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Managing Performance in Project Teams

Project teams are individuals brought together for a temporary and unique purpose. As such, they require a specific approach to performance management — so what does that look like?

Think about it: when was the last time you worked on something completely on your own? That is, carrying a task or project from ideation all the way through to finished output?

And with increased team working comes the need for heightened team efficiency. It’s no longer enough to measure and manage the performance of an organization’s individual worker, but to have a meaningful metric for ensuring teams achieve to their highest potential.

A feedback process which works on both a team and individual level is required, because if managers only speak to each staff member about their role, they risk ignoring the bigger picture.

But there’s teamwork, and then there’s project teamwork.

Project teams are different; they have a unique set of needs and idiosyncratic obstacles to overcome.

But for an agile approach to succeed, project teams need to be cohesive. Thus, managing performance in project teams should be made a priority…

To understand project teams, we first need to define ‘projects’.

And therein lies the potential issue: project teams can be strangers to each other when they first meet. They may have been in the same organization for some time, but never actually worked side by side before. Even if the individuals within a project team know each other well, they could be representing different roles and interests within the organization. It’s also possible the project team will be made up of people who are working from different locations, across different time zones.

So, for a project team to be successful it needs to be strategically thought-through — and every team member has to be aligned with, firstly, what the team needs to achieve and secondly, what their individual role will be.

Perhaps the most notable difference, is the need for agility, to quickly troubleshoot any issues that arise. That’s not to say that agility is not a necessary component of traditional teams — however, its importance is exaggerated in the context of a project team because of the time element.

Initial introductions in project teams are important — it’s here you lay the groundwork for how the project will proceed, the roles each team member will take, and who will lead the direction.

While this, in theory, is no different to any team coming together, we must remember that in project teams there are often additional barriers to overcome: the members may not know each other, or they may represent different roles within the business and struggle to find a common language. These team members are also coming together for a defined amount of time, whatever that may be. This is in stark contrast to traditional teams, which of course are also impermanent, but don’t tend to have a definite end.

When managing other, non-project teams, this forming stage can often be ‘eased’ into, perhaps starting with quick ‘round the room’ introductions, followed by alignment meetings in the subsequent days and weeks. But for project teams, racing too quickly over the forming stage may result in poor team dynamics further down the line.

Instead, give ample time for team members to get to know one another; to share their individual objectives within the project, as well as talk openly about the project’s wider strategic vision.

Either way: any issues that appear, at any stage of a project team’s lifecycle, need to be addressed — and quickly.

Project teams need to be agile and quick to adapt, should interpersonal issues come to the fore. Open channels of communication are crucial here — especially if your project team is working remotely from a spread of locations.

As the project team begins to gel together, their effectiveness starts to skyrocket. The trust has been established, roles and goals are crystal clear to all, individuals can have the autonomy they seek whilst working towards a common objective.

It’s possible that some project teams will never reach pinnacle capability — where performance flows smoothly as a result of truly interdependent working.

Peak productivity in this stage is born from smart problem solving; all team members can communicate freely, troubleshoot quickly and seek alternative routes of action, so that performance doesn’t need to grind to a halt if issues should arise.

True: it’s a managers or project leaders role to keep an eye on all project team members at this stage. But it’s also crucial that each individual is given the tools they need to continuously measure and understand the value of their contribution, as well as give feedback to and request feedback from their fellow team members.

Closure is immensely important for project teams; participation should be recognized, and achievement rewarded. When project teams disband, their members may suffer from sudden disconnection — a shock to the system, especially if the project has been running for several months (or years).

But projects are temporary, by their very definition. So pausing for a moment before closing the project down will ensure all members have had their chance to review, feed back and celebrate successes, before the project ends.

This becomes increasingly important if the project team may come back together at a later date.

So, managing performance in a project team requires a slightly more nuanced approach versus a non-project team.

But leaders and managers shouldn’t be overwhelmed; to simplify matters, we’ve pulled together 5 fundamental needs for project teams. And — as you’ll see below — these are easy to achieve, once they’ve been identified…

Perhaps you’ve been tasked with leading a project; or maybe you’re often involved in temporary working teams, and feel your efficiency and impact could be greater.

Either way — regardless of your seniority or involvement — if you focus on the following, your project team performance should improve…

But for a project team to reach peak performance, there needs to be absolutely no doubt what the shared objective is. These team members might be bringing their own agendas to the table — representing different departments of the organization or, even in some cases, different companies altogether.

The foundation of project team performance is an understanding of, and respect for, the project’s end goal. This will keep everyone aligned and make success much more achievable.

Fortunately, providing clarity on roles and responsibilities is a straight-forward process — for example, using Duuoo’s platform, team leaders can set and align individual roles at any time, then make these roles actionable with specific responsibilities and tasks.

If you’re the project leader, you should be open to feedback on your leadership style and impact. If you have a project leader, don’t be afraid to pass on constructive criticism, if it’ll help bolster team performance — staying quiet won’t do any good.

Without open communication, feedback cannot be shared — issues cannot be identified and overcome, before they have a negative effect on productivity. Duuoo’s ‘smart talking points’ — written to include topics shown to impact engagement — can facilitate more meaningful conversations between team mates.

Not everyone is born with the ability to communicate openly.

Indeed, if a project has too short a tenure — and the team races through early stage development, in favor of ‘performing’ as soon as possible — inter-team communication may continue to be a hindrance.

The use of shared processes, templates and platforms — like Duuoo’s — give project teams a clear, shared way of working. Project leaders can track progress via regular 1-to-1s and team huddles, so they never lose sight of what’s being done, when and by who.

And having a centralized information base brings everything back to the team’s agreed approach; clearing up any potential confusion and paving the way for better performance.

Some project teams will work together for months or years.

Others, just a few hours or days.

Regardless of contact time, team working is increasingly a part of every worker’s daily routine. And with its heightened prevalence, comes an even greater need for leaders and managers to create the kind of working environment required for project teams to succeed.

The flexibility and usability Duuoo provides its users makes managing project team performance a seamless experience. From forming the group, right through to real-time updates on progress or agile goal-setting, and lastly adjourning the team, capturing any final feedback.

And with a simple Slack integration, project team members are able to check in with each other, and the team leader, as frequently as they need to — without having to pick up new behaviors.

Using digital support to take the stress out of managing project performance, means the team members can focus on what’s most important: achieving the end goal.

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