Project Managers' Coffee Chat with Tim & Merv

The Project Leader and Team - Strategies for Mastering Remote Project Management (S4E12)


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In this episode, hosts Merv Jersak and Tim Jerome focus on the challenges of leading virtual teams. They emphasize the importance of understanding workplace culture's impact on productivity and explore five crucial elements for improving team performance: clarity of role, optimizing team members' strengths, fostering development opportunities, cultivating strong coworker relationships, and establishing a common mission. The discussion highlights the significant role managers play in influencing these factors, particularly in a remote work environment, and shares practical tips and tools for effective remote team management. Key strategies include leveraging technology for better communication and engagement, encouraging team members to support one another, and maintaining a focus on the project's common goals. In all of this they continue their quest of enhancing project delivery by addressing the human side of project management.

Main Take-Aways

1)     Project managers have the greatest influence on the productivity of their teams over any other factor.

2)     There are five critical elements for workplace productivity to be considered for IT project teams, whether onsite or working remotely.

3)     While remote work offers additional challenges, project managers must enhance their leadership skills to be equally effective when their teams are virtual.

 

Show Notes

Today’s Project Managers Coffee Chat: Strategies for Mastering Remote Project Management

00:27 Exploring remote team management – how do you lead and manage virtual teams effectively? Especially when you don’t have that face-to-face interaction with your teams. In remote settings, so much of an individuals’ body language is obscured.

03:06 Exploring the impact of workplace culture on productivity, and managers’ direct control and influence over this.

05:28 Five crucial elements for enhancing productivity:

  • Clarity of roles
  • Providing opportunity for team members to do what they do best
  • Providing opportunities to develop their skills
  • Strong co-worker relationships
  • Common mission or purpose

Project managers have as much as 70% of the influence on making these elements happen.

10:57 Navigating the challenges of remote work – the incentive is reduced costs, but the reality is that managers are poorly equipped to handle remote teams. It takes discipline (for both team members and the PM).

Is it a tools issue? Or do we as PMs need to learn how to deal with this in a better way? Can we influence those five crucial elements discussed earlier in a virtual situation?

17:15 Merv and Tim argue for the fact that there should be almost no difference in managing face-to-face versus remotely. Building professional relationships in a remote setting is even more critical as it cannot be assumed as when the team is onsite all together.

18:10 Empowering team members to support each other remotely is helpful to maintain team cohesiveness and collaboration.

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Project Managers' Coffee Chat with Tim & MervBy Merv Jersak & Tim Jerome