February 13, 2010

Ten Characteristics of Successful Project Teams – Part 1

Posted by Brad Egeland

Have you ever been a member of a high-performing, smoothly running team? If you have been, it’s an experience that you are not likely to forget. On this type of team there is usually a strong trust bond, people work cooperatively together to reach the common project goals, and often the project is even more successful than the project manager and customer could have imagined. These types of teams generally have some key characteristics in common that help make them the effective, high-performing teams that they are. In this series, we’ll examine ten key characteristics of these types of teams.

These ten main characteristics of successful project teams are:

Clearly defined goals
Clearly defined roles
Open and clear communication
Effective decision making
Balanced participation
Valued diversity
Managed conflict
Positive atmosphere
Cooperative relationships
Participative leadership

For Part 1 of this series, we’ll examine the first two in more detail: clearly defined goals and clearly defined roles.

Clearly defined goals

Clearly defined goals are essential so that everyone understands the purpose and vision of the team. It’s surprising to learn sometimes how many people do not know the reason they are doing the tasks that make up their jobs, much less what their team is doing. Everyone must be pulling in the same direction and be aware of the end goals.

Clear goals help team members understand where the team is going. Clear goals help a team know when it has been successful by defining exactly what the team is doing and what it wants to accomplish. This makes it easier for members to work together – and more likely to be successful.

Clear goals create ownership. Team members are more likely to “own” goals and work toward them if they have been involved in establishing them as a team. In addition, the ownership is longer lasting if members perceive that other team members support the same efforts.

Clear goals foster team unity, whereas unclear goals foster confusion – or sometimes individualism. If team members don’t agree on the meaning of the team goals, they will work alone to accomplish their individual interpretations of the goals. They may also protect their own goals, even at the expense of the team.

Clearly defined roles

If a team’s roles are clearly defined, all team members know what their jobs are, but defining roles goes beyond that. It means that we recognize individuals’ talent and tap into the expertise of each member – both job-related and innate skills each person brings to the team, such as organization, creative, or team-building skills.

Clearly defined roles help team members understand why they are on a team. When the members experience conflict, it may be related to their roles. Team members often can manage this conflict by identifying, clarifying, and agreeing on their individual responsibilities so that they all gain a clear understanding of how they will accomplish the team’s goals.

Once team members are comfortable with their primary roles on the team, they can identify the roles they play during team meetings. There are two kinds of roles that are essential in team meetings.

Next

In Part 2, we’ll examine open and clear communication and effective decision making.

Information for this series is based in part on Eric Verzuh’s book “The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management.”

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