If you've been in Project Management for any length of time, you will know that one of the most important elements in successfully delivering your project is your relationship with your team. Project methodologies, best practices and planning tools are certainly important and are needed for the delivery of successful projects. But they're only two pieces of the total puzzle. The third piece is your relationship with people - and the most important people on your project is your team.



Why are strong team relationships so important?

Well, think about it. You as the project leader need the cooperation of your team in order to successfully deliver your project. Without your team and their expertise, you truly will get nowhere. So you need them to "get on board" - to be totally committed and dedicated to the project's goal.

The challenge we face is that we often have to share our team members with other projects or commitments. For example, I normally have team members that are assigned to my projects for 25% or 50% of their available time. The other 50% or 75% has been assigned to other tasks, like production support (sound familiar?).

This puts a lot of strain on the team members as they must constantly multi-task in order to get all their assigned tasks completed. Will your project tasks be at the top of their lists of "to dos" today? Well, it depends, doesn't it? In most cases, if you have built a strong relationship with your team, and received their individual commitments to complete their project tasks, nothing will prevent them from meeting those commitments.

So how do we build strong team relationships?

It's very simple. It's all about Trust, Honesty and Fun.

Strong team relationships are built on a foundation of trust:

The team needs to know that you, as a Project Manager will support them, will do what you say you will-when you will (i.e. that you have Integrity). This is a great Confidence builder.

The team needs to have the confidence that their team members will complete the tasks they have been assigned -on time.

The team members must understand that you trust them as well. Think about it - you did pick the right people for the tasks, didn't you? Well, let them do their jobs. If they feel that you have no confidence in them, then they will perform accordingly.

The team must understand each other to the point where they believe that it is okay to be honest about anything. You as a Project Manager must be the driving force in nurturing this environment. Think of ways in which you can foster an honest, open environment and watch your level of team productivity rise.

And finally, you must have fun together. Fun at work, and if possible, fun after work as well. Ever played LaserQuest with your team? How about Whirly Ball? Or just go out and have some drinks after work. Relax and have some fun. Getting to know your team on a social level could be the most powerful and quickest way of breaking down barriers and building a strong and productive relationship.