As a project manager, you need to manage your team by influence and motivate them to complete the project. How can you do this? First and foremost, get to know your team very well. Find out more about their interests and aspirations and use this information to make better assignments and seek rewards or promotional opportunities for those that exceed performance expectations.
In addition to team-building exercises, schedule one-on-one meetings. Consider questions such as:
- Where do you see yourself in five years?
- What knowledge or skills do you think you need to develop to get there?
- Within the scope of our work, what kind of assignments do you believe would help?
- What items should the team work on together?
- What do you see as your strengths and weaknesses?
- What can I do to support your development?
Questions like these will not just help you get to know your team better – your team will see you as a leader that is there to support their success.
In a much less direct way, get to know who the team knows, both inside and outside your organization. Teams with challenging assignments don’t always have all the answers. When questions and challenges arise, help your team think about who they might know who could help them find a solution.
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