Leadership has always faced challenges when it comes to employee trust and accountability. Some organizations have embraced this challenge by fostering team collaboration and trusting their colleagues to accomplish their collective goals. Alternatively, others have overburdened team members with multiple daily meetings and micromanaged projects to ensure colleagues diligently work. Leaders must delegate effectively to empower and trust their teams to accomplish tasks. This article on Project Management by Latoya Morris speaks about team communication and collaboration.
Building Trust with Team Communication
Transparency and honesty are built upon trust. Project managers are the primary communicators with the team, vendors, stakeholders, and leadership. Without trust, it would be impossible to communicate properly with team members about their status or abilities.
Steps to Build Team Communication
Create Connections with Your Team
- 1:1 Stakeholder Meetings: Set up a monthly 15-minute touchpoint to assess needs and obtain their perspectives.
- Social Events: Arrange spontaneous team lunches or online social gatherings to foster relationships and trust among the team.
- Personal Talk: If you become aware that a team member or a family member is ill, get in touch with them. Genuine compassion fosters trust.
Be Open and Honest
While it can be challenging to deliver bad news, failing to do so or hiding the facts breeds mistrust. Project managers serve as a link between stakeholders and the business sponsor and become a reliable source of information.
Maintain Integrity
Integrity means acting honorably and being truthful. Even in the worst of times, stick by your team. Be a dependable, trustworthy project manager.
Increase Your Knowledge
Trust grows with proficiency. Try to gain some basic knowledge about the task you are implementing for your team to count on you for guidance.
Analyze Project Requirements
Knowing the team and stakeholders' requirements will allow you to anticipate their demands. Learn about sponsors' preferences and concerns and what is required to understand their point of view and satisfactorily address their needs.
Be Diverse and Inclusive
Diversity, equity, and inclusivity are important on your project team at all levels. This could include simple inclusions such as sensitivity to cultural holidays and gender-appropriate pronouns.
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