Ransford Armah A Project director| Compassion International, Ghana Winneba, Ghana
As a project manager, how do you deal with project team members who always need to be supervised before preforming. they will work perfectly for you if you constantly remind them of their tasks Saving Changes...
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Jacob geBauerVice President - Pacific Northwest Region| MasTecBonney Lake, Wa, United States
Clear and quantifiable actions (tasks) with clear deadlines both parties agree on (if they don't agree, make sure they understand why that deadline has been made, they might bring up a legit reason it can't be made).
Example: instead of "testing complete by 1/2/2016" use "confirm testing of x is complete by 12/29/2015, confirm testing of y is complete by 12/31/2015, and confirm testing of z is complete by 1/2/2016." This will allow you to see if they are behind earlier too. Psychologically, 3 small tasks are less overwhelming than 1 large task every time. If a deadline is missed, remind them the impact it has to the team, to the project, and to you when they miss it. Work with them so they give you suggestions on how they are going to not miss deadlines in the future (these suggestions should be measurable and with dates if possible, "work harder" is not measurable, "dedicate an extra hour per day until task is done" or "communicate progress to you daily/weekly on every task for the next 2 months" is).
I also learned, that conducting frequent meetings in a quick and structured way, not letting the topic stray can ensure that you are on top of, and they are aware of, their tasks and deadlines. After they get accustomed to the format, select team members to take up tasks in the meeting, such as meeting notes, action items (I personally think that formalizing action items at the end of a meeting with dates and a person responsible, and then reviewing the open items at the beginning of each meeting is the most important thing YOU can get out of meetings), setting the agenda, and assigning people to conduct the meeting (lets them respect the work you do for them, gives them a skill that will follow them everywhere, and allows you to see how they prepare and give them feedback on how they can improve).
Obviously, mileage may vary depending on your org structure and overall control of the team development, but this philosophy has helped me tremendously in my career. Saving Changes...
Dominic LawProduct Manager| PCCW GlobalHappy Valley, Hong Kong
I like Jacob's opinion. On top of that, another method is to have a good WBS, so every team members have clear short term target. I like morning briefing too; have 15 to 30 minutes to brief the progress, summary of issues and upcoming plan. You may also elect reliable team leaders who can help you to micro-manage the difficult team members. Saving Changes...
PARAG KANDEKARVP Operations| SoftNice IncAllentown, Pa, United States
I like Dominic suggestion of electing someone as Team Leader to delegate some of your tasks. This helps you to have time for other important things than supervision. I also try rotation policy many times to elect team leader, this also gives motivation to team members as well you get a future option to select your leader for critical and crucial tasks. Saving Changes...
I'd think about team development. If the team members know more about the vision (big picture), their parts, their responsibility - they may act on another level of engagement. There is usually less motivation and understanding if someone is just handed over "this task to be done in this way by then" in contrast to someone who can contribute ideas and manage his tasks within their own responsibility. Most prefer being involved over being assigned.
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1 reply by Adrian Carlogea
Sep 14, 2016 12:41 PM
Adrian Carlogea
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While I do agree with your statement I would like to also make a comment regarding task assignment by PMs.
I can't generalize but on the projects on which I have worked as a technical expert, PMs could never tell team members something like "this task to be done in this way by then". And this was true not necessarily because the PMs didn't have formal authority but because they simply didn't know in which ways a task can be completed and also they didn't know how long the task will take.
In fact PMs didn't even assign tasks but instead they asked the team or sometimes individuals to work on certain requirements, and it was up to the team or the individual who was working on the requirements to define the actual tasks needed to be completed as well as to estimate the needed effort.
This implies the fact that PMs can not always control the way in which the team members are involved in the decisions taken in determining how the requirement are going to be resolved.
For instance the PM may assign a change request to a team members, but the team member's technical lead or line manager can decide what needs to be done to perform the work for the requirement without taking into account the ideas that the team members might have.
If the team member is disgruntled about the fact that his technical lead/line manager is micro-managing him while he performs the work for the project there is nothing the PM can do about it.
Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
The question can not be answered without context. At least in my experience and knowledge. This type of situations depends on lot of things related to the environement. For example, your team is working in assigned to your project only? Or they are multi-tasking? Which is your organization culture about the management style? Which is the power assigned to a project manager when is assigned to a project in your organization?. Saving Changes...
Product Operations Program ManagerBarcelona, Cataluña, Spain
To add all to the interesting contributions so far, I believe that PM is accountable to ensure that project team members have the knowledge and skills required to carry out their assigned tasks. If this is not the case, the PM should include training (& evaluation) in the project plan.
If the problem with this particular team member lays on the attitude, then another approach shall be taken in order to increase his/her level of engagement; PM shall then use his/her interpersonal skills, communication methods and management skills. Saving Changes...
Wade HarshmanScrum Master| GDITIndianapolis, In, United States
There are so many ways to answer this question, based on how your organization is structured, how developed your team is, and what your personal/professional relationship is with others in your organization. This may be a case where you need to take control, or it may be something that you can't directly influence.
As others have suggested, though, you need to first understand why this team member is not performing. That person may have other work that- by perception or reality- is more important than your project. It's also possible that there are impediments to the work, and perhaps you can help. If that person is working perfectly when reminded of tasks, then perhaps the best thing you can do as a project manager is to keep those project tasks to the fore. Experiment with daily stand-ups, calendars, backlogs, or scoreboards... whatever fits your team. Ideally, you'll find a technique that doesn't involve you supervising this person's daily work.
Regardless, you'll need insight and support from your project team. Saving Changes...
I'd think about team development. If the team members know more about the vision (big picture), their parts, their responsibility - they may act on another level of engagement. There is usually less motivation and understanding if someone is just handed over "this task to be done in this way by then" in contrast to someone who can contribute ideas and manage his tasks within their own responsibility. Most prefer being involved over being assigned.
While I do agree with your statement I would like to also make a comment regarding task assignment by PMs.
I can't generalize but on the projects on which I have worked as a technical expert, PMs could never tell team members something like "this task to be done in this way by then". And this was true not necessarily because the PMs didn't have formal authority but because they simply didn't know in which ways a task can be completed and also they didn't know how long the task will take.
In fact PMs didn't even assign tasks but instead they asked the team or sometimes individuals to work on certain requirements, and it was up to the team or the individual who was working on the requirements to define the actual tasks needed to be completed as well as to estimate the needed effort.
This implies the fact that PMs can not always control the way in which the team members are involved in the decisions taken in determining how the requirement are going to be resolved.
For instance the PM may assign a change request to a team members, but the team member's technical lead or line manager can decide what needs to be done to perform the work for the requirement without taking into account the ideas that the team members might have.
If the team member is disgruntled about the fact that his technical lead/line manager is micro-managing him while he performs the work for the project there is nothing the PM can do about it. Saving Changes...
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