The task of managing a challenging set of tasks can seem daunting to people who aren’t familiar with the intricacies of project management. There are better and worse ways of overseeing these proceedings, generating a positive outcome even in the face of inexperience and consternation. Knowing the difference between the best and worst approaches and the right ways to direct a team falls to project managers, so knowing the intricacies of how these tasks run and recognizing how to intervene when things go awry needs to be an inherent part of the job.
Simply knowing when to get involved is a challenge on its own, however. It requires that project managers have a keen sense for their team members, the tasks they’re working on and the demands of stakeholders. In the end, becoming a proactive project manager means understanding how to take control of things when endeavors start to go awry.
It’s important for leaders therefore to set up opportunities where they can easily get a bird’s eye view of all the events taking place in a team. Regular meetings offer staff the opportunity to talk about successes and vent about failures, so running a sound meeting is essential to proper project management. Here’s a few quick tips on how to properly propel a meeting toward greater insight opportunities.
Be a negotiator
Instead of just trying to come up with ways to make people do what you want, try and enforce expectations as an overall idea. It’s not you that will be disappointed if a task falls through the cracks – it’s the organization, the stakeholders and everyone else on the team. By putting it out there in a way that makes effort more of a connected endeavor, it’s easy for project managers to negotiate better outcomes instead of demanding them.
Learn from failure
Don’t think about past problems as negative events alone. Gavin Gibbon stated in Construction Week Online that it’s important to review bad outcomes and find the good in them. Facing challenges and learning from mistakes can help people become more effective at their jobs, reducing the likelihood of ongoing issues and easily resolving difficulties. In the scope of a meeting setting, reviewing what people struggled with and talking about options for overcoming these issues can strengthen the team and serve as a learning opportunity for everyone involved.
Talk to the right people
Stan Portny commented in Business Management Daily that it’s necessary to be thorough when selecting the people who will attend project management meetings. It’s not just about putting every member of the team into a single space and granting everyone the option to talk. It takes facilitating support individuals, generating cross-talk and being aggressive about securing time, space and resources that work for all the essential players.
Empower personnel
Portny added that there are some key factors associated with generating more employee satisfaction, engagement and retention that project managers may miss in the short scope of a project’s lifetime. Specifically, it’s necessary to ensure during the meeting process that personnel have the tools they require in order to be effective at their jobs. When employees don’t have the right assets to interact with others, be it through social media, video communication or streaming messages, the connectivity of staff members is severely limited.
Keep a schedule
One of the most important aspects of running a project management meeting is ensuring that things are properly planned out. This helps ensure that every aspect is covered, be it concerns about corporate operations, issues with internal software or general problems with meeting stakeholder demands.
In the scope of a project, regular meetings need to be scheduled on a reliable basis so as to ensure that all staff members have a dependable outlet for expressing their concerns. Facilitating communication and generating better cross-talk options allows personnel to voice their concerns, learn about progress and assuage any worries they might be feeling.