It seems hardly likely that you can achieve every goal in a project all by yourself, which makes building a strong project team all the more important.
But there are too many things that could go wrong when you’re building the project team, so what should you look out when you’re building a winning project team?
How to build the perfect project team?
There’s not a definite team structure and/or template for projects with different natures, there are, however, general guidelines for you to build your own successful project team.
Here are 5 useful suggestions for you to put together your dream project team:
1. Clarify the goals in the plan
Your team should be goal-driven, i.e. you should select your team members based on the needs of your project. This requires you to have a well-thought plan in the first place.
Such a plan should include the project goals, team responsibilities, and the time and resources you may need to achieve such goals.
At this stage, you need to ask yourself a lot of questions:
- What do you want to accomplish?
- What resources do you need to make the project a success?
- What’s the realistic deadline?
- Who should lead the team?
- At what frequency should you do stage reviews?
- Do you have enough man power, or do you need to outsource some tasks?
- Is there a back-up plan, just in case the first plan doesn’t work out?
Such questions allow you to have a full picture of the project. It’s a must, so you should never skip this step.
2. Assemble a team with needed functions
With the roles and responsibilities clear out, it’s time to put your team together. Ask yourself:
- What makes the person right for your team?
- Do they have the required skills and abilities?
- Are they team players? Do they have any beef with other team members?
- Do they have the potential to get the job done?
- Do they happen to have other projects at hand?
- Do they need to stay in the project from the very beginning to the very end? If not, when should they chime in, and when should they leave?
1 + 1 > 2 is always the goal when you’re building a team. So as the project manager, you need to bring out the best in your team. And note this, you’re not just building a team to finish certain projects, you’re grooming your team to be successful project managers like yourself.
3. Appoint the right tasks to the right people
With the clear goals set and the right people selected, now it’s time for you to get full utilize of the team.
Starting off from a meeting with everyone involved would be a good idea. Make sure that everyone in your team understands the background information, the full picture, the goals, and the responsibilities distribution of the project.
It’s equally important for you to create an open environment where your team members can speak their mind. It’s a great way to get them motivated and have the sense of ownership of the project.
4. Maintain an effective communication
Effective communication is indispensable in every project, and the real trick is how you make it happen.
Being the project manager, you can start from:
- Leading with your actions: be respectful, be a good listener, a good speaker, who speak clearly and briefly, and a good feedback provider;
- Doing monthly, weekly, or even daily reviews…
Effective communication don’t grow on trees, you need to earn it through your hard work. Find the best practice for your team, with your team, and work towards your project goals.
5. Lead your team to the success
To do that, you need to know your team well. That means you need to know the strengths and the weaknesses of your team members, and make sure their advantages are contributing to the success of the project, and their weaknesses aren’t making it impossible for your team to get the job done.
You need to:
- Motivate your team in the right way;
- Provide guidance and help whenever needed;
- Allow your team to grow, i.e. don’t pigeonhole your team. They need to learn from the project, and develop their abilities and skills from there.
Leadership skill is always neglected in project management, but it’s the skill that you can’t afford to ignore. Lucky for you, you can learn to become a good leader. It just takes you some time and efforts, but the result will reward you heavily.
That’s what we have to say about building your strong project team for success. If you want to know more, or if you want to share with us your thoughts, feel free to drop us a message and we’ll see what we can do from there.
