The Remote PM's Toolkit for Navigating Team Friction

In an ideal world, businesses would run like smooth, well-oiled machines with no problem. For better or for worse, humans are nothing like machines. Expecting them to run that way is impossible. Everyone has emotions, which means that there is an automatic potential for friction. During your PMP certification training, managing conflict within your team is essential. With COVID-19 forcing everyone to work remotely, your project management classes now need to account for that. 

(Source: Get Lighthouse)

This is why, today, I decided to discuss the project manager's guide to navigating team friction. Using the tips, I outline will help ease some tensions, making your team more cohesive and easily manageable. 

Have Clear Procedures in Place

Constant communication is critical to ensuring that your team runs smoothly. When preparing for your project management certification online, you are sure to come across this fact. Setting up procedures for conflict resolution and intimating your team of the same helps understand that even if conflicts arise, you have their best interests at heart. They know how to navigate conflicts. Part of this is setting up boundaries and guidelines about:

• The way information passes around, i.e., who sees what information. 
• The correct way through which workers share this information, including who needs to be CC'd on communications. Part of this also concerns what time information is shared. 
• Keeping relevant people in the loop at all times – who is suitable for which projects? The best project management certification prepares you to manage multiple projects. It means you need to keep track of who belongs to which project.

Setting these guidelines and delegating work by designating people in-charge gives your team a clear path towards conflict resolution. 

Build Teams Based on Strengths and Personalities

Remote employees often do not contact each other. Therefore, you are the only person who knows everyone’s strengths and weaknesses. Use this knowledge to your advantage and put together strong teams. Recognizing your team members' strengths is a significant part of your PMP certification training. When you understand compatibility nuances, you can effectively place experts together, so work gets done with minimal potential for conflict.

Geographical location also plays a hand in this. If you have team members in the same city, placing them in the same team and organizing meet-ups allows them to interact and navigate each other’s knowledge. They can then best determine what each of them brings to the project. As PM, your job is to maximize productivity. This is what you learn in your project management classes, and ensuring your team gets along professionally is a large part of this. 

Have Regular Meetings and Boost Familiarity

(Source: MIT Sloan Management Review)

Kick-off and catch-up meetings play a dual role in project management:

• They allow everyone to report on their particular project's progress, so you understand where you are in the timeline. Additionally, if someone was accidentally left out of the loop, they catch-up through this meeting. 
• They give the entire team a chance to meet and blow off steam. It is especially important since it ensures that the team meets each other and provides an opportunity for team-building games. Charades or karaoke nights are popular ways for teams to blow off steam together, building camaraderie.

Recognize Achievements for Entire Teams

Having teams means treating them like teams. Sure, you may only be in regular contact with a few members and meet the entire team less frequently, but you need to address them as a team. However, this applies to both victories and failures, especially with achievements; acknowledging the team effort and the group's compatibility in getting the job done matters. Their work as a team put the project on track. 

It also pushes them to notice each other's accomplishments. Complimenting each other and upholding ideals as a team builds a more extraordinary spirit, promoting better work. According to UNCC’s Human Resources department, 78% of employees are motivated to work harder and be more productive when recognized for their achievements. That means that the entire team gets inspired by nearly 80% when recognized. It makes achievement recognition a critical factor in your PMP certification training. 

Keep Yourself Available

Whether you have office hours or choose to be available before 5 pm, it is crucial to connect with the teams. They need a safe space to air their grievances. A lot of times, conflict arises because team members have no outlet for their feelings. When you allow anonymous reports or complaints that you can then deal with subtly and covertly, you make yourself more approachable. As PM, your job is to have a plan when the conflict reaches you. The most common route to easing this tension is through conference video calls that allow your members to face each other. The ability to hide behind a screen often adds fuel to the fire. But this is easily avoidable with a little bit of mediation. Conflict mediation is a large part of your project management certification online for precisely this reason. 

Your teams need an outlet for their dissatisfaction, and you need to be their punching bag sometimes. They may displace or project their anger or discomfort, in which case you need to be willing to understand where it’s coming from

Lead By Example

Finally, as a project manager, you need to lead by example. While conflict resolution is essential, your team looks to you for guidance. Show them how to avoid conflict and maintain good professional relationships with their colleagues. All the best project management certification courses stress the importance of this. 

You can even show them the value of building slightly informal relationships. While your project management classes tell you that you should maintain strict professional boundaries, your employees who are at the same professional standing need not do the same. They can be a little informal with each other – something you can facilitate through team-building exercises. 

This way, you can maintain a conflict-free remote workspace. As of 2019, 4.7 million people in the USA were working remotely. With the pandemic and the ease of remote workplaces, this number is projected to rise in the future. Remote conflict management is no easy task, but it is worth it. It only makes your company stronger and your projects a success!