How Can Project Managers Create Momentum in Their Project Teams?

Submitted by: stevesadler

The lifecycle of a project is relatively short. In that lifecycle, the Project Manager must: Understand the project objectives, create a strategy for achieving them, identify all required resources, obtain the resources, apply the resources towards the objective, devise alternatives, select solutions, create plans, design solutions in detail, develop the solutions, test them, implement them, and evaluate the results.

Phew! To do all this, on schedule, it is vital for the Project Manager to get and keep things in motion - in other words, create momentum. The best way to do that is to create and demonstrate a sense of urgency and immediacy.

Be on time for meetings, phone calls, and any other committed activities. If you say you'll get back to someone Tuesday morning, make sure you get back to them Tuesday morning. You are the leader - your actions, not your words - will guide your team.

End meetings, phone calls and any other committed activity as scheduled. When you leave a meeting on time (or earlier if the objectives were met earlier), you demonstrate that you value your time and that you expected the meeting leader to have used your time well to achieve all meeting objectives. If it is your meeting, make sure the meeting objectives were met within the scheduled time window.

Recognize your actions will always be speaking for you far louder than any words you might say. Value your time, value your team's time, do what you say you'll do when you say you'll do it. You are the leader - your presence, absence & degree of participation dictate the importance, the tone, and the work ethic of the whole initiative.

Understand that urgency and crisis are not the same thing. Urgency is the opposite of procrastination. You want yourself and your team to be in the habit of 'Do It Now!'. Operating from a pace of urgency is what prevents things from becoming a crisis.

Create many interim due dates, so you and your team have things they are accountable for completing on a continuous basis. Implement a 'status feedback' system - e.g. meetings, reports, routinely scheduled 'drop-ins' (e.g. "Barb - I finished ABC today, one day late - no impact on the overall schedule").

Do not assume everything is on track. Assign and hold your team accountable for routinely informing you of tangible progress. 'Tangible' progress means measurable progress - a task is either completed or not completed.

Prevent crises by asking this question consistently after a status update from a team member: "Is there anything else I should know?" This question is open-ended and non-threatening, and makes it safe for them to express a worry or concern they might otherwise keep to themselves until it boils over. Of course, your response to whatever they might say will dictate whether they continue to feel safe expressing their concerns to you in the future.

Individually, these are little items. But to do them routinely takes leadership, personal energy and drive. When you do these items and build momentum within your team, you'll find your project begins to take on a life of its own. You will reap the benefits in terms of the energy, enthusiasm, commitment and dedication that comes back to you from others.

About the Author

Barbara Pratt is the author of the book Own the Forest, Delegate the Trees, a curiously engaging guide to business project leadership. Barb is also a talented, respected trainer, author, speaker, problem-solver, workshop facilitator and company founder. With more than 25 years experience helping Fortune 1000 companies achieve multi-million dollar project results, she has proven herself to be a skilled "in the trenches" troubleshooter.

Article Source: Ad-Matrix.net