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The project team is made up of those people dedicated to the project or borrowed on a part-time basis. As project manager, you need to provide leadership, direction, and above all, the support to team members as they go about accomplishing their tasks. Working closely with the team to solve problems can help you learn from the team and build rapport. Showing your support for the project team and for each member will help you get their support and cooperation.
Here are some difficulties you may encounter in dealing with project team members:
- Because project team members are borrowed and they don’t report to you, their priorities may be elsewhere.
- They may be juggling many projects as well as their full-time job and have difficulty meeting deadlines.
- Personality conflicts may arise. These may be caused by differences in social style or values or they may be the result of some bad experience when people worked together in the past.
- You may find out about missed deadlines when it is too late to recover.
Managing project team members requires interpersonal skills. Here are some suggestions that can help:
- Involve team members in project planning.
- Arrange to meet privately and informally with each team member at several points in the project, perhaps for lunch or coffee.
- Be available to hear team members’ concerns at any time.
- Encourage team members to pitch in and help others when needed.
- Complete a project performance review for team members.
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