Product Operations Program ManagerBarcelona, Cataluña, Spain
A Team has been put together and a War-Room assigned. What tips do you have to create an optimum working atmosphere and get the most out of it? Saving Changes...
Tim PodestaDirector of PM/PMO| Former BP- now IndependentPenn, Bucks, United Kingdom
The best war rooms have visual displays, reminders of project objectives such as safety and culture. and progress and issue charts that really help project teams get aligned and focus on the key issues. Saving Changes...
On top of the above mentioned recommendations related to a optimum working atmosphere:
Try to understand the "underlying demands" of your team members:
- why are they in this project and what do they expect from the project
- can team members anser the question the "why" of their assigned tasks, not only "what" and "how"
- When people understand and agree that the project and their assignment does have a meaningful sense, the optimum working environment does have a lot better chance
- try to understand also team members background to a certain degree, for example why somebody does have certain time limitations etc. Saving Changes...
Working agreements/ground rules are critical in war rooms otherwise increased proximity will also result in increased conflict.
I'd also suggest using some front-loaded team building exercises to help people get over their (mis)perceptions of one another. One which I've used in the past is "things you might not know about my working style" - each person is given the opportunity to share a few things about themselves that might be misinterpreted by others.
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