Why small wins matter for project teams

One of the most important skills of a Project Manager is being able to manage the micro whilst never loosing sights of the macro. We are responsible for bringing together some of the most exciting blue sky thinking on a project. We have to be able to establish the vision of a project with our Clients and then relay and translate that vision to the team. We need to set stretch goals that push a team to innovate and find creative solutions. A good PM is able to step out of the detail and established what is going well, and not so well, at any given time. We need to be able to ask whether the team are communicating effectively, and if not, work out how to change that. We need to be able to analyse whether processes are assisting or hindering a team & make changes if required. A Project Manager needs to be a calm, level headed and safe pair of hands that is able to weather any storm, even as changes and problems arise.

But we also have to care deeply about the small things. To understand the technical reasons behind a change and the impact of that change. To capture & issue accurate meeting minutes and reports that are a neutral and unbiased reflection of project progress. We have to know how to create positive team dynamics, allowing room for creativity whilst still keeping the team accountable and moving forwards. We have to be able to sense check the logic of a team whilst capitalising on (rather than undermining) their expertise.

The small stuff matters. As the principle of marginal gains shows, small incremental improvements can lead to significant gains when added together. The idea is that instead of focusing on big goals or wins which can feel unachievable or unattainable, to focus on small things that give a sense of progress and forward momentum. Small goals need to be easily achievable & implementable without a huge amount of time or energy being used up.

The principle of marginal goals, or 1% improvements has been commonly used in sports. Sir David Brailsford, the Director of the British Cycling team in 2008 famously used this theory to transform his team. Under his Directorship, Brailsford had the team focus on small details like changing the Athletes pillows for better sleep, improving the grip of bicycle tired & testing different massage gels to establish which were best for muscle recovery. And it worked. He took an underperforming team to a top performing team who went on to set new world records & win multiple championships and tour de France victories.

The principle has an interesting psychological element too. When people have small wins, suddenly they see not just the possibility of change, but the actuality of it. Improvement stops being an aim and starts being an action. Suddenly those small wins start to create a momentum of continuous improvement which with time & consistency picks up and accelerates.

Plus small wins feel good. With every small win, the brain releases a chemical called dopamine, which has commonly been nicknamed the "happy hormone". Simply put, this hormone makes us feel great. And when people feel good, they turn up the next day wanting to replicate that feeling.

When a team is struggling, facing challenges or underperforming, getting things back on track can feel like a difficult task. Meetings and interactions become more challenging, processes can become more difficult to manage & extra work is needed all round to get things moving in the right direction again. A team can stop collaborating, new ideas can be hard to come by and avoidance behaviours toward the project can emerge. The principle of small wins can be used to get things back on track.?

Whether we can see them or not, most big achievements are made up of thousands of small ones. The colleague who plays semi-professional sports at the weeks has turned up consistently at practice to hone their skill. The friend that was an overnight success in their business will have put in hours of unacknowledged work behind the scene that has moved them slowly toward that goal. The relative who always cracks out great tunes on the piano every time the family gets together will have spent weeks learning the music. And it all starts with small goals – joining a team, verbalising an idea or having a music lesson.

The same rule applied to our projects. As Project Managers our role is to help our team achieve the 1% so that as a collective we can move toward the 100%. Instead of focusing on far away goals and challenges, ask what your team can do on a micro level that will lead to small, positive changes. Over time these small changes will add up to have a big impact. Create a culture on your project where small wines are encouraged and celebrated because small wins create momentum, and momentum leads to motivated, engaged and happier teams.

What small win can you focus on achieving this week so your team can gain positive momentum?

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