Project Managers and Product Managers get most of the praise and accolades when they successfully oversee a project completion or a full product release, but they also get most of the blame when failure impacts their project even when it was someone else’s fault that resulted in the failure. This exemplifies why it is important to build a project team with high performers that will elevate the level of production and increase synergy. The selection of team members is something that occurs progressively during a project as new teammates are added when their project task assignments are about to begin.
In some cases, a Project Manager or Product Manager may be unable to hand-pick the resources that will be working on their project because that responsibility sometimes falls under a Resource Manager. Nevertheless, let us explore the ways in which they can ensure that they continuously build high performing teams.
Encourage Open Communication
Communication is vital to any project and is one of the primary contributors to a project’s success. As a leader of a project, you set the right expectation and inform all team members that they should openly talk to one another when collaborating on tasks or when dealing with both project issues and interpersonal issues. This also helps in decision-making as it reduces the chances of taking too long to make a decision that impacts other areas of the project or product development.
Support and Defend your Team
You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar – this idiom essentially means that you can achieve more good by being nice and gentle than by being confrontational. High performing teams are filled with people that enjoy their jobs and like working together with their teammates. Project and product teams sometimes suffer through blame because of things not going well. As a leader of these groups, it is your responsibility to politely defend the work of your project teams especially in public where it may serve as motivation when your teammates witness you sticking up for them. Furthermore, you must negotiate with other leaders and stakeholders on behalf of your team to make sure that they only focus on accomplishing their tasks and not worry about external noise.
Practice Situational Awareness and Diplomacy
All issues are not the same, and when a teammate is underperforming, a Project Manager or Product Manager needs to directly engage with them and discuss how to help improve their productivity. Avoid making assumptions on individuals based on what other team members may have said because it creates undue bias. Some people could simply need extra coaching that you could provide, or they may be going through a challenging personal matter that others may not be privy to – this is especially common following the COVID-19 pandemic that ruined so many lives. Be diplomatic in your approach to conflict resolution and make all team members understand that the team functions better when everyone is willing to help each other in the event a teammate is struggling.
Build a Sense of Urgency for Critical Tasks
Failure to build a sense of urgency for critical tasks results in an uphill battle that could affect the success of a project. Project Managers and Product Managers must know when to encourage teammates to work with a stronger sense of urgency the moment they realize that a deliverable or milestone is in jeopardy of being missed. There is never a need to wait and hope that things fall back in place when you have already established that something is not going according to plan on your project. Encourage the team to put more emphasis on the tasks that are in critical state and join them in getting tasks completed so that dependent tasks are not profoundly impacted.
At PM Imperative, we cover the latest trends in Project Management and Product Management. As PM practitioners, we understand the value the Project Managers and Product Managers bring to each organization and that’s why we focus on the most practical strategies that Project and Product Managers can implement immediately. If you found this post useful, be sure to check out our latest book: The PM Imperative – Guide for Leading & Managing Projects, People & Delivering Value. https://pmimperative.com/shop/
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