How to build an effective project team in 2022

Despite the hundreds of modern tools available to support project management, it is still people who are mainly responsible for its successful implementation. The importance of an effective team that can meet all goals within a given time frame, and budget, and without exceeding specific resources is hard to overestimate. Such a team can not be developed by chance. Its creation is one of the biggest challenges the Project Manager faces to manage projects effectively. Therefore, what is necessary to transform a group of people into a strong, organized, and motivated project team with the determination to cooperate on a project together for common goals?

A precise goal is essential to building an effective project team.

It is difficult to imagine effective project implementation without a clear definition of what is to be achieved, and what the priorities and expectations are. A specific, achievable goal is an essential element that allows the team to work efficiently. Every person involved in the project should, therefore, know what his or her contribution to the eventual shape of the final product will be so that he or she can identify with it. Is it not much easier to deal with emerging difficulties if we are aware of the value that is being injected into the project?

Competence and personality conundrums

When selecting team members, it is not enough to be guided solely by their competence and knowledge. You should also take into account such traits as communicativeness, openness to criticism and suggestions, or the ability to cooperate with others. Contrary to appearances, creating an effective group of people with different characteristics and strategies is not a simple task. Even more so since, in addition to good communication, a hint of healthy competition is also required.

The right people in the right place

It is difficult to expect effective work and commitment from the team if individual employees do not know what falls within their scope of responsibility. Saying out loud that "we have to deal with it" or "we have to do it" without addressing it to a particular person usually results in nothing being done as it should. Therefore, it is necessary to make sure that each member of the team understands what tasks have been assigned to them and how they are supposed to implement them.

Communication is key.

As regards methods of building a productive team, we cannot leave out effective communication. The fish stinks from the head down. Similarly, with a project. If the Project Manager does not set clear rules for the exchange of information and, above all, does not implement them, the consequences may be disastrous. IC Project is an example of a tool that offers a handful of functionalities supporting PMs in this area. Thanks to the internal chat, the option to create comments for tasks, and e-mail notifications sent to the mailbox, the employees stay in touch and can focus on task execution to the full extent.

Although, of course, there is no universal recipe for a dream team, one thing is certain – building it is not a one-off operation, but a process that requires constantly keeping a finger on the pulse. Even the most interesting project has no chance to materialize without a group of people to execute it. An effective project team is, therefore, a prerequisite for a project to be successful.