I recently received a very nice testimonial from a client on a recently completed project.
St Joseph’s Commissioned Julian Church as construction consultants to manage as the managing agent for a ward redevelopment of the hospice in 2018/2019
The project value overall was just under £1m and was critical to the continued development of our inpatient services
Julian and the team managed a complex and dynamic project working within an active care environment admirably
Dealing with a client and contractor that were demanding and keeping a balance that kept the project moving forward
The finished project is the envy of the hospice movement at present and stands testament in many regards to the hard work of Julian and his team.
Whilst it is great to receive such testimonial, the project was one of teamwork; working with consultants with whom this was a new structure or working relationship. We all stand behind the strengths and weaknesses of that team and the end product whilst difficult to achieve also provides us with some pride too. We share the plaudits as a team.
No matter how smart, talented, driven, or passionate we are, success as a project manager depends on the ability to build and inspire a team. A successful leader is one who can spur his or her team members to work well together toward a common vision and goals.
To inspire your team members needs effective communication, be that verbal, written or even visual. I am not a fan of large over numbered meetings where for the majority of time, the participants are not entirely engaged, but I do like short small scale discussions to set plans, brief, align actions and motivate the team.
Teamwork creates tools which, when used together, make teams efficient, organized and happy.
A team can achieve much greater things than one single individual and it is easier to see the impact of a successful project when you see the team output rather than the smaller tasks that one person has completed. Having team goals also can encourage employees to work harder to ensure that they do not let ‘the team’ down. In this we need to see and appreciate the macro rather than the micro management of a project.
It is not just project managers that can motivate others within the team, team members be they individuals or companies can help to motivate their peers, either through supporting them or in terms of their behaviour/attitude. When team members feel isolated, it can be hard to find motivation but when they feel that others in the team support them, it can give them a real boost of morale and motivation. I have also read that, Employees that suffer from low self esteem may particularly benefit from seeing other members of the team do well and start to believe more in their own capabilities.
I thought I would leave this with a few quotes that I have picked up around the internet, when reading on this subject:
“Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.” -Andrew Carnegie
“Individual commitment to a group effort–that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.” -Vince Lombardi
“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” -Henry Ford
“The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team.” -Phil Jackson
“Collaboration allows teachers to capture each other’s fund of collective intelligence.” -Mike Schmoker
