My colleagues and I have been thinking about momentum this month. In reading various pieces, including their articles and in reflection of my experiences; I’ve tried to distill momentum down to a simple (and very basic PPT) visual consisting of three dynamic and interconnected elements: Inspire, Act, Regenerate:

Simple Team Momentum Model

To me, it speaks to the movement of a ball, the progress of a team, the potential we have to build, accelerate or maintain, our forward momentum. We’ve been thinking recently about using purpose to navigate change and how we model and develop courage in ourselves and our people to keep going forward, amidst tumultuous times. Momentum is what comes from these things, if we get it right.

So, why is building momentum important for our teams and what can we do to build it?

Momentum represents movement, forward progress, so inevitably it’s part of how we define performance and progress towards our goals. Momentum requires and reinforces engagement, enhances cohesion and aligns contributions; it demonstrates the realization of possibilities and rewards courage, which increases belief, confidence and commitment. So, that’s my case for momentum in 44 words!

If you’re bought in, read on. How do we build momentum?

1. INSPIRE: inspire momentum with your people (team) through imagining Impact, articulating Purpose and clarifying Meaning. This is the process of establishing the creative tension between our imagined future and current reality, in a way that personalizes it for each individual and motivates the team, to convert that creative tension into forward momentum.

1. 1. Impact: what impact (marked difference) can we make? What could that look like? That’s our vision / north star.
   2. Purpose: why does that matter? What does it represent?
   3. Meaning: what does this mean to each of us individually and to us as a group.

2. ACT: Quite literally, there is no momentum without action. A push, gravity, fuel – something has to get us started. So, ACT is quite simply Do, Review, Improve.

1. 1. 1. Do: Each team member contributes to the impact, based upon their strengths.
      2. Review: We look at how we’re doing, our progress towards our desired impact. We celebrate successes, define future milestones, assess our individual and collective contributions (are we aligned and advancing cohesively).
      3. Improve: Based upon our review, we tweak whatever we need to accelerate and / or amplify our impact. That may mean amending our positions on the field (how we’re each contributing), our focus (based upon broader context / environment) to meet current demands, or our process (the steps we’re taking and handoffs we’re making).

3. REGENERATE: We cycle the energy through the system intentionally to ensure we continue to either build, or maintain momentum based upon where we’re at against our desired impact. This is where we can achieve and maintain peak performance by Reinvesting our energy, Reframing our potential and Revitalizing our people.

1. 1. 1. 1. Reinvesting energy – in a team setting, excess or sub-par energy may be about capability & capacity. We can better utilize our capabilities by better balancing our challenge:skill ratio, so we’re on the edge and fully engaging our skills; we can incentivize contributions and commitment by re-articulating meaning and aligning to people’s strengths; we can narrow focus by creating meaningful deadlines aligned to impact. We can optimize our capacity by mapping contributions to impact (individually and collectively), interrogating our calendars and cutting the crap.
         2. Reframing potential – based upon what we have learnt together, what we’ve been able to achieve, the mistakes we’ve made, the risks we have taken, what are the possibilities ahead? What could success look like? Can we redefine success and achieve more / a different additional impact? How many products can you think of that sprung out of something completely different – postic notes (failed adhesive), Viagra (hypertension), Toot Sweets (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang..haha)!
         3. Revitalizing people– 3. a & b help fuel the revitalization process but what do we need to support ourselves and each other to achieve these possibilities? First, have we gotten the basics right / what can we do better in terms of – psychological safety, activation of individual purpose, trust, inclusive contribution, recognition, reward, feedback? What about the optimal experiences, meaningful conversations to develop meaningful relationships – the things that drive connection, belonging and self worth, oh – and happiness.

Granted, there’s a lot there in 3 words but circling back to the case for momentum – here’s just 6 more words (rounding out to 50) from my rugby days which translate the case for momentum into business and life:

“Building momentum turns pressure into points!”

And we all like scoring and winning, don’t we?

To learn more about our approach to building momentum with your team, please get in touch.