7 things a project manager should never say to the team-members
They say speaking comes by nature, silence by understanding. A manager must understand what to say and what not to the team. After all, being a project manager is a lot like being a parent — you’ve got to take care of your team members just like your kids. But, only a few managers take this thing into consideration while communicating with their team.
As a result of this, the manager-team relationship does not gel, there is a lack of understanding between the two, and projects never go as planned. If you want to build a strong foundation in the team, then you as a manager must be really careful about the words that come from your mouth and more so careful about the words that ought to never utter in front of your team.
In this post we are going to take a look at the things, which a project manager must never say to his team-members. So, let us take a look -
1. “Monday sucks!”
Keeping your personal and professional life separate is the key to being a successful manager. When you post on the social network “sighhhhh…weekend is over :(“ while tagging your team member in it, it puts a really negative impression of you on the team. Remember, your team would never love the work unless you do. Being the manager, it is your responsibility to keep the team motivated at work. As long as you are voicing out hatred towards starting things anew after a break, this will never happen. Stop regretting that weekend is over and letting the world know about it. Stop posting such statuses on social media, rather share something inspirational for the team to get to work with full zeal and enthusiasm. Start the new week with some motivational quotes, bring in some tricks that can kill the monotony and continue to drive the team towards better performance.
2. “You should do it like that”
Having knowledge of various facets of IT can be a big advantage for a project manager. But, imposing their ideas on their team-members is not something that smart managers do. ‘That’s how you should do it’, ‘I would have done it like that if I were you’, ‘You should do it like that’ etc. These are some of the statements that you as a manager should stay clear of. You have got a really smart bunch of people in your team, who know their job well. Let them work the way they like and you will see the productivity levels rising up in no time.
3. “Statistics say this”
It is a well-known fact that managers have this thing for numbers. But, success in a project is lot more than just numbers. You need to look at the bigger picture. What can you learn from the project outcomes? Even if things did not go as planned there can be some great lessons for you to learn from the outcomes. You can learn from the mistakes so as to avoid them in the future. This is not to say that numbers don’t matter, but only as long as they are serving the purpose to motivate your team.
4. “Don’t be a spectator in meetings”
Being a good listener is perhaps one of the most important traits that one can have these days. It is a big misconception that people who don’t speak much at a meeting are not contributing to it at all. In fact, such people let their work do the talking. If a team member does not speak much in meetings, don’t ask him to. If he/she is not comfortable for a verbal performance, don’t compel him/her to do that. Try to understand their natural behavior and let them work just like the way they want to. After all, it’s all about getting projects completed on time and in the rightful manner in the end.
5. “It shouldn’t take long to complete this”
Having confidence in your team to get things done on time is good. But promising to deliver things in short-time without having a word with the team members, who are the subject matter experts, is really a bad idea. This is because the time taken to complete any activity related to the project is going to vary as the scope changes. When there is scope creep in the project due to the client’s ever changing requirements, it is always a wise choice to discuss things with subject matter experts rather committing anything to the client without consent of your team.
6. “I’m going to take the day off”
Support, respect and collaboration are the building blocks for a happy and successful team. There can be times at work when things do not go as planned. Taking a day off when the deadline is hanging like a dagger on the head can put the entire team in doldrums. You have to stand besides your team to inspire them and get things done in such critical situations. If you cannot stand with the team when chips are down, then how can you expect them to be serious about their work? As Cornelius Fichtner has said, “The P in PM is as much about “People Management” as it is about “Project Management”. You’ve got to be good with people if you want them to deliver what’s expected, if not more.
7. “Do as you are said to”
Micromanagement is one of the biggest reasons why employees are unable to gel with the managers. According to a survey by Trinity Solutions “69 percent of the employees said they considered a job change because of micromanagement. In fact, 36 percent actually changed jobs because of the same reason.” Giving the team members freedom to do things the way they want to shows the level of trust you have on them. It lays the foundation for a successful relationship between the manager and the team-members.
A bossy manager is not liked by anyone in the team. And, we all have been through this feeling at some point in time in our career. Don’t forget that before being a project manager you are a leader and a team-member first. And, it is your duty to ensure that the team-members are feeling great. That’s how great things are done!
And, if you want to do great things as a manager and are looking for some amazing ways to take your team’s productivity to higher levels, then give ProofHub a try!
