How to structure your tech team for happiness and productivity

Almost every business has ambition, but not all find success. More than ever, we are aware of the importance people play. Getting the right people isn't enough, it’s about creating the environment for them to do what they do best

Ric Hill
Ric Hill Founder and CTO

Almost every business has ambition, but not every business finds success. More than ever at Ghyston, we are aware of the importance that people play in that difference. Besides getting the right people it’s about creating the environment for them to do what they do best.

“If you get the right people, keep your standards high, and motivate them,” says Greg Levinsky, CIO for GE Appliances, “all the rest of the good things will happen.”

We want all the good things to happen – we presume you do too – so we’ve been reflecting on some of pre-requisites: motivation and its sister state of mind, happiness.

We’re still starting with why

Almost every guide to productivity, including Hubspot’s 7 Simple Hacks to Kickstart a Productive Day, mention the importance of happiness and remembering your ‘why.’

No-one has managed to kick Simon Sinek from the last decade of conversation about motivation, because he got it right first time: “Unless you give motivated people something to believe in, something bigger than their job to work toward, they will motivate themselves to find a new job and you’ll be stuck with whoever’s left.”

And it’s fine to motivate people with recognition and praise and pay-rises. They’re all fairly nice. But it only goes so far. As Daniel H. Pink says in Drive, “When the reward is the activity itself--deepening learning, delighting customers, doing one's best--there are no shortcuts.” Our best work can only happen when we love what we do.

So what can we do about it?

It’s not quite enough to hire people who love what they do. We need to keep putting fuel on that fire, and ensure that we don’t accidentally cut off its supply of oxygen.

We need to create an environment, and more than that, a community in which creativity is given room to breathe, intelligent minds are inspired and where everyone knows the difference they make.

It might cost a little in the short run, but as Tom Kelley, the General Manager of IDEO says, “Some skeptics insist that innovation is expensive. In the long run, innovation is cheap. Mediocrity is expensive.”

You’ve likely already got the ambition. If you’re like us, then you’ve got the team too. But we’re looking to add some fuel to the fire.

how-to-structure-your-team-for-happiness-and-productivity

Download our guide for more information on how to structure your team for happiness and productivity.

Download here

Ric Hill
Ric Hill
Founder and CTO

We think you'll also enjoy

Meet Your Software Project Dream Team

Curious about what it takes to turn a software idea into reality? Meet the dream team behind every successful project at Ghyston. From Product Owners to QA experts, discover the key roles that bring your vision to life and ensure a seamless journey from concept to launch
Learn more

How to make 2024 the year you tackle the big talent shortage

As part of our series on practical business leadership advice for 2024, we’ve put together four steps you can take this year, to make your organisation more effective in its recruitment and retention, and to tackle another common issue: lack of diversity in the team
Learn more

Our investigation into the LastPass Security Incident

Here is our response to the recent news of a security incident at LastPass and our recommendations of pre-emptive actions to keep your data safe.
Learn more

Subscribe to our newsletter

The latest news and industry insights, straight to your inbox