Monday, 7 June 2010

10 Tips for Boosting Team Performance


As a Project Manager, your success depends on how well your team performs. So if you want to improve your team performance, then read these:

10 Tips for Boosting Team Performance
There are lots of different ways that you can boost your team performance. We’ve listed here our Top 10 Tips. We hope they help you…

Tip 1: Show them the vision
People only perform well in a role if they understand what it is that they need to deliver and why. For this reason, we suggest you get your team together to reinforce the project vision, objectives, timeframes and deadlines. Make your team feel wanted and needed by showing them that the project is critical to the success of the business. You will gain their buy-in and their commitment going forward.
Also, use these Project Management Templates

Tip 2: Meet them individually
After your meeting, take each team member aside and tell them what it is that you need from them to help you deliver the project. Make sure they have a clear Job Description and they know how you are going to measure their performance. Ask them how they like to be managed, what motivates them and how you can support them in their role.

Tip 3: Give them room
At this point, you need to back off a little and give them room to perform. And if the pressure increases in your project, you need to give them more room than less. It’s hard to do this, but you mustn’t over-pressurize them or their performance will reduce, rather than improve.

Tip 4: Count the goals
As you back off, you need to put in place checks to measure their performance regularly. Meet with them individually every month to discuss their achievements, what’s outstanding and how they can improve. Make sure you don’t “bottle up” your concerns. Instead speak to them openly, keeping constructive at all times.

Tip 5: Be positive
If you’re stressed and weary, ease off on your staff. Shouting or being negative will only rub off on them. It’s incredibly difficult but you need to be positive, reassuring and supporting them at all times, even if the project is delayed.

Tip 6: Shake hands and pat backs
It’s easy to forget to praise your team’s successes. So every time you deliver a great quality product, finish a difficult task on time or get great feedback from a customer—congratulate those responsible in your team.
Also, use Project Scheduling Software

Tip 7: Meet at half time
Get your team together regularly to build a strong team spirit. Get them socializing together, so that new friendships are formed. The stronger the bond your team have with each other, the more likely they will work together as a single cohesive unit and achieve the objectives you have set.

Tips 8: Take time out
Don’t be afraid to give team members time off for working hard. By taking time out, it will reduce sick leave, improve motivation and increase efficiency.

Tips 9: Give them what they need
Everyone is motivated by different things. You need to know what motivates every different member of your team. Get to know them well. If you can reward each person differently based on their motivations, then you’ll improve their performance every time. This is the hardest trick in the book, but the one that pays the biggest dividends.

Tip 10: Celebrate your wins!
Staff all too often finish a project and move straight onto the next one without celebrating its success. When they do this, they carry their stress and pressure into the next project they work on. So help your team to “start afresh” by celebrating your success at the end of the project.
By taking these 10 tips seriously, you will improve the performance of your team and boost your chances of success.


Other articles on Project Management Templates:

Project Management Templates and Their Benefits 
Project Management templates are an excellent tool for any project, large or small.  They reduce the time necessary for documentation, and can ensure no steps of the project are neglected.

The Project Management Template – Guiding the Way to a Successful Project
Using a project management template not only saves time, money, and effort; it also ensures that all aspects and phases of a project are included in the project plan.

Managing Project Management Template Risks
If all of our projects just smoothly followed our project schedule we’d have it made.  No issues, no budget overruns, no cranky customers, no scope changes.  But that’s not the case. 

Why Project Management Templates are an Essential Tool for Project Managers
The reason why project management templates are an essential tool for project managers is simple. 

Why Project Management Templates Are Useful
Knowing why project management templates are useful when carrying out large projects is the first step to a smoothly-running project.

1 comment:

  1. Nice post on the above subject.Well described.As a manager i will say that for making a project sucessfull,you need to have a project trainning which will give you an idea of how to handle the entire project with its each and every sprints(each section of work). And a manager having a PMP Certification can handle it in a much better way.

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