6 Ways to Help Your Team Get Their Jobs Done

Part of your job as a project manager is to keep others organized. Some project managers may reason “I did my part and put the project plan together. Can’t they just follow that and know what tasks they need to do next?” Newsflash: a lot of people don’t read, can’t read, or won’t read a project plan. Yes, it’s hard to believe that as a project manager with all the preparation you put into it, but many times project plans go unread and unused.

You have two choices at this point. You can either become incensed and furious that nobody respects your plan enough to read it…or, you can change your strategy and help people understand what tasks are next for them to accomplish.

Your job is not to be a babysitter, but you can add a lot of value as a project manager if you help your team in this area of knowing what to do next. Break the plan into bite size chunks and tasks and be sure to be mindful of the following principles of task management:

Communicate Clearly

Be crystal clear when it comes to assigning tasks to somebody else. What exactly are you asking them to do? Do they understand what the final, expected deliverable is? There are numerous methods of making sure they understand. One of the more insulting ones that I’ve seen used in the past is having someone repeat back to you what you just said. How condescending. Treat your team with the respect they deserve and you’ll find that communication is that much easier. You’ll know if someone understands what they need to do, or if it needs further explanation.

Provide Context

Teams may know “what” they need to do, but may not know “why.” It’s good to provide the context around a task that has been assigned. That way, if they run into a problem or situation that slows things down and you can’t be found, they can make the decision because they understand the bigger picture and context.

Determine Standards

When it comes to assigning tasks, you must also make sure they understand what the desired outcome looks like from a quality perspective. You could ask someone to build a house, but you’d be terribly disappointed when you see they built it with straw rather than with the brick you imagined. Be very clear as to what standards you expect the task at hand to meet.

Empower Them to Get the Task Done

Responsibility without authority is a frustrating experience for anyone, especially good resources on your team. Make sure they have the commensurate authority they will need to get the task done that you have assigned them. Otherwise, they may end up throwing their hands in the air and giving up.

Give Support

Make sure the person you have assigned the task to knows that if they do get stuck, or if they do have a question, to come back to you sooner rather than later. They need to feel comfortable with the support you will provide them and not be criticized for asking questions or assistance in getting “un-stuck.”

Get Commitment

Finally, you’ll want their buy-in and commitment to get the task, assignment, or activity done, and to know how soon. As much as possible, let them set the date but hold them accountable to making that happen.

It’s important to remember that your job as a project manager is not to look over everyone’s shoulders to make sure they are getting their work done, but to manage tasks and let good people do good work. By following the guidelines above you’ll find that you’ll be able to manage tasks not only for yourself, but others as well.