Team Motivation

[Jordan A.]

Well my team, along with, by the sounds of it, alot of other teams are doing pretty badly in the grand scheme of things.

Our problems howerever dont seem to stem from poor SPI service but lack of team drive. We have lost almost all of our momentum and have dwindled down to a group of about 4 students who actually still care enough to work when needed.

Perhaps this is a failing of mine as a leader but im having the trouble getting my team motivated.

What do you team leaders use to get your team pumped up? Or are they already into it? Should I set examples of those who have quite literaly done nothing and remove them from the team? (harsh) or should there be a reward system for work done? (if so what are good rewards?)

I am really at a loss for ideas here...

[Colin Bohannan]

At GRT we have so many people apply to join the team, that we just have a "talk" with people who are not helping the team. Usually things are straightened out. If not we remove them from the team. It probably isn't a good idea to give rewards if they help, just only let people who participated go to the regional or possibly even Florida.

[Anton Abaya]

i feel your pain. let me be of some help.

When I started Rambots #419 (2 years ago), I had a whole buncha people (college side) helping out. As the weeks progressed, people began to realize "holy crap! i cant commit this much time into this!" There are even some who leave because they feel "their idea" was not chosen.

Unless you are desperate for people, I say let them go and tell them not to come back unless they plan to stay. Be firm with this. I have had people jump back into the scheme of things after the main skeleton crew worked hours and hours on the robot, only to try to share in the glory of what we had produced.

No, you're not a bad leader. You're probably doing a great job. It's just some people are stupid, so just filter through all of them and find the core team you can trust and depend on (and by god, HOLD ON TO THEM!)

-anton

ps. To give you an idea:

Rambots 2000 -- started with 8 people, ended up with 4
Rambots 2001 -- started with 6 people, ended up with 3
Rambots 2002 -- started with 7 people, ended up with 4

[Ed Sparks]

Sometimes it's the competition that locks-in those who are "not getting it". Some of my best folks were so-so until they saw the vast sea of robots at one of our regionals.

Unless folks are completely disruptive and since you are only able to attend the Canadian regional ( I think you told me that), I say hang on to what you have and make adjustments next year.

Concentrate on getting a base and goal grabber(s) going. Don't put a great amount of pressure on yourself to be a "Super 'Bot" this year. It's very hard to do. Better to have a positive experience with a less than desired robot than to have a bad experience struggling with something that won't work. Get experienced this year and apply what you learn to that "Super 'Bot" next time.

A reliable base can contribute a great deal to this year's game.

Make it a fun thing.

[Alfred Thompson]

Someone once said "if people are going to stay away there is nothing you can do to stop them." I tend to believe that a small team of people who really want to work is much better than a large team where a lot of the kids are there to hang out, eat the pizza and drink the soda.
Work hard with who you have this year and everyone will want to be a part of it next year.

[Dbell5555]

I agree with most of the other replys, a smaller team of core members who are dedicated to FIRST is better than a large team. With a large team some of the students may be idle and they may cause progress to slow. I speak from experience, for two years I was on a small team where everyone worked. Then last year our team grew immensly some people (who weren't helping out) sat around and discussed how bad our team was. Our team took a real hit and lost a lot of great people. I strongly recommend having a small team. You may not have many people but you'll do better as long as they're dedicated.

As far as getting them motivated try some team outings like bowling, laser tag, paint ball, or even just going to someone's house and watching movies. Get to know your team, it really does help.

Good Luck!! Don't give up!! --

Dave B. Team 93 Diehard Senior Member

[Jeff Waegelin]

Every year, we start with 20-25 students. By the time we get to Nationals, we are usually down to 10-15 students. We always complain about how many people drop, but then we think: did we really want them in the first place? I know that sounds harsh, but if someone is not willing to put in the time commitment, do you really want them on your team?