How to Maximize Project Team Effectiveness?
As part of any project initiation phase, a good Project Manager will assess and understand the team formation stage. I am sure most of you have heard the Bruce Tuckerman’s forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning model. If you haven’t, here is a link to a very informative article with a video; and to add to this, this website contains all sort of other useful tools that you may find helpful.
To build project team effectiveness and move quickly through the earlier stages of team formation as quickly as possible, one key item is to allocate some time to team building. I know, I know, all projects have budgetary and time constraint; but even a simple 15 minutes sharing exercise is a good start and the faster the team moves through these stages, the better they will perform.
Another key attribute to team performance is engagement. Do you notice any team members dragging their heels? Or not very interested in participating or even spend more time complaining then solutioning?
Regardless if your team members exhibit tell-tale signs, it is important to constantly work at keeping all members engaged. And of course, your efforts may need to temporarily focus more on those already demonstrating non-engagement. There are hundreds of articles and blogs on employee or team engagement activities on the internet. Here is a link to a blog that provides cheat sheet list of 49 engagement ideas provided by Axero Solutions.
Do note that not all engagement ideas will have the same effectiveness on all members. There are two key principles that you must understand. The “Different Strokes” principle; what motivates one person might not motivate another. And the “Things Change” principle; what motivates someone one day might not work the next. The key to conquering these principles is to know your team, and constantly work at getting to know them.
Stay tuned for some more InvestorCOM Project Management tips!