You’re managing a large team. What collaboration tools can help you be more effective?

The effectiveness of a communication tool depends on various factors, including the specific needs and preferences of your team, the nature of your work, and the features that are most critical for your collaboration. I had a great experience using Slack, and I would like to share some major Pros of the tool; Strengths: Real-time messaging, channels for organized communication, integrations with various apps and services, searchable message history. Best For: Teams that require quick, informal communication and collaboration, especially in tech and creative industries.

Collaborative tools are certainly a trend in tech. ranging from Zoom to MS Teams to Mural to Dropbox to Google Docs and from what I can see looks like Whatsapp and Facetime are stepping up their game;) the list is endless. These tools offer real-time messaging, group chat, file sharing, shared calendars, running surveys in real-time or not, to collect insight, project coordination, voice and video (one-to-one & group). These tools gained popularity ever since COVID & work/study from home became the norm. For two years we were trained to adopt & adapt to these collaborative tools making something so uncommon become the norm. Org. have come to use these tools for time efficiency, broadcasting communication & streamlining admin tasks.

Employee surveys are an excellent tool. Internal communications can be measured using these metrics. This quantitative measurement tool is highly effective due to the flexibility of the question formats and the ease of data export. It is important to ensure that representative measurement data is collected from across the organization through recurrence, random sampling, and escalation options.

While managing the large teams, we shud have visibility,clarity and priority of the things to be established across. First, everyone shud have visibility of whats going on in the team(s). Tools such as Confluence, Jira or Rally, Teams or Slack etc can establish this thread between individuals to bond them as one to solve problems together. Next, everyone shud have clear picture on what thye are doing, why they are doing and how that is adding value to business or org or customer. Then no contribution is push in nature and things evolve for clarity. The last one is priority. We shud have clear trackers/priority structures to establish the same such that everyone can develop critical thinking and contribute to main painful areas.

The choice of collaboration tools depends on team's specific needs, preferences, and workflows. It's essential to select tools that facilitate seamless communication, effective task management, and collaboration among team members. Additionally, providing adequate training and support for using these tools can maximize their effectiveness within your team. Tools such as Confluence, Jira and Teams can be utilized to streamline communication, project management, knowledge sharing, and feedback, ultimately enhancing productivity and teamwork within the large team.

I love jira. It is a bit on the heavy side, but it can allow any kind of experiment that you want to do with your project management processes. So if you have a jira expert, who can connect bitbucket and add automations to update jira work status, you should use the potential to the max.

When managing a large team, effective collaboration tools include project management platforms like Asana or Trello, communication tools such as Slack or Microsoft Teams, video conferencing platforms like Zoom, document collaboration tools such as Google Workspace or Microsoft Office 365, knowledge sharing platforms like Confluence or Notion, task automation and integration tools like Zapier, and feedback/performance management tools like 15Five or Lattice. These tools streamline communication, project management, knowledge sharing, and feedback, ultimately enhancing productivity and teamwork within the large team.

In my experience within a functional area, it is essential to use project management tools, which allow us to have a real overview of the project, and with this share the progress with the internal client, as well as anticipate and keep a timely follow-up. The administration can be from a gant tool such as a shared planner, where the activities are clear, with an owner and a commitment date, for the tool to be functional, there must be a discipline for the maintenance of the tool throughout the project.

Project management tools can significantly enhance your effectiveness when managing a large team by providing streamlined communication, organization, and collaboration. It helps you task and project tracking in real time.

Some of them I find useful are:- Asana: Asana is a popular project management tool that allows teams to organize tasks, assign responsibilities, set deadlines, and communicate within the platform. Trello Microsoft Teams Google Workspace (formerly G Suite)

I always highly recommend the Microsoft cloud environment for most companies. With one solution, you can have MS Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive, and much more. All the systems integrate into one environment make collaboration very easy. SharePoint acts as a cloud-based platform for managing content, collaborating with employees and departments, tracking internal processes, and publishing company news.

Drive, Dropbox, Teams... It depends on the other tools your company uses. What is clear is that you need a collaborative tool in terms of document management. One that provides security while allowing teams to improve collaborative work. In my case, I haven't kept anything on local devices for a decade. Everything in the cloud that allows me to share links (and not documents).

Facilitate seamless sharing, editing, and collaboration on documents in real-time. Ensure version control to avoid confusion and discrepancies in shared files. Enhance accessibility by organizing documents in a structured manner that everyone is comfortable with.

I still love Evernote very much, Sharepoint has of course established itself as the standard. But any repository or wiki that allows commenting, easy sharing and simple insertion of screenshots is also perfect for this.

In my experience, in order to have all member the same information and share the same documents or procedures is key for internal coordination, nobody has the information in property and everybody can obtain the data that needs without wasting time requesting data to others. At the same time if in the case someone is not at office the rest of team can manage the issues because we have all information in one point.

Whiteboard - brainstorming sessions have been key to organizing large engagements with many moving parts. When there are multiple strategies integrated with a team, seeing it laid out on a wall can be the clarity that is needed. Having participation with many team members writing these ideas out on the wall helps increase engagement on team projects too.

J'ajouterai que, au-delà de la recherche de solutions, les exercices faisant appel à la créativité sont un excellent moyen de faire tomber des barrières de communication au sein d'une équipe. L'animateur d'un atelier créatif pourra être attentif à celà et en profiter pour capter des signaux concernant son équipe.

Creativity is distinctively human! How is the team engaged to think creatively? First, understand that each individual has differing levels, abilities, and desires toward creation. Some can imagine new works. Some are geared toward improvements. Some just want stability with little change. Modern leaders must learn to manage at a level deeper than the expectation that everyone will want to brainstorm, mind map, or proto-anything. Perhaps the best "tool" to practice is the awareness that people bring a wide variety of context, situations, experiences, and backgrounds! Using that diversity to the advantage of the individual allows creativity to flow. Let your humanity be the first tool for which you reach; it will have the greatest impact.

"Necessity is the mother of invention" - creativity is the opportunity to solve a specific problem. The best creativity tools are reading, paper, pencil/pen and whiteboard. The freedom and encouragement to think and act are crucial for the flow of ideas. Other tools will be supportive.

Support collaboration on projects, allowing team members to work together on creative tasks. Enable real-time editing and feedback for visual projects, fostering creativity and innovation. Integrations with project management tools to align creative tasks with overall project goals. Example: Adobe Creative Cloud, Miro, or vesio

Facilitate ongoing skill development and training for team members. Offer resources for continuous learning and up skilling, contributing to the team's overall effectiveness. Track and manage the team's progress in acquiring new skills relevant to their roles. In house training, external training and setting TNA for all employees.

Servant leaders should lean on using online learning platforms such as Coursera, Udemy, or LinkedIn Learning. Use SharePoint or similar platforms allow for great collaborative learning or mentoring. Use goal setting and personal development plans for coaching to foster growth. These tools, when combined with a servant leadership approach should create an environment that supports continuous learning and development. Thus, allowing empowering team members to reach their full potential.

Open AI and Google search to discover new information however you have to notice that 50% of the information published today is false. Kindle to read like a food everything that falls into my hands.

I've found it useful to first evaluate the needs of the team and then start looking for a tool. Different tools have different functionalities therefore could cater to different needs. Some of my favourite are Notion.io, Jira and Monday.com. For a small team and a small project an excel sheet with a dashboard can do.

Emphasizing value is crucial for fostering your team's skills and knowledge. Prioritizing opportunities for learning and providing resources becomes a catalyst for growth. Encouraging knowledge dissemination showcases a commitment to your team's development and well-being. Effectively communicating vision and values creates a culture where team members feel supported and motivated to enhance their skills. By placing value at the forefront, you cultivate an environment conducive to continuous learning and improvement, fostering both individual and collective success.

For large teams, there are some tools specifically designed to handle the needs of larger groups. One popular option is Microsoft SharePoint, which offers robust document management, team collaboration, and communication features. Another tool is Jira, which is commonly used making it ideal for larger teams working on creating lovable products. Additionally, tools like Microsoft Teams and Slack have enterprise versions that offer more advanced features and scalability for larger organizations. These tools can help streamline communication, coordination, and collaboration for teams of any size.

The best tools are worthless without proper change management during planning, implementation and beyond. Once a team understands why and what’s in it for them a new tool will be embraced.

Each organization has a unique way to communicate. In my experience it is crucial to use a well curated set of tools and to develop this set ongoing. And to make sure the people know how to use the tools. Often tools are just rolled out without enabling the users to take advantage of it. This doesn’t only kills the effectiveness of the tool but often destroys the acceptance of tools in general.

One thing I have found helpful is a whiteboard such as Mural. Has been helpful in gathering important data during product creation and testing. Assists in tracking issues prior to product completion. Also a great tool for gathering data from employee experience testing.

Regardless of which collaboration tools are chosen, having good governance as formal company policies and being integrated efficiently into every level of business operations, is essential for fostering a sustainable work environment. Good governance essentially protects businesses from potential challenges, expensive mistakes and misconducts of any individuals or faction. Clearly for some, spelling out clearly the expected governance at every level of the team collaboration is unnecessary, however in challenging times, good leadership, cohesive corporate values, and good governance will remain the bedrock of sustainable business decisions and operations, creating long-term sustainable value for all stakeholders.