If you’re leading a project or a team you will know first hand that some people are easily motivated and committed to the work they do, whilst others are much harder to get through to. They ask lots of critical questions and resist any kind of control. If you are to overcome this kind of challenge and influence even the rebels on your team, you may have to change your approach. 

​It turns out that there is a relatively simple way to analyse and categorise people, which helps us understand how we respond differently to assignments, rules, habits and expectations. According to Gretchen Rubin, the best selling author of the Happiness Project, people fall into one of four categories when it comes to motivating themselves to getting work done.  The four different categories that she talks about are Obligers, Questioners, Upholders and Rebels. According to her experience, the majority of people are obligers and questioners.
 
Understanding the category that each of your team members fall into will help you to better motivate and influence them to contribute constructively to your project. At a personal level it’s also useful to know which type you are, as it will help you to follow through with your commitments to yourself and others.
 
The way that Rubin categorises us is by looking at how likely we are to respond to a rule. In her terminology a rule can either be external or internal. An example of an external rule would be a deadline or a request from your manager. An example of an internal rule would be a personal goal you’d like to achieve or a new year’s resolution. No one asked you to do it. It stems from your own internal desire.
 
1. Obliger
An obliger is someone who responds well to external demands and rules set by others. They do however struggle to keep the rules they set themselves and carry through with private goals. In other words, they are motivated by structures, accountability and deadlines imposed by others. They hate letting other people down and are motivated by doing what’s expected of them. In a team they are super reliable because they like to please. On the flipside they are not good at self-starting because no one is checking on them. They can also be prone to burnout and have difficulties saying no.  
 
If you have an obliger on your team you probably don’t need to do much more than create some outer accountability, for instance by giving them clear deadlines. But don’t put too much pressure on them, as it will cause them to overwork and get stressed. If they feel that you are exploiting them they may end up walking away.
 
If through reading this you realise that you are an obliger yourself, you’ll need to create some external accountability to help meet your inner goals.  If you want to exercise more for instance, sign up with a personal trainer or work out with a friend who can serve as an accountability buddy. For other types of goals you can also work with a coach who will help you stay accountable to yourself.
 
2. Questioner
The questioner is someone who queries everything. They will only follow a rule or a request if it makes sense to them. They are motivated by sound reasons and good arguments – not by random requests or policies. Their favourite question is why something needs to get done and what the purpose is. On the plus side they can be very healthy for an organisation or a project because of their no-nonsense approach. If they agree that something needs to get done, they’ll be highly engaged. If not they won’t deliver what you expect. The drawback is their constant need to question things, which can be exhausting to everyone around.
 
If you work with a questioner always come prepared. Give them as much information as you have and let them know why the work you are asking them to do is important. If they don’t speak up, ask them what questions and concerns they have. It’s best to get their worries out in the open so that you can address them and also explain what happens if the work isn’t done.
 
It could also be that you are a questioner and that you struggle to get the things done that are important to you. If so, do sufficient research and get clarity on why you’re pursuing a certain aim in a certain way. Reassure yourself that the approach you’re leaning towards makes the most sense. If you find that you’re holding yourself back because you’re waiting for perfect information, remember that not all information is required to take the first step. To get the benefit from something you do need to get started.
 
3. Upholder
The upholder is someone who respects inner rules and expectations as well as outer rules. They are motivated by fulfilment and by that nice feeling of getting stuff done and achieving something. On the plus side they are self-starters, reliable and don’t need a lot of supervision or accountability. They typically wake up and thinking “what’s on my to-do list today?” On the negative side they need clear rules to be able to operate and avoid letting anyone down. They don’t like to deviate from rules and get frustrated – paralyzed even – when rules are ambiguous or lacking.  To others they can come across as rigid or cold. At times they can even make others feel bad because of their high levels of productivity
 
If you work with an upholder on your project, always give clear directions. Brief them on what you expect and by when you expect it. Also discuss how often you will check in with each other so that you both have full clarity.
 
If you are personally an upholder (like I am) then it’s probably easy for you to get work done and to achieve the things you want. On the flipside, be aware of how rigid you might appear to others. Be able to let go of your strict rules, and when things change, don’t freak out. Take a deep breath!
 
4. Rebel
The rebel is someone who resists all rules – outer as well as inner. They want to do as they please and are motivated by their present desire. If you ask them to do something, not only will they not do it, they are very likely to want to do the opposite. They resist all control, even self-control. They act from a sense of freedom and don’t give themselves rules. They begin their day by asking “What do I want to do today?” Rebels aren’t constrained by rules and love to not have any. On a positive note it means that they will sometimes be fine to do what others won’t do as they may not be bound by social etiquette or worry about how others see them. On the negative side they can be frustrating to work with because of their nonconforming manner.
 
If you work with a rebel the best thing you can do is probably to challenge them. They do like a good challenge as long as it comes with buckets of freedom. Like with a rebellious child, say that you bet they can’t do it, e.g. produce a winning slogan. They’ll likely think “I’ll show you!” Be playful and give them freedom to rise to the challenge. You can also get through to them by demonstrating what happens if they don’t show up and take part in an activity. But don't nudge them. Let them arrive at the conclusion themselves.
 
If you are a rebel yourself, you might find your own resistance and lack of self-control difficult. Set yourself clear challenges and try out the rocking chair exercise. Imagine you are eighty years old and sitting on the porch in your rocking chair, looking into a peaceful garden. In that state imagine that you spent your entire life rebelling and didn’t achieve the things you really wanted. Take time to feel how awful that would feel. So challenge yourself to make your dreams come true!
 
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Delegate effectively and thoughtfully
Are you making any of these 10 project management mistakes?

In order to become a highly effective and truly successful project management leader you must focus on the areas that make the most difference to the success of your project. These areas include risk and issue management, project planning, managing senior stakeholders, ensuring quality of the end product, and leading and motivating the team. Delegating lower level administrative tasks and detailed planning is important if you want to spend your time effectively. 
 
By delegating, not only do you free yourself up to focus on what is really
important, you also help grow and develop other people. When you delegate correctly, you motivate and stretch the person you are delegating to, and you contribute to his or her professional development needs, confidence, and competence. 

Many project managers don’t delegate because they believe that they either have no one to delegate to or they don’t want to lose control of a certain task. You need to think more broadly, creatively, and strategically. Often team members are perfectly able to perform a task—for instance, one related to detailed planning and estimation—if they are given the opportunity and the right amount of support. 
 
To delegate effectively, be conscious about what you delegate, who you delegate to, and how you delegate. Keep the following in mind:  

Use Pareto’s Principle - Never delegate the 20 percent of tasks that contribute to 80 percent of your results. Delegate tasks that are not sensitive or high risk and that you are not particularly attached to. Choose tasks that someone else could potentially perform better than you can. 
 
Delegate tracking and administrative tasks - Delegate tasks such time sheet approval, financial tracking, taking minutes, documenting procedures and solutions, weekly reporting, creating newsletters, and keeping the document repository up-to-date. 
  
Engage a project administrator - Get a dedicated project administrator or support person on board on a part time or full time basis. Some organizations have a centralized project management office (PMO) that might be able to offer additional help and support.
 
Delegate entire roles - Delegate specific roles such as test management, implementation management, analysis and detailed planning of particular products, work streams, or work packages. On a small project, you will double up and take on these roles yourself, but on a large project, it’s essential that you delegate them. 
 
Challenge, stretch and motivate – In deciding who to delegate to, ask yourself how much the particular task will challenge, stretch, and motivate the person to whom you plan to delegate. What’s in it for him? In which ways will this assignment contribute to his success and help him develop his skills and capabilities?
 
Check people’s availability – Be clear on how mush time the person who you want to delegate to is able to commit. How much time would be required to complete the task –or role, and how could the person be freed up to work for you? How would taking on the task you are delegating affect his or her other work priorities?

Verify the person’s competence – Before you delegate, check how competent the person is. What are his expertise and skills in areas such as planning, tracking, communication, and time management? The person’s competence will determine how much direction he needs from you.
 
Verify the person’s commitment – Before you delegate, find out how committed the person is to whom you want to delegate. How motivated, confident, and driven is he? His commitment will determine how much moral support he needs from you. When people are both competent and committed you can manage them by exception and tell them to get back to you if they have a problem.
 
Take time to think through the job - Decide exactly what you want to delegate and which results you want. Determine the performance standards you are going to measure the job against, as well as a schedule and a deadline. Remember to make the outcome as measurable as possible. 

Hand over the entire task – Seek to hand over the entire task to the person you are delegating to. Explain what is to be done and the reason for doing the task in the first place. Check in with the team member regularly to see how he is getting on. Gradually step back when you see that he is mastering the task. 
 
Provide support and direction - Give people the time, support, direction, and information required to succeed. Be patient, and do not look for mistakes. We were all trainees once and had to learn from someone more experienced. It is your support and direction, more than anything else that determines how successful you are at delegating. 

Final thought - People used to say, ‘If you want the job done right, you have to do it yourself’. But that is old-school thinking. The modern approach is to say, ‘If you want the job done right, you have to delegate it properly’. 


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