One of the best tasks I have is keeping the office candy jar full. It’s fun to look for different varieties of candy and then to notice whose eyes light up when they see a new, favorite kind. On long draggy days I take the jar and walk around the office, talking with everyone and offering them a “pick-me-up” piece of candy.
Everyone has a favorite candy, but most importantly, everyone likes having the candy jar — full of candy. They sigh when the jar begins emptying — until only a lone lemon Starburst is left in the bottom — then I’ll see them pass the jar, hesitate, and slowly walk on.
Team relationships are a lot like the reactions I see around our office candy jar.
Teams members like:
- being motivated by assignments that interest them and engage them in their favorite tasks
- receiving individual attention, even though they are part of a group
- being kept up-to-date and full of information about projects — even the pieces they aren’t directly working on
Are you actively stocking the “candy jar” for your team today — looking out for what motivates them, giving individual attention, and keeping everyone full of information? Apply some candy jar wisdom and and see your team’s eyes light up!
My office also has a candy jar. It is fun to watch the reactions that different people make when they find candy in it. When there is new candy filling it, they exclaim aloud. However, when it is still empty, a slight frown or sigh is the response.
I wonder if those that I work with experience the “full candy jar” or “empty candy jar” from my interactions with them. I need to work more at inspiring them and encouraging them to keep on going!
Emily, I love your application of you being the empty or full candy jar in your interactions with your co-workers! Our responses to others at work is as important as the actual work we do — encouragement and inspiration are what great leaders give to their teams.
Good insights! I have worked on teams at both ends of the spectrum, and I know I much more thoroughly, energetically, and actively worked for the team that I felt involved in. Not to say that life revolves around me, but when you feel like part of a business “family,” the motivation kicks in and makes you want to go the extra mile for your comrades.
On the flip side of the coin, some teams I’ve experienced where there is just one person doing all the thinking and in control of everything, you feel very distant and like your ideas/contributions don’t really matter much.
Candy is pretty awesome in and of itself, but these principals are even more so if you want a *team*. Thanks for a great post!
This is a great application not only to team work but also to our interaction with our friends and others we are around. Do you ever notice how if you ask someone a question about something that interests them they get very excited and want to tell you everything about it? When we pull away from ourselves and get engaged in other peoples lives it can be a real encouragement to them just like a “pick-me-up” piece of candy.
Emily, I also like your personal application. This analgoy also can be applied to businesses and what positions they hire. Businesses don’t all hire lemon starbusts, to continue the analogy, they hire a diverse array of employees that all work together to properly function. A business that is only full of lemon starburts, ie. everyone is virtually the same, will be much less equipped to function and usually have lower motivation.
I can definitely relate to this. In my current position I sometimes feel that the candy jar is too full sometimes. Instead of it being full of things I enjoy that I can choose from, instead I am overwhelmed at times with so much that I do not know which way to turn. This makes me less productive in some ways because I spend time trying to figure out how to keep the “candy” in the jar.
At the same time I am supposed to fill the jars of students to keep them interested and active. I have found this especially challenging to find computer problems that will stretch my students computer knowledge but at the same time be interesting to them.
Beth,
That is a great idea. Candy bars are amazing and motivating. It helps people stay motivated and might actually make someone’s day. make sure what is in the candy jar is liked by others not by myself alone. Also, it is important to stay connected with others and being able to check on their work while going around the office.