Seven Ways to Inspire Your Team

When you think back about the classics, what comes to mind? In film, it might be Star Wars, The Wizard of Oz, or maybe The Birds. In television, you might fondly remember I Love Lucy, Seinfeld, or Hill Street Blues. Why do these examples continue to resonate with fans worldwide? If you ask me, it's because of the leadership and teamwork that took place behind the scenes to turn these into masterpieces.

Vision plus communication can lead to spectacular results. Rome wasn't built in a day, and it certainly wasn't built by a single person. It took legions of dedicated workers decades to erect the amazing architecture that we know today.

While your project isn't building a cathedral—although your clients may act like it's the most important thing ever created—it is crucial to get a good handle on teamwork so your production's pieces come together in a collaborative and cohesive manner. Don't ever lose sight of the fact that in the realm of project management, it's all about forging a synergistic dynamic so the individuals who make up the team will focus on helping one another to reach the common goal. Here are seven steps to help you on your way:

1. Experience the difference. Put in place a common project-management process throughout all departments in your company. Simply knowing how work will progress and how the success of the project and the team members work will be measured will eliminate much confusion. People will be able to get right to work without wasting valuable time. It also helps as clients communicate their own changes in direction or new and urgent needs.
2. Empower individuals and team leaders with the skills to succeed. Order will always be chosen over chaos and success over failure. Make it easy for individuals to succeed by providing a simple common approach to project management along with the tools they need to complete the job.
3. Create institutional memory. Starting today, make a "lessons learned" section part of every project's close-out phase. This valuable historical document will provide information on project pitfalls and victories and any other important relevant facts, so for your next project, you are one step ahead and better armed. Lessons learned is important to all projects and can be shared companywide. If you've gone over budget on a past project due to lack of communication or analysis paralysis, that's the kind of key information that should be jotted down and addressed immediately with the next project on your to-do list.
4. Realize return on innovation. Sometimes a good idea goes awry if people are struggling to implement details of the work required. An easy-to-use project-management methodology gives organizations a way to truly put innovation in motion and make implementation a reality. Offering a comprehensive project plan supports objectives and enables people to see how they affect the organization. The framework empowers people to move from vision to action and thrive on the achievements made.
5. Turn information into insight. Checking in with your client and reflecting on the project together will identify what is and is not working for your organization. This is one of my top two must-dos for every single project. Applying an easy-to-use project-management principle throughout your organization also provides the company with a competitive advantage and can lead to getting new ideas and solutions out faster.
6. Give people power tools. You wouldn't hire a director and withhold the storyline or goal of the production from him. The same applies here; people need the right tools to best do their jobs. Create a well-defined working approach with easy-to-use tools. Otherwise, people have to do double or triple the amount of pre-work to keep things on track, and that'll only lead to trouble.
7. Create contagious commitment. Psyche yourself and your team up for the project with positive promotion of all successes, no matter how big or small. This valuable resource is a building block for leaders. If you appear to be enjoying the process, others will want in and the contagious commitment to reaching success will become ingrained in the corporate culture.

Inspire your team to new levels of innovation and success by using the project-management techniques above. With strategic use, your project and your team will be a model of working achievement for your whole company.

Michelle LaBrosse, PMP, is the founder of Cheetah Learning, a virtual company with 100 employees, contractors, and licensees worldwide; the author of the Cheetah Success Series; and a prolific blogger whose mission is to bring project management to the masses.