Project Management

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Have you ever faced a disengaged team member and wondered why your team member (or team) is disengaged?

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Nadia Shaheen Project Manager Delhi, Delhi, India
As managers, we get busy with strategic and administrative work and may not spend enough time with disengaged team members. I learned the preventive approach of cultivating an engaged team from my seniors at the beginning of my career and am sharing it here.

1. Know your team.
You need more than just having your team's contact information and quarterly team-building exercises to know your team members. Spend time with your team, establish good rapport, take breaks together, and do quick team-building exercises frequently. Make the team comfortable so they do not hesitate to contact you to discuss their professional or personal problems.

2. Listen and observe.
Fostering a team, especially a diverse team, takes effort. We meet as mature professionals with a certain mindset and sometimes with compromised flexibility. Developing an engaged team requires active listening and observation. Listen to your team carefully and understand them so it is easy to nurture a collaborative team to maximize their productivity.

3. Know your team members' goals.
Do not just impose the organization's or department's goal on your team members. Find out if the goal aligns with their desired goals as well. Ask your team members about their goals and be resourceful and empathetic. Give them suggestions, connect with relevant points of contact who can help, or help them choose their role and responsibility anywhere else if there is a misfit.

4. Learn, challenge, and empower.
Empower your team by creating a continuous learning environment with healthy competition and giving power and liberty to be innovative. Set learning goals to achieve and evaluate the team members’ learning, recognize, reunite, and celebrate.

5. Give your team members opportunities.
Create opportunities for your team that help them achieve their professional dream. Give them a chance to lead, let them interact with clients directly, let them resolve issues by themselves, and give them opportunities to grow and move up the ladder.

6. Reward, recognize and celebrate.
Celebrate each sprint throughout for small or big wins and even for the efforts. Sometimes, invested effort may not show an immediate result, but that reveals the caliber and potential of the team and gives confidence to move forward.

7. Continuous feedback loop.
Establish a continuous two-way feedback mechanism. Provide and receive feedback as early as it qualifies to collate data and action. Make sure to take action on the feedback and follow up on the provided and received feedback progress. Support team members in feedback incorporation and celebrate feedback incorporation.

8. Supportive and tailored environment.
There are many variables related to human interaction and people-centric problem-solving. One approach may not fit all. Customize your approach according to the team and project. Team up with counsel and team members and cultivate a culture where team members are valued and supportive of each other.
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Kiron Bondale Retired | Mentor| Retired Welland, Ontario, Canada
HBR had an article recently where they highlighted the importance of having team members feel seen. heard, valued & recognized - looks like you hit all of those, Nadia!

Kiron
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Nadia Shaheen Project Manager Delhi, Delhi, India
Thank you, Kiron.
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Abolfazl Yousefi Darestani Manager, Quality and Continuous Improvement| Hörmann-TNR Industrial Doors Newmarket, Ontario, Canada
Thank you for sharing!
Good read.
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1 reply by Nadia Shaheen
Nov 08, 2023 7:15 AM
Nadia Shaheen
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Thank you, Abolfazl.
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Ganesh Kumar Program Manager Bangalore., Karnataka, India
Well written Nadia, should have created a blog instead. Ideal scenario, hope it gets practiced in spirit and principle. With a vuca scenario in most organisations, such practices by PM and upwards will enhance the value of the teams.
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Nadia Shaheen Project Manager Delhi, Delhi, India
Nov 07, 2023 11:44 AM
Replying to Abolfazl Yousefi Darestani
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Thank you for sharing!
Good read.
Thank you, Abolfazl.
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Mayte Mata Sivera PMO Leader | Speaker | Author Ut, United States
Nadia, good job, however this looks more like a blog post.

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