One of the capacities and strongly needed expertise of a EU project manager is the ability to work with and lead a team of people, which in our case is represented by the staff of the international partners of a project consortium. In other words, teamwork for project managers always implies the work with a transcultural and multilingual human component.
Project managers universally agree that good teamwork results in faster completion of tasks, qualitative results, increased productivity and a healthy work environment which, we believe, is the viaticum for the formers. Critical for project management, teamwork improves team spirit and empowers the team to easily overcome obstacles during the project implementation. Despite how difficult it sounds, any project manager will agree that completing the project with the best teamwork (partnership and partners) is worth the effort. Among the most important developments in management since the 1970’s effective teamwork made the link to successful performance and results.
According to Jessica Ulloa, Community Manager at MyPerfectResume, “When it comes to project management two heads think better than one and when you work as a team you are able to better anticipate problems and find more effective solutions. A good tip is to assign tasks based on your team’s strengths, knowledge, and skills. This would also make it easier to trust that your team is doing a great job and contributing ideas that only they can come up with while you focus on the things you are good at.” This “adagio” should therefore be applied, in the first place, when gathering the right partners for our project and, in terms of concept design, when attributing to each of the selected organisations the right tasks and activities to be delivered. Assigning deeds which belong to the expertise of partners favours the quick, qualitative, and relevant to the target delivery of project results.
Team building is the process of taking a collection of individuals or representatives of organisations with different goals, backgrounds and expertise, and transforming them by various methods into an integrated, effective work unit, focused on the common goal of project achievements. Thus, the goals and energies of individual contributors, staff members, merge and support the objectives of the team, of the consortium. The concept of team building becomes critically important when drafting a project idea and selecting the partners to involve, since their staff will play a crucial role in the working atmosphere and scientific competence during the project duration.
There are good reasons for an EU project manager to make sure he/she is building the best teamwork possible, i.e., the best partners whose working staff address the issue of a healthy and efficient team.
Factors justifying building a great team.
- Smooth Flow of Projects
Factors such as scope creep, increased timelines, managing demands of the project targets and focusing on the stakeholders involved account for addressing the ongoing requirements and additional requests.
- Effective Management of Material Resources
A cohesive team ensures the best use and sustainable one of available resources within a short period of time. And only PMs know how short the time is in project development and how scarce the resources are (usually financial ones)
- Enables a Creative Approach
Brainstorming on multiple aspects of the project fosters creativity and siphons knowledge which can help the implementation of project activities even beyond what has been written in the application form.
- Combines Various Strengths for Common Goal
Different sets of skills and expertise carried by each of the participating partner can be brought together to achieve the goals of the project efficiently, creating opportunities and supporting the long-lasting effect of the results (sustainability).
- Enhances Accountability
Teams working together with mutual respect will drive each staff member and partner to stay accountable for the task undertaken. This is actually a hot topic when it comes to project management and implementation: the responsibility of partners in delivering project tasks are better understood and carried in a group thanks to the reliable support which it can offer, along with the complementarity of skills which it can comprehend.
- Effective Feedback
The effective implementation of activities and the accomplishment of qualitative outcomes is one of the main goals for which project managers work very much. Regular quality assurance actions are implemented to monitor the good progress and the effective results. Among other measures, internal monitoring helps to grasp how things are moving on and this is also achievable via the feedback of partners’ members. Meetings are planned in order to do that as well beyond regular internal assessment performed via monitoring tools (questionnaires).
Obstacles in building teamwork and ways to overcome them
Some barriers to efficient team building can arise when a project manager is undertaking the operations of a transnational project.
- Differing outlooks and priorities of project members during activities implementation
- Lack of clarity in teamwork load and sharing
- Lack of abilities and competences of project leader (including humanity skills)
- Lack of knowhow and, in some cases competences, of project members
- Decrease of staff members commitment through time
- Communication difficulties
There are however ways to overcome these barriers for project managers who act early and make strategic decisions concerning the work of the consortium. The following are suggestions that work pro-actively in order to enhance interaction and communication between staff workers and enhancing their creative discourse and effectiveness.
Make effort early in the project life cycle to discover any conflicting differences. Clarify constantly the scope of the project and the “rewards” for the consortium and the final beneficiaries which may be forthcoming upon successful project completion. Sell “team” concept and explain responsibilities.
Assure that all parties understand the overall and interdisciplinary project objectives. Clear and frequent communication with the partnership and its project managers becomes critically important.
Determine how the overall project can best be divided into subsystems and subtasks (e.g., the work breakdown structure). During project design assign and state clear roles among the partnership. During project operation conduct regular status review meetings to keep team informed on progress and watch for unanticipated role conflicts over the project’s life.
Senior management must help establish the project manager’s leadership role. On the other hand, the project manager needs to fulfil the leadership expectations of project members.
Regular meetings with the team will reinforce the team notion as will clearly defined tasks, roles, and responsibilities. Also, visibility in memos and other forms of written media as well as senior management and associate partners’ participation can strengthen the team.
Especially during project design period, attempt to negotiate the project assignments with potential partners. Clearly discuss with potential team members the importance of the project, their role in it, what rewards might result upon completion, and the general rules of the project.
Try to determine lack of team member commitment early in the life of his project and attempt to change possible negative views toward the project. If insecurity or conflict are the culprits, the project leader should intervene and smooth out fears.
Communication is important and tools such as status meetings, schedules, reviews, and reports are the way to encourage feedback and contributors’ input.
A small practical hint: involving partners in the drafting of interim and final reports, on behalf of the project coordinator, might be time consuming (when it comes to harmonise each partner’s contribution); on the side of the partners, it might be perceived as an extra burden (which responsibility belongs to the applicant organisation). However, such an action addresses several matters like provision of feedback, accountability, overview of project activities, sharing, mutuality, team support, sense of ownership over the delivered project.
For further examples and clues related to team building in project consortia check our next article.