they are not pulling their weight. Remember a freelancer’s reputation is hugely important and most people will want to avoid bad feedback and negative opinion.
And finally, avoid micromanagement
This team are involved because they can do their jobs. Trust them to get on with their roles and don’t bother them every five minutes. Use a pre-agreed feedback system such as weekly status updates by email to let them share their progress. Treat them with respect and they’ll most likely so the same to you!
Photo by Flickr user kennymatic
