Question

Discuss the importance of building a high-performing team and effective communication in managing projects. What methods do you use or have observed to build an effective project team? Give an example from your personal experience or research.

Answer 1

At present times, when the world is changing at such a rapid place due to technology and e-business taking over the traditional way of doing business, managers need to develop unique skills and a much different approach to project management than what was required for the conventional general management.

The primary focus for any project manager would be to keep the project under budget and also timely completion of the project achieving the predetermined goals. Five of the most important components in execution of a project are :

• Cost Accounting
• Progress Measurement
• Variance tracking an change control
• Performance evaluation
• Productivity evaluation

People are the core of any project. A right team with clear vision would help achieve the goal much faster and smoothly than a wrong mix of people with unclear goal. Proper human resource planning needs to be carried out so as to specify what kind of people with what skill set is needed to carry out the project and their availability. The team has to be de-briefed about the deadlines and the objective of the project. Exceptions must be handled carefully and any unforeseen issues must be tackled swiftly.

A good communication strategy is a must for successful completion of a project. A timely and reliable information helps to mitigate re-work and eliminate confusion amongst the project team. A clear communication plan must be created before hand that shows what data that needs to be conveyed , how to make it available and when to transmit it. An appropriate ,secure distribution mechanism must be created to communicate on “need to know” basis.

Following guidelines must be adhered to for a clear communication:

• Pass on the information on “Need to Know basis” to minimize noise
• Write precise ,concise mails and maintain audit trails
• Use the technique of para-phrasing and repeat what you hear so that there’s no ambiguity
• Project Managers must encourage the team to ask questions for clarification
• Voice mail messages must be short and clear
• Complicated jargons must be avoided unless and until needed