Putting together a powerful project team - tips & tricks

The composition of a project team - The most important basics

Cooperation in a team is more than the sum of the individual work performances. Teamwork determines how well, how quickly - and even if at all - the envisaged project goals can be achieved.

When putting together his team, the project manager should therefore pay attention to the following points:

The personality type

Working in a team is not easy for everyone.

For introverted personalities it can be difficult to establish or maintain informal communication with other members. If the project is dependent on such employees from a professional point of view - for example in the area of programming - it is important to give them personal space at work. This can already be ensured by a quiet corner in the shared office or by the extended home office option. In this way conflicts can be avoided which could put a heavy strain on the entire team.

The team spirit

If several similarly qualified people are available, it is the task of the project manager to select those who best fit into the team.

However, the work is not done with the selection of suitable members. Team spirit should also be emphasized in the course of the project. This includes, for example, advocating at management level for the decisions that mean the best for the team. But it also means involving the team as a whole in the decision-making process wherever possible.

If a sense of unity develops in the project team, which includes each individual team member, it is a stable basis for successful cooperation.

The responsibility structure

Too much division of responsibility can be problematic for teamwork, as members who perform key tasks can quickly become demotivated. It is therefore advisable to clearly divide responsibilities.

Once the responsibility structures have been established, project management can immediately recognize and appreciate a good performance.

If the work of the individual in the team is duly recognized, it increases personal commitment. The productivity of the entire team is increased.

When considering these points, the project manager should also be aware that it takes time to put together a project team. It is therefore important to give the project planning enough time to fulfill this task optimally.

Putting the project team together - Sympathy as a trap

It often happens that the project manager selects his team according to personal preferences.

This can be very problematic, because sympathy is the unconscious search for similarity. If the team is selected for these reasons, the result is a homogeneous group of people who have similar opinions and related character traits. If such a group is confronted with a task that is not only about mere work capacity, but also about diversity of experience, people will be overwhelmed.

It is therefore strongly recommended to pay attention to diversity in team building, even if a heterogeneous team is more conflictual and more difficult to manage. People with different character traits, attitudes and life paths bring valuable approaches and thus - in difficult situations - contribute to solutions that might otherwise not be achievable.