The project management-oriented labor force is expected to grow by 33%, adding 22 million new jobs to the workforce. In order to successfully lead a project management team, however, you need a plan. Otherwise, lack of organization could impact your team’s productivity.

Here are the five tips you need to create a successful project management team. With these tips, you can learn how to be a good project manager and lead your team to success.

Boost productivity as a team! Keep reading to discover the art of project management today.

1. Learn How to Manage Your Time

Before you get started on your project, you need to learn how to manage your team’s time. Otherwise, efficiency and productivity will suffer. 

Create a system and process for your team. Then, make a standardized template that will allow you to measure each phase of your project.

Once you determine each phase of your project, set a projected time frame for each phase. 

Develop a critical path for tasks that your team must complete in order. Make sure to manage where you’ll handoff tasks at each phase of the project. Otherwise, you might experience timely delays.

If you’re looking for project management tips to boost productivity, consider the problem you’re trying to solve. What’s the project’s overall goal? Once you recognize the problem, you can develop a solution.

Then, create performance metrics for your project. You can use these metrics to ensure you’re accomplishing measurable goals. Without performance metrics, you might not realize you’re behind until it’s too late. 

If you have difficult clients, make time for change-orders.

Setting realistic timeframes for yourself and your team will keep everyone on track. 

2. Kick Up Communication

The next step to creating a successful project management team is to develop a communication strategy. If your team doesn’t know how to communicate, you’ll miss deadlines, impacting your budget.

Instead, you need to create a plan for consistent communication.

Determine which tools you’ll use to communicate. You can use a project management system like Wrike or Asana to get organized. Some companies rely solely on emails.

Make sure to schedule regular meetings to ensure everyone is on the same page. You don’t need to schedule these meetings too often, though. 

Otherwise, they might impact overall productivity.

Instead, streamline your communication plan. You don’t need a meeting every day. In some cases, you can use timed virtual meetings to remain on track.

You’ll also need to communicate with your project stakeholders. After all, you don’t want them to feel surprised when there’s a sudden stall. Instead, determine how often you’ll update them.

Developing an effective communication plan is key for successful project management. Otherwise, you might have a difficult time measuring your project’s progress. 

Listen

As the project leader, it’s important that you use active listening when speaking with your teammates and stakeholders. Make sure to demonstrate empathy and genuineness. Understanding your team members’ concerns will help you become a better leader.

Watch how they communicate through body language. You can take cues from their tone, too. 

If you need to win support from senior executives, make a note of how they communicate. Then, talk their language.

For example, you can focus on profit growth instead of budget concerns.

Learning how to communicate with senior management is an important component to your project’s success. Otherwise, you might hit roadblocks down the road.   

3. Determine a Workflow

What distractions and obstacles are impacting your team’s productivity? Recognize those obstacles and set them aside. Improving your team’s workflow will help you achieve successful project management. 

First, create subtask deadlines throughout your overall project. Use your performance metrics to determine where you need to set these deadlines. 

Remember, setbacks will happen. Remain realistic. Then, recognize what’s slowing down your project to make future improvements. 

Review the progress of your project every week. What gaps are slowing you down? Consider your time, scope, cost, and overall objectives.

Once you recognize those gaps, make an effort to close them. You might need to adjust your plans along the way to manage your workflow.

If you can, develop a system for recognizing warning signs. Establishing your milestones will help you confirm the project is on track. 

4. Consider Your Culture

As you learn more about the art of project management, it’s also important to consider your company culture. People are more productive if they have shared beliefs. Otherwise, your team might not prioritize the same efforts. 

Focus on creating relationships with every member of your team. Try to set time to bond outside of the office. A united team is a united front. 

After completing a project, review what happened.

What could you have done better? What suggestions do your team members have for improvement?

Learning from members of your team will help you grow as a unit. 

Don’t forget to lean on your senior executive team for support, too. What advice can they offer?

After a project, show your team your gratitude for all their hard work. Positive encouragement can make a big difference in future projects. Otherwise, your team’s morale will take a hit, which can impact your team’s productivity.

Find your own way of thanking them for their hard work. 

5. Learn How to Lead

About 80% of high-performing projects are led by a certified project manager. Meanwhile, many organizations have a 70% project failure rate due to bad leadership and planning. By learning how to lead your team, you can set yourself up for success and long-term growth.

To become a better leader, prioritize the little details.

Explore each team member’s strengths and weaknesses. Then, play to their strengths. Recognizing their weaknesses will help you identify potential issues.

You might want to consider utilizing an agile retrospective for your team as well.

Otherwise, keep your cool. Don’t overreact. Instead, believe in your team and prepare yourself to jump in as needed to help. 

Step It Up With the Best Tips for Developing a Successful Project Management Team

Ready to lead your team? Develop a successful project management team with these five tips! With these strategies, you can unite your team, boost overall productivity, and accomplish your project goals. 

Looking for more helpful professional tips and guides? Explore the Business section of the blog today!

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