Smart Tips On How to Build a Prolific Team

So, you want to build a prolific team, a dream team?.

Every Project Manager, Leader, or some one in authority always wish for a prolific team to make the project a success.

Regardless of their expectations, whatever they want to achieve, whether its:

• Customer expectations
• To deliver with in constraints
• Manage wisely
• Provide value
• To bring excellence to what ever they do or something else.

It’s neither a bad wish nor something impossible to have such a dream team.

Although team building is not an easy task.
It requires a lot of time, effort, and patience, but the rewards are exceptional too.

A single individual cannot achieve what a team is able to achieve in many circumstances.

If a team is glued together, they are unstoppable.
This phenomenon has been very well understood by companies over the years, and they follow best practices of industry and personal experiences to create a solid and dynamic team.

Although many companies have already been known to be be successful in this field.
But majority of companies still struggle to create a solid team foundational hierarchy or structure and achieve the desired results.

There could be various reasons for this success and failure of a dream team and is closely tied with the hierarchy, structure, culture and other metrics of the organization.

Prolific Team Foundation:

Below points if included in your team building efforts and laid down well can build a strong foundation for your prolific team:

• Trust your Team and Delegate
• Time, Patience and Commitment
• Success and Failure
• Appreciate, Encourage and Listen

Trust your Team and Delegate:

As a Project Manager or someone in-charge, we most of the times have more experience than our team.

And we always believe, that we can do things better than anyone else in the team.

And so we try to do everything by ourselves.

Such a poor approach of handling projects, even if you know everything, let your team do it.

Delegate maximum project tasks among your team members and make them responsible and accountable for it.

It will not only create a sense of responsibility in team but a good bond of trust between you and your team.

Time, Patience and Commitment:

Building a team requires time.

There is no magic spell or shortcut with anyone to build a prolific team over night.

Team needs time to settle down, get to know each other.

It normally has to pass through the 5 steps of Team building:

• Forming,

• Storming,

• Norming,

• Performing and

• Adjourning

With the above model of team building.

Project Manager needs to be patient with the team and always try to get them together and spend as much time combine as possible.

Although, things not always work the way it’s planned and there is always ups and downs in projects and team interaction internally and externally.

A Project Manager needs to be committed with the team and get them back on track and resolve any misunderstanding that may have caused by the hiccups.

Success and Failure:

It’s all about success! Right? hmmmm..

Well, everyone enjoy success regardless of their position and involvement in the project.

Success should be celebrated by the business owner, manager or someone in-charge with the team by organizing a party and give away some gifts to best performers etc.

Success parties should not be limited to big achievements or milestones only but small successes should be celebrated throughout the project time frame.

Failure cannot be celebrated! Right? hmmmm..

But that does not mean that as in-charge of the project, Your mood, behavior, interaction totally changes with failure and you start blaming and bashing team and consider them responsible for the failure.

This is a very critical phase and this is where the team can either be glued together or shattered.

In case of failure, as a business owner or manager you should combine the team:

• Discuss the causes of failure in a friendly environment
• Compile lessons learned
• Motivate team
• Start over with full zest and not repeat the same mistake again.

Appreciate, Encourage and Listen:

If you as a project manager, your team and team members all are poor listener’s, then you have the worst team ever.

Start from yourself and create and promote a culture where everyone should listen more.

If your team has done something remarkable or outstanding or beyond expectations.

Please do not be shy to appreciate them in public and in front of big bosses and always encourage positive behavior, interaction, communication and excellence.

To wrap it, You should be the biggest evangelist of your team.
You must be some one they look for when in need, trouble or support.

What are your tips on building a prolific team ?