Successful Project Leaders Keep Their Teams Engaged

Welcome to #7 on my top 10 list of things I've learned during my career in Project Management.?In my experience, the best tips you can get are learned through doing - not through books.?Take it from someone who's been there.?(That's the next best thing)?Stay tuned as I count down my Top 10.

Your project is not the only one.?I know, shocking!?Large groups running multiple projects often pull some of the same people into every one.?Some of your team members could have 5-10 projects that they're helping to perform tasks for.?They aren't going to spend all their time on yours, but it's important that you keep them on track so they can be smart with their time.

Keeping the project team informed and on track saves time and money.?That's the true value of a project manager.?It's also one of the best places to provide value for everyone else your team.?People like to feel organized and engaged in the process.?Here are some of the ways I do it:

Hold Regular Meetings to Stay on Track

Meetings are important to share ideas, solve problems and to keep the team accountable.?There is a sweet spot, however. Too many meetings can reduce buy-in among your team and foster a sense that you don't value their time. It can also result in meetings with little to no agenda.

For more on managing meetings, See Tip 8.

Send Regular Updates

Get quick updates in front of your project team often.?I do these either bi-weekly or monthly.?The goal is that every person on the team is aware the project status and what's needed next.?My updates include the project scope, budget progress, schedule, action schedule, things due soon and current risks.

Keep it brief.?Project updates should never be longer than one screen.

There are many ways of sending project updates.?I like e-mail because that sends the update straight to the team.??Send your updates the way that works best for you.?Dashboards and stand up meetings are other examples.

Follow Up to Get Things Done

Always keep a list of actions on your project, when they're due and when your team members have agreed to get them done.?Then follow up.?It can be as simple as a quick message asking "Are we on track with this action item?"

There's no gold standard of how often to follow up.?If you look at your project's action list and you don't know where one of your key players stands with one of the actions, you likely haven't followed up recently enough.?

Be Grateful

Last but not least, gratitude is a great project tool.?It builds teams.?It strengthens relationships with people you need to have on your side.?Most of us will work with some of the same people for many years across many projects.?Building relationships with those people is key.?Remember to appreciate time and effort.

With these simple tricks, I hope you all find ways to have smooth running project teams.?If it gets results, it's worth it.

Until next time.

Matthew Evans is a Health Care Project Manager based in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. If you liked this article, please Subscribe to my newsletter and/or Follow my profile. Have any comments on managing teams or on the newsletter? Join the conversation below

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