If you are a project manager in a matrix organization, and you have team members from many functional areas around the globe then this post might be useful for you.

Let us start with the fact: good atmosphere in the projects is statistically increasing the performance of the teams. But there is even more. If your team has trust in you as a leader, as a person, and you enable a pleasant work atmosphere, they will work faster, more focused and will be even more motivated. These are the most important points which I would like you to understand since these could be the reason for your underperforming teams. How they feel about working in your project is basically in your hands. So, every improvement you make and time you invest in your team will work out for you as a person as well as for your project.

I would like to point out that you are a project manager and, in many cases, it is more difficult for you as for the disciplinary leader. Why? Let us check the often-referred Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. While the direct leader of your team members can firstly have an impact on the safety needs of your team members like salary and employment, you and your project are one of the key aspects for the fulfilment of their career-related esteem needs. It is a big jump, right?!

Just play around with that topic for a second. If your team member is continuously stressed, he or she will not be motivated in your project but will simply see it as a necessity. This person will not get any closer to the own work-related esteem, will most probably not be recognized by the disciplinary leader for his or her great work or get a promotion. Now you should see how important it is to your team members that you are a leader for them who encourages and motivates them.

The thought is simple, to be able to get out the best of your team members and have a pleasant atmosphere in your project you might need to change your behavior and focus more on the individuals.

 

DON`T: micromanagement is a no go!

You are a great experienced expert, you might have a background as an engineer or any other expert in your professional area. You might be completely sure that you can help with micromanagement since you are solving things faster! I need to disappoint you here, because mostly the effect is quite negative. Your team members may start to be frustrated or, even worse, question their own judgement and technical expertise and rely completely on you. You can unintentionally destroy their confidence, which is so important. Don`t forget that you are now the project manager and have different tasks. So, let your team do the work respective their roles and rather give technical advices which are valuable in the situation.

DO: just listen and ask the right questions

Sometimes you can help your team members by just listening to them. It is an advantage to you since you will know what is going on in your project, not only in case of issues. Instead of micromanaging you should ask questions that bring your team members closer to the solution. They will appreciate it and will come to you proactively, so you might not even need to ask for the work stream status anymore.

DON`T: pushing the team unnecessarily

You can only have some small and temporary wins by pushing your team members to do the work faster, they might send you the deliverables prior the deadline and they can get used to that. But on long term they must feel the difference between the real critical situation and the usual daily work. The continuous pushing of your team members is just rising their stress level and burnout is unfortunately a trend nowadays so if possible, don`t contribute to that. Planning enough puffer will help you, so play with that if your deadlines allow it.

DO: treat your team members like individuals

We are not the same, we all need different ways of communication and if we are thinking on global level it is getting even more complex. Talk with your team members and be an active part of the team. You need to find time to hear them out. Sometimes they might come to you even with personal problems. My advice to you is: just listen to them, get to know them better. This way you can build a stronger bond with your team and, as result, get to know exactly what to expect from them in the working environment and where their boundaries are. If you know the limits of your team members you are able to individually plan the deliverables and work packages.

Every point I`ve listed here needs your focus, even your time and maybe it takes away extra time from your project. But believe me, it will help you and your team to overcome critical situations easier and build a bond which may even last longer than your project. And on top, if you are consciously working on your leadership style and be more people driven, it will help your career on long term.

 

Note and Disclaimer: The author of this Blog post is Katinka Szentkiralyi. She is the guest author of PMI.hu. The writing reflects the author's own professional opinion, findings, and conclusions, which do not necessarily agree with the position of PMI Budapest, Hungarian Chapter, and cannot be considered as an official recommendation, resolution, or opinion of PMI Budapest. The copyright and publication rights of the writing belong to the original author.