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Types of Teams in Project Management & How to Encourage Teamwork

It is not easy to lead a team of experts to achieve a common project objective.

No matter how small the project management team is, experienced PMs know that it takes much effort to keep everyone in line without offending them.

Allocating roles to different kinds of people with varying characters can lead to the rubbing of shoulders and miscommunication and negatively impact productivity.

But you can always cool matters down and put team members back in line if you handle your crew with a few rules of thumb in mind.

 Why a PM Should Get on The Same Page with Every Team Member

Every member has a role to play; otherwise, they wouldn’t be part of that team.

That means you must listen to the smallest complaints and concerns regarding whatever activity they are doing— and make tweaks where possible or explain why the status quo remains until they are contented.

Failure to do so may cause a change in attitude and slow down performance and reduce productivity.

If possible, always improve working conditions for each worker to ease the job— it will motivate them to work towards the project goal.

 9 Tactics to Boost up Team Productivity

Not that you know the significance of team collaboration. Here are the nine ways to build a united team and attain all your project management team goals.

1.  Be clear about communication expectations

 Because getting in touch is a must-do, you want to be clear on how frequently you expect feedback as the team leader.

It could be an hourly, daily, weekly, or even monthly update depending on the project’s length. But excellent communication expectations are more specific and detailed.

Stress the importance of keeping in touch and reminding them to follow up to view your comments on their feedback.

2.  Use project management software

Try these project handling tools to witness online project management software’s real power in boosting teamwork and efficiency.

With the correct tool, team members in remote locations can stay in touch and work through a project even easier. With features like footnotes, discussions, banner designs, and group chat, you can interact better than before.

3.  Improve working conditions

Providing a friendly working surroundings is essential in boosting team efficiency and production.

For physical locations, ensure you provide a comfortable office and any other facilities your staff will need to motivate them.

For remote teams, the manager must ensure every member is working in the best conditions possible.

Other things that could ruin a working environment include; a tyrant manager, disdainful staff, and office politics.

4.  Learn your staff to achieve project management team goals better

Be a smart leader.

Find out their strengths, likes, abilities, and weaknesses.

Knowing the set of skills you have at hand is the first move to managing resources wisely.

Why? You allocate every member a task they are good without trial and error— which could take a toll on your results and eat into your project time.

Assign more demanding and time-sensitive tasks to staff that has proved to deliver accurate work on time to avoid delays and rubbing of shoulders with relatively slower staff over late work.

5.  Give incentives where due

Workers deliver when motivated to do their roles. And most times, the inspiration is monetary. They love being appreciated by a little more just a hearty clap and recognition from their superiors.

Implement incentive tactics to keep your team motivated. Studies show that almost 85% of the workers were more motivated to offer optimum performance when given an incentive.

Give encouragements like money, free vouchers, promotions, paid retreats, lunch-outs, and more.

6.  Give them full control to achieve project management team roles

Hey! You don’t try to tail every move they make.

The best PMs understand leaving staff in full control of means, letting them decide on their own, and making them answerable for every move they make.

When you leave them in power, they change their perspective in a manner that their decisions can influence the entire team’s performance.

You can give control by letting them co-head a project, take care of a task, etc. Giving ownership is a sign you trust their expertise in handling that particular task job, and they wouldn’t want to let you down.

7.  Organize team-building events

As the head, you need to remind all team members that the project’s success relies on the contribution of every member of the workforce.

Creating this honest “everyone is special” environment encourages respect, togetherness, and a generally supportive and happier workplace.

Team building exercises help bridge the existing gaps between team members washing away silent grudges and clearing any miscommunications between members.

8.  Assign and sit back

Don’t follow up on every little progress they make on a job. Trust your staff with whatever duty. Don’t try micro-manage teams as they tackle their job, or they’ll lose interest.

But, to achieve this, you need a no-nonsense project management team that will deliver to your expectations without missing out on any instructions or detail.

Meanwhile, be approachable to every team member, so they feel free to consult. It boosts their confidence to know you are available when needed.

9.  Cultivate a to-and-fro feedback culture

Encouraging feedback is very important in managing a project and closing it successfully. Let’s face it; you cannot boost staff efficiency if you are not telling them how they are performing in the first place.

Give helpful feedback and performance reviews to empower your team. Appreciate their good job and Point out the areas where you can make a change to get better results.

After giving feedback, ask the team ways in which you can help them deliver better results. It will provide them with the freedom to provide suggestions.

Implement all the above techniques, and you’ll stop asking what team motivation in project management is and tap more into the power of collaboration.

It would help if you struck a balance between freedom and follow up, giving incentives and demanding quality, being sensitive, and being at work.

Mix these ingredients right, and you get the perfect recipe for an encouraged team ready to achieve project objectives.

 What are The Types of Teams in Project Management?

Different organizational structures have triggered the development of various project management team types. While some of these new-fangled teams have remained permanent, other arrangements are just short-term.

A good number have made it to the corporate hierarchy, while others can be formed for temporary tasks.

Your job as a project manager involves working with teams. Discover what the various stakeholders in projects say about teamwork.

Here are some interesting statistics on teamwork:

• Over 75% of bosses consider teamwork & collaboration as “very important.”
• During performance reviews, only 18% of staff get communication assessments
• 39% of studied workers believe their companies aren’t exploiting the full potential of team collaboration.

Here, we’ll discuss the five known types of business teams in workplaces. But let’s start by identifying the differences between groups and teams.

 Groups vs. Teams in Project Management

Corporations need both teams and groups to accomplish the many tasks they have at hand.

• Groups: They are created around similar interests to share info but without joint accountability. They could be a workgroup or social club looking to volunteer.

• Teams: They focus on achieving a shared performance goal, and members have personal and mutual responsibility. No wonder companies form teams to combine groups of people with matching skills to accomplish a shared goal.

No doubt, each of the above comes with its upsides and downsides. The best type of team for you depends on your needs and organizational structure.

 The Upsides of a Project Management Team

Teams foster collaboration. A team unites different people with various skills powering it to achieve something you cannot do alone.

Communication is more efficient in teams. Proactive teams can come up with new tactics to give the desired or even better results.

Easy task allocation and completion. Teams can handle multiple tasks simultaneously because work can be shared among the many experts.

 The downsides of a Team

Regrettably, not every project management team will drive a venture to success. You end up with a weak sluggish crew if you don’t motivate employees and encourage team collaboration and support.

In teams, a member with an opinion that could be very helpful can be reluctant to raise their claims against popular belief. No one wants to be the team’s stooge, so most people will choose to shut up.

Poor leadership can reduce team efficiency: Teams can’t work well without defined objectives and resources.

 The Types of teams in software project management

Staff will get more productive in a collaborative setting, and that’s the main reason we encourage team collaboration. Though you can create your custom teams, these five are the most relevant.

1.  Virtual team

Virtual team members work from different locations and depend on communication tools for efficient collaboration. They are often hired because they are experts and have a well-balanced work-life.

Different kinds of virtual teams are grouped into three based on time, place, and culture.

• Time represents when people are available to work (hours, days)
• Space signifies location and distance (how far?). Remote teams usually rely on project management software.
• Culture represents the way people work.

Culture includes factors race, language, religion, gender, economic factors, age, social, nationality, education, etc.)

2.  Operational team

An operational team manages other teams. They are responsible for ensuring that all processes are running smoothly.

They can also be involved in projects since they have correctly assigned roles.

3.  Project team

As the name suggests, a project management team is a set of employees working to meet the same goals cooperatively.

This team requires you to structure work in a specific, measurable, practical, and time-bound manner before assigning clear duties with pre-set deadlines. There are four types of project teams.

 The Types of Project Teams

1.  Functional Team

This type involves all the team members reporting back to you since you manage the team. Members of different departments are also assigned individual tasks. Functional groups require you to be proactive and capable of seamlessly managing multiple teams.

2.  Cross-functional team

This type consists of members, each with different skills. The unit can tackle tasks that need different sets of expertise. Cross-functional teams are gradually becoming popular worldwide regardless of the opinion that they are all dysfunctional.

3.  Matrix team

It involves each member of the team reporting to different managers for a progress report. It employs a kind of ‘multi-boss system.’ Managers are therefore able to oversee the project without getting fully involved

4.  Contract team

Each team member works on a contract, and members are quickly dropped by the client immediately after the project ends. Here your role as a project manager is to be a bridge between the team and the client. The success of the project entirely depends on you.

5.  Self-managed teams

A self-managed team entails employees working in the same company and adhering to a set of objectives to reach a common goal.

In the absence of a manager, the team members make rules and objectives. Members should share responsibility and solve problems as a project management team.

If you are looking to employ the self-managed team system, you should be keen on how you assign tasks and the team’s flow of operation.

Strengths of self-managed teams are:

• No renting office space
• The smooth flow of operation motivates team members
• Employees are responsible for their tasks
• Accomplishments are made as a team; therefore, each team member is equally proud.

The downsides of these teams:

• Lack of authority, which bases judgment on personal relationships.
• It sometimes lowers creativity and critical thinking.
• Due to each member handling different tasks, there are high costs and more training time.

6.  Problem-solving team

This team is created when a crisis occurs or in case of an emergency. It is a temporary team and only lasts until the issue is resolved. The task force and the committee work to keep the company from receding.

Wrapping up

In the words of Bill Bethel, “A prosperous team is a group of multiple hands and one mind.” In other words, choosing the right project management team can make or break the project experience.

Lastly, leverage project management software to encourage team collaboration.