As a project manager you are following your team to get the work done but no one is understanding what to do, where to start? And due to lack of interest they are not doing their job properly & losing their passion. At the end of the day you worked hard and no progress, honestly you might feel hopeless, lost and the same question you would be asking yourself what to do?
Moving from Project Manager to Project Motivation will make it easier to connect with the team, lead projects very well, complete the objectives on time and you will definitely enjoy your role more while spending less time on it.
When you focus on the people as a project motivator, rather than the task, the team feels more connected with you and the task becomes easier to manage. When we focus only on managing task, it seems that we are putting pressure on the team. Like, you open a tap with high water pressure & don’t know the pipe working pressure capacity. What will happen, just imagine? As a result, the team may feel isolated, demotivated and lack enthusiasm. Don’t forget that you are the project manager, and you have the control key. You may have to apply some brakes to control the speed.
But when you connect with the team values, encourage them, provide fairness, appreciate even the smallest things, then people will work towards success and will be less likely to make mistakes in their work. It’s not hard work! but on a daily basis when you focus on the progress of the team and help them build character, that’s a positive aspect of every member’s personality and they can feel what they need to do. And whenever you bring awareness to a solution to an ongoing issue, it builds relationships and increases productivity, which is essential for completing the project. To do this, less energy is required. It is easier for everyone to move forward together with life and goals.
The motivation is meant to illuminate the natural energy of the team. The project looks like everything is easy to handle, but practically not and certainly not for the ignorant manager. One needs to learn the fundamentals of the team member (people management) to run a project or program. Aggression in the project may will give the instant result, but this will not work for both the project and the company’s values for long time. Team means moving together, supporting each other and making collective progress towards a goal. A quick decision about a weak member or always appreciating a member will not solve the need for the project. As a project motivator, you need to work in the areas of development, concerns and improving skills. When we help people to see what is good about them, they are more likely to have creative ideas, they are more likely to work collaboratively. Then team make better decisions, complete task in time, less mistakes and they feel more self-courage about their work.
Let’s say you’ve just been hired as the third project manager for a team in less than 3 years and that team already is in the middle of a project trouble. Earlier mangers ignored and left without any appropriate action plan. You approached the team and made a presentation. You realized the challenges of handling a team that is already stressed, overloaded and under pressure to finish work. It’s hard to deal with a group of dissatisfied people and it’s harder to get the team involved where they get distracted. It’s easy to lose perspective and assume you’ve somehow missed out because your first encounter with the group isn’t smooth. It is a common belief that if we do not connect with someone in the first place, then the opportunity is lost. Don’t worry, there is always an opportunity to change your influence. Being a project motivator always stay focus, hopeful, sincere, curious, strong and be confident. With these mantras you definitely overcome all odd challenges and your team will be happier to find a motivator in you.
Here are simple tips to follow to motivate your team members:
- Understand your own strengths and practice those strengths continuously.
- Establish a project environment of openness.
- Highlight the benefits about the project.
- Set project goals.
- Assign a role for each team member.
- Trust their abilities & encourage them by accepting ideas.
- Provide equal opportunity to grow and skill development training.
- Be clear and direct line of communication.
- Respect their time values.
- Catch up with your team members outdoor activities.
- Offer small rewards & praise for good work.
- Provide opportunity to learn from failure.
- Celebrate success together.
Creating a strong collaborative team environment is a difficult task for every project manager but it is easy to spoil it. So be careful about your duties.