Struggling to coordinate podcast production tasks with your team?

Even podcasts with 5-10 team members can struggle with consistent production. The main reason? A lack of understanding the team's strengths, leading to incorrect task delegation. How to solve this? It's simple. Let the team choose their tasks. They know themselves better than you do, no one will pick a task they don't enjoy. Give your team the choice, observe, and take notes. Next time, you'll have the insights to delegate tasks effectively.

You can always get fancy later. I like to think of Tim Ferris's famous question "What would this look like if it were easy" Based on that, build a checklist and develop SOPs if necessary. Make sure that your team is equipped to do what they can do best, and same for you. Don't put people in unnatural roles to their interests, capacity, and skillsets.

Having the right tech tools in place has made a noticeable difference within our organization. We use ClickUp to assign specific tasks and deadlines, which has significantly streamlined our processes.

Clear communication tools are vital for seamless podcast production teamwork. They're essential for keeping everyone aligned and ensuring tasks are completed on time. From my experience, using messaging apps, email, or project management software helps assign tasks, set deadlines, and exchange feedback efficiently. These tools create a central hub for all project-related communications, preventing important messages from getting lost. Whether you manage a remote team or work in-house, investing in effective communication tools enhances workflow and keeps your podcast production running smoothly.

Brief but frequent meetings keep everyone accountable and informed about task progress. Team members can share updates, brainstorm ideas, and support each other during these sessions. Regular check-ins foster a sense of community and shared purpose, essential for a successful collaborative project like a podcast.

Have a regular cadence that sets deadlines and expected deliverables. This ensures that there aren’t any bottlenecks to clear, and that everyone has a good sense of the timing and subject of the next episode.

In my 4 years of producing and hosting multiple podcasts, I've found workflow tools, like Asana, to be very helpful. Even something like creating a shared tracker in Google Sheets - so all parties can see the show's content mapped out - has helped. Regularly pushing out podcast content has to be a system, and all parties must know and embrace their specific roles and timelines. Because if they don't, the system breaks down.

Flexibility means giving your team the ability to perform at their best, not just delaying tasks. Provide more resources and permissions. For example: Let team members express their talents. Many haven't had the opportunity to show their skills. Trust they can accomplish more in less time, in their own way. Give every task its own deadline. PR isn't like audio editing, so know the tasks and how long they take. Allow remote work. Do you really need an editor on-site? It's a podcast, not a movie that needs constant revision. Make work convenient for them. Flexibility is about efficiency, not being late.