How to Create a Collaborative Environment for Your Project Team
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When youâve got a whole matrix of people to keep in sync, one small change in a project can create a ripple effect across the team and even the organization. Thatâs why clearing a path for effective collaboration is one of the most important things you can do as a project manager.
Of course, thatâs often easier said than done.
We brought Elizabeth Harrin, founder of Girlâs Guide to PM and author of Collaboration Tools for Project Managers, onto our Time Limit podcast recently to get her advice on how to establish a culture of collaboration on your project team. Hereâs what she had to say.
4 things good collaborative cultures have in common
First things first, letâs talk about the building blocks that serve as cornerstones to a collaborative environment.
1. Trust
Imagine transforming a disengaged team culture into a place where folks like each other and actually want to come to work. Thatâs the power of trust!
Trust creates a culture of transparency and is the main ingredient in every collaborative environment. People who trust each other talk to each other. Theyâre eager to share what they knowâand they own up to it if theyâre behind on a task because they know itâs for the greater project good.
2. Open sharing
Sharing is caring. But in some companies, subject matter experts cling tighter to another well-known adage: Knowledge is power.
And that can make it tough to get vital information that keeps a project moving forward.
âA successful collaborative culture takes that away,â Elizabeth explains. âYou should not be in a situation where people want to hang onto their knowledge because that means that other people canât do their jobs effectively and youâre just creating silos and barriers.â
If you want your projects to be successful, Elizabeth says youâve got to break those barriers down and make it possible for people who know their subject matter intimately to share it and still have status in the organization.
3. Executive buy-in
Collaboration is a whole lot easier when trust and sharing are baked into the entire company culture. And that kind of influence comes from the top down.
Establishing a collaborative team environment doesnât have to be a 24/7 hands-on affair. Sometimes the most important job you can do as a leader is to set the culture, then get out of the way and let your team do their job.
4. Collaboration tools
This one should come as no big surprise. After all, Elizabeth says itâs really hard to create a collaborative environment if you donât have any tools to help.
The tools you use may vary based on the project needs and your teamâs collaboration style. Just be sure everyoneâs on the same page about how and when to use each tool in your collaboration stack so thereâs no confusion. For example, you might use Slack for âdesksideâ conversations and TeamGantt for project updates and file uploads.
If you use multiple tools to manage and communicate on projects, be sure to check for integrations that can help streamline project collaboration.
How to foster effective project collaboration for your team
Now that you know what goes into a collaborative team culture, letâs talk about how to make it work.
Itâs no big secret that every project goes better when people work together to get the job done. But effective collaboration doesnât happen naturally on project teamsâespecially if youâve got a team of folks who have never worked together before.
âThe expectation of people coming together harmoniously and just getting on lovely at the beginning is not correct,â Elizabeth says. âYou do need to put a bit of effort into creating a culture of sharing.â
Here are 2 simple things you can do to cultivate collaboration among your team.
Create opportunities for your team to get to know each other
Remember how we said trust is super-important to collaboration? Well, this is the key to building it.
Creating space for your team to hang out and get to know each other might seem like a luxury you canât afford. After all, no big tasks are getting checked off the list. But itâs worth it in the long run.
âThatâs how you get confidence in each other that they wonât let you down, and that if someone says theyâll do a task, that they actually will follow through,â Elizabeth explains.
Check in with your team and listen to feedback
Having tools and processes in place wonât make collaboration happen magically on its own. It might take a little practiceâand even some trial and errorâfor your team to get into a seamless collaborative groove.
Some good old-fashioned listening can help move things along.
Elizabeth suggests giving this simple conversation-starter a try: You guys need to work together to get the task done. Is there anything I can do to make it easier for you to do that?
âWhatever it is. ⊠then at least you know, or theyâve had the opportunity to say,â Elizabeth says. âMonitor it, check again in a few weeks, and see if thereâs anything you can do to make it even better.â
Want to help your team work smarter together?
TeamGantt makes it easy to eliminate confusion, streamline communication, and beat project deadlines. Even better, youâll save time and energy on project setup so you can focus on doing the work that matters most.
Of course, donât just take our word for it. Sign up for a free TeamGantt account to see for yourself!