The Value of Building the Right Team

 

A team is more than simply a collection of individuals working on the same project—or at least it should be.

I once worked with a fellow who processed information very differently than I did. We were contributors on the same team, but we would often "discuss" our differences in approach (most of the time in a civil manner). Although we had our disagreements, we were able to collaborate very well together because we appreciated our differences and came to discover that sometimes the perspective of a divergent view can force everyone to look more critically at the process or the proposed solution. Over the years, I have come to really appreciate the way we successfully worked together to accomplish our objectives.

I've also worked with others who refused to collaborate or compromise (sometimes these were even project managers). Everyone was frustrated, nothing ever really got accomplished and projects often languished until they were abandoned or worse, ignored.

Most of us have also worked with people who had no opinion of their own, refused to contribute anything but their butt in a seat, creating an even more frustrating collaboration environment than those who were intransigent in their opinions.

So how do you create the perfect team?

1. Technology can help keep the team together: Project teams should leverage technology to work together regardless of where they work in the world—particularly as more and more organizations seem to rely on distributed teams. The Internet has made it possible for project leaders in Europe to manage teams in China or South America, and executives in Cincinnati to have access to real project information to make informed decisions.
2. Because you don’t always get to pick your team, you need to make the most out of the team you’ve got: Most of the time project leaders don’t get to pick their team—nor does the team get to pick their project leader. Building a good working relationship with everyone on the team is important. Sometimes the collaboration will be easy, but it isn't always easy. We need to work on effectively communicating with everyone we work with, even those who are stubborn or disengaged.
3. It’s not fair to expect any team member to do all the heavy lifting: The same team members shouldn’t be expected to do all the heavy lifting for the team. When everyone works together and carries their share of the burdens associated with a project, the project is more likely to be successful and the team is more likely to pull together as they all work to overcome challenges and help with the heavy lifting. This is also a good way to get people who would otherwise be content to sit in the background engaged.
4. Stronger and more capable team members should mentor and help less experienced team members improve their skills: I’m a firm believer in always learning and improving skills, at work and in everything else I do. How we treat less experienced members of the team and potential learning experiences can positively or negatively impact how they perceive their role on the team. I will always be grateful to the more senior people who took an interest in me during the early years of my career and taught me the things that didn’t appear in the HR manual or company training.

I don't think it really matters what type of projects we work on, keeping the team working together is sometimes challenging when project teams are made up of people with different abilities and dispositions. With that in mind, we also need to remember that successful teams don't just happen. We need to use the technology and interpersonal skills at our disposal to foster a good team envirnoment where everyone collaborates and contributes together.

What are you doing to keep everyone working together and successfullly collaborating?