Topic Teasers Vol. 145: Focus on Flow, Not Team Speed

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  Organizational Project Management  

I understand that the organization needs to get team products and services to the customers to make a profit. However, putting extra pressure on teams to be faster seems to slow things down instead of having the desired effect. Is there a way that as a project manager I can intervene to get management its desired outcome and at the same time protect my team​?

A. Teams are often erroneously blamed when a project is late. It could actually be caused by issues in other places of the organization, poor communication with other areas, or lack of the proper skill sets on the team. The project manager needs to step up and present a solution to management to take the blame from the team if it doesn’t deserve it, and to streamline future work results.

B. Since there is great concern that workers are leaving their current positions due to burnout, the project manager should caution management that asking for unrealistic delivery times will have an unwanted outcome. Teams should just work at their own pace and deliver things when it suits them.

C. Research shows that project delivery for any type of product or service is 30-47% slower now that workers are often based out of their own homes. They are less productive, so that should be …

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