Page 176 - Project+

includes doing what you say you’ll do, supporting your team, showing concern for your

team, having their back, putting the good of the organization above your own, and
being humble. Not many folks want to work for or with someone whose primary
concern is him- or herself.

Teams that trust one another and their project manager are more comfortable stating
their opinions and objecting to ideas that don’t make sense. This may sound contrary,
but teams who are able to speak their minds are much more likely to be successful.
They have buy-in to ideas and tasks because they had some say-so in the matter.

If the project manager is not open to this type of feedback or thinks they have all the
answers and don’t require input from the team, they aren’t likely to experience their
teams moving to the performing stage.

Take the time to get to know your team members. Ask them questions about their
outside interests and show genuine concern when they have issues or conflicts. This
can go a long way in establishing a trusting relationship.

Monitoring Team Performance

Managing team member performance can be a complex undertaking. A successful
project manager understands that most people work at their best when they’re allowed
to do the work they were assigned without someone preapproving every action they
take. As long as the end result is accomplished according to plan and there is no impact
on scope, schedule, budget, or quality, team members should be given freedom and

choices regarding how to complete their tasks.

Although you shouldn’t micromanage team members, they do need feedback on how
they’re doing. Most team members perform well in some areas and need improvement
in others. Even if your organization does not require project managers to conduct
formal written appraisals, you should take the time to provide feedback to the team
members and not get so caught up in managing the project issues that you neglect your
team members. The following are important areas of focus as you prepare to discuss

performance with your team members:

Specifying performance expectations

Identifying inadequate performance behaviors

Rewarding superior performance

Reprimanding inadequate performance

Providing specific consequences for choices made

Performance Feedback

The first meeting you should have with any new team member, and at the beginning of
every project, is the expectations-setting meeting. This is where you discuss the
following: their role on the project, due dates, performance expectations, team

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