Creating a Sense of Community on Your Project Team

During the process of moving this blog from Typepad to WordPress, I had the opportunity to communicate with developers, designers and blog experts.  It was a remarkably pleasant experience which got me to thinking about the things that we as project managers can do to help make our project teams the kind of places people want to join.

Why this is important for you as a Project Manager

Each person on your project team has an intrinsic desire to feel valued and connected with others.  The more they experience this in working with you and on your team, the easier time you will have in guiding your project to a successful delivery (on time, on budget and within scope).  In addition, it’s good to remember that

• people are smart
• people talk with each other
• your reputation as a leader and facilitator will be known fully in time

The best people in any organization usually have some say in what projects they work on.  If you consistently create project teams with a sense of community, you will have no problem attracting this talent.

Here are some things you can do to create community on your project team

Be genuine

You have to truly care about the people on your team, and the community, or none of this will work.  If you are fake, or are trying to manipulate in any way, people will know.  Your efforts will come to naught.

Always respond

If you receive an email, IM or other communication from a team member who needs something, it is incumbent on you to answer in a timely way.  Either provide the help requested, or connect the person with someone who can help.

You’ll get extra points if you follow through a few days later to ensure that the issue or question has been resolved.

Pay attention to stress points

If you know that your team has been working tight deadlines or under other pressures, anticipate stress points.  This means that you are ready when your lead developer and quality assurance analyst begin to squabble.  Your team members don’t expect you to be perfect or know everything.  But they do expect you to show that you can help them work through difficult situations.  They also expect you to care about their best interests at least as much as those of the project.

Be kind

Be liberal with praise and stingy with criticism.  The words coming out of your mouth should put people at ease.  This is especially true if things are not going according to plan, and even more so if you feel out of control.  It goes without saying that any blame you imagine you have for you team is really a condemnation of your own leadership abilities.  At least that’s what your executive management will think.

Never criticise a team member publicly unless they have done something to damage the sense of community on your team.  You should never be seen to tolerate shaming, public criticism, racial, ethnic, or sexual joking, or any other action which creates a chilled, fearful and closed atmosphere.  Your team (and project) can recover from almost everything that happens.  But trust between team members, once lost, is very difficult to find again.

Some extra things to think about when working with remote teams

Most of us are now or will soon be working with geographically diverse teams.  A good sense of community can still be created with a little effort on your part.  Work especially on your consistency in these areas:

• Do your meetings, conference calls and online collaboration settings start on time?
• Do you send out your agenda and all necessary background materials a few days in advance to give everyone time to prepare?
• Do you make an effort to address each person by name?
• Can you distinguish each person on your team by voice?  If not, what’s your plan for knowing who’s saying what?
• Do you have a primary communications contact at each distinct physical location?  (This is the person responsible to be your direct two-way communications channel for all people at that place.)
• Have you spoken to each team member one-on-one at least a few times to introduce yourself, to set the tone for the project, and to learn a little about them?

These are some of the very basics of creating a community feel on your projects.   No doubt you have others.  What are the most salient characteristics of the groups in which you enjoy participating?
(Image by goatopolis)

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