How to Improve Project Team Accountability: 5 Tips
"I didn't know this was due today."
"That's not my responsibility."
"No one told me that."
"I'll complete the task later."
You've probably heard someone say one of those statements in a meeting if you manage or lead a project team. Accountability and responsibility are hard for some adults to learn. If people aren't accountable in their personal lives, there is a high probability that they won't be responsible at work.?
There is little you can do to change that; however, you can help improve the outcome by making it hard for someone to say any of those statements by implementing the ideas I will share with you in this article.
I jokingly tell people sometimes that I'm a part-time team therapist but not your mother or kindergarten teacher.?
One of the first things I do when I start working with a new client's team is figure out how the majority of the team works together, learn their personalities, and how to best work with them collectively and individually. In doing so, I have to be flexible and adjust to the needs of the individual and the project team.
I often advise teams to work smarter and help individual team members be more accountable and responsible. If one team member fails or is consistently late or misses deadlines, the whole team (and project) fails.?
My role as a project manager is to give the team what they need (and ensure they have what they need) to succeed. The project will go much smoother if everyone is accountable for their work and actions.
Project schedules and task management dashboards are mandatory in project management. However, there are additional things you can do as a project manager or team leader to help your team be more accountable for their work and actions.
Let's discuss five proven ideas.
1). Project Kickoff Call
A project kickoff meeting is a focused agenda-led meeting that may contain a slide deck presentation to give the team an overview of the project, goals, and expectations.
You can tailor the kickoff meeting to your project needs. Below is an agenda example.
A project kickoff meeting is a great way to let everyone know where essential documents are stored, expectations, roles and responsibilities, the structure of the team, and workflows. It allows any questions or concerns to be addressed before the project starts.?
You can invite all key stakeholders and project team members to the meeting, record using Gong or Zoom, and share with the team or other leaders and stakeholders who cannot attend.?
I’ve received much positive feedback from my project kickoff calls. If you haven’t done a project kickoff call, I suggest you try it.
2). Staffing Resource Matrix
This has many names; some even call it a RACI matrix. The point of the matrix is to escape. Just kidding!
The goal of the staffing matrix is to document the different roles and responsibilities. In other words, who is responsible for what task or activity??
I recommend using a visual chart or table, and you could have an accompanying simple spreadsheet to go into more details or link to the project schedule and task management dashboard(s).?
The matrix is created during the planning phase with input from managers, stakeholders, and project team members. If you have a staffing resource or RACI matrix, there shouldn’t be any surprises or “that’s not my responsibility” comments from anyone on the project team.?
The staffing matrix must be shared and accessible by the team. Lock the file for editing only to allow the project manager to update it so no one doesn’t decide they want to change roles in the middle of a project.
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3). Flowcharts
Some people are visual learners, so I often include a mixture of graphic and text information in my project resource docs.
Flowcharts give the team a holistic view of the processes and work involved to reach the deliverables or desired outcome.
Creating flowcharts is usually done in the planning stage and helps the team better understand the entire project process and structure.
You can create flowcharts demonstrating a particular workflow for a project, task, or team. You can take it further and add the staffing matrix information to know the entire process flow and who is responsible for what and when.
4). Notifications
Be mindful when using notifications; you don’t want to annoy the team with endless distractions.?
If you are using a project management software tool, you can set up dashboard or task management notifications for upcoming critical due dates or task updates.?
For example, I used Monday.com to manage a recent project, and one of the things I did to help the team keep track of important due dates or upcoming deadlines was set up notifications so they were notified via email or desktop when an upcoming task was due and what actions they needed to take (if any).
5). Commitment
To be clear, we're not talking about relationship commitments. However, this golden tip could be applied to relationships as well.
Anyways, when people are general with their words, they are less likely to remember and follow through on what was promised. For example, if someone says, “I’ll complete the task later.” Ask for a specific date and time to expect the work, update (or whatever is needed).?
Allow them to tell you and commit since they know their workload. However, if the date is too far, negatively impacting the project schedule or dependencies, suggest a date and get them to confirm.
You want team members to say I'll have this task completed on Tuesday, September 18, 2023, by 5 p.m. ET. When you get a commitment date, be sure to document it.?
Documenting helps keep people accountable and prevents backtracking. Encourage the team to keep an open line of communication in case things change.
Sharing the expectations and importance of adhering to the project schedule (unless beyond their control) during the kickoff meeting will prevent people from doing work when they ‘feel like it.' It forces people to prioritize, organize, and manage their workload. And hopefully, it encourages people to speak up if they need help or run into roadblocks.
What are your thoughts? Do you have any ideas to share about accountability? If you decide to implement one (or all) of the above ideas, please let me know how it goes, and reach out if you have any questions.
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Queen Joseph founded?Queen J Consulting, a go-to resource for executives, managers, and project team leaders needing contingent or temporary experienced and reliable project staffing support to lead, execute, and manage projects. We've worked with global brands and startups, including Dolby.io, Squarespace, Cengage, and more! Please contact us if we can help you achieve project success while providing expert staffing support.?