How do great teams work together in 2019? Whether they’re remote or sit five feet from each other, there are a few things successful teams do.
Successful Teams Communicate Constantly and Effectively
Communication is something a lot of project teams struggle with. For some teams, they just aren’t communicating enough. Maybe they have a weekly meeting and that’s the only time they really connect. For most projects, this isn’t enough. They may not need to all meet every week, but the team should be talking to each other throughout the week as they work on their tasks.
Other teams might connect regularly but don’t talk about the most important issues. For example, maybe they’re chatting on Slack about the news or a new company policy. Slack is a common tool in the workplace now, but it’s not always used effectively.
Great teams strike a good balance. They communicate with each other a lot, and they make sure they are moving the project forward. They don’t hide anything from each other (on purpose anyways) because they realize open communication helps the team reach its goals.
Successful Teams Use the Right Tools
New tools seem to come out every day. From video chat to project management tools, there is an overwhelming number of tools out there for project teams to use.
Here are a few types of tools to consider, along with why they help so much:
Team Chat Tools
lack is probably the most well-known, but there are alternatives out there as well. Team chat tools make it easy to reach a team member and have an ongoing conversation with a group of people. Some companies claim they barely use email internally, because most communications are done via team chat.
Video Conferencing
The more you can do to connect with your team, the better. Video calls generally helps the team be more focused, as you can’t be working on other things during a video call! They also make it more personal, similar to sitting across the table from someone in person.
Project Management Tools
Basecamp, Trello, and Asana are just a few. These tools make it easy to track project milestones, who is assigned to each task, save attachments, etc. Effective teams know that organization is important, so they use tools to help.
Successful Teams Have a Strong Project Manager
Project managers exist to do one thing: keep the project on schedule and cost without sacrificing quality. That’s not easy, but it can make or break a team.
Here are a few qualities of a great project manager:
- They ask lots of questions. They can’t be afraid of sounding dumb, because asking questions is the best way to make sure everyone understands what’s going on.
- They know when to be firm. If you set a meeting for 30 minutes and you’re at the 20 minute mark without much progress, a great project manager will steer the team back into the right direction.
- They track metrics. What gets measured gets managed!
- They don’t spend a ton of time at their desks. Great project managers are constantly on the move – in meetings, going to people’s desk to ask a question, etc. This is especially true with urgent requests or tasks.
