10 Tips for Boosting Team Performance - by special guest blogger, Jason Westland

As a Project Manager, your success depends on how well your team performs. So if you want to improve your team performance, then read these:

10 Tips for Boosting Team Performance

There are lots of different ways that you can boost your team performance. We’ve listed here our Top 10 Tips. We hope they help you...

Tip 1: Show them the vision

People only perform well in a role if they understand what it is that they need to deliver and why. For this reason, we suggest you get your team together to reinforce the project vision, objectives, timeframes and deadlines. Make your team feel wanted and needed by showing them that the project is critical to the success of the business. You will gain their buy-in and their commitment going forward.

Tip 2: Meet them individually

After your meeting, take each team member aside and tell them what it is that you need from them to help you deliver the project. Make sure they have a clear Job Description and they know how you are going to measure their performance. Ask them how they like to be managed, what motivates them and how you can support them in their role.

Tip 3: Give them room

At this point, you need to back off a little and give them room to perform. And if the pressure increases in your project, you need to give them more room than less. It’s hard to do this, but you mustn’t over-pressurize them or their performance will reduce, rather than improve.

Tip 4: Count the goals

As you back off, you need to put in place checks to measure their performance regularly. Meet with them individually every month to discuss their achievements, what’s outstanding and how they can improve. Make sure you don’t “bottle up” your concerns. Instead speak to them openly, keeping constructive at all times.

Tip 5: Be positive

If you’re stressed and weary, ease off on your staff. Shouting or being negative will only rub off on them. It’s incredibly difficult but you need to be positive, reassuring and supporting them at all times, even if the project is delayed.

Tip 6: Shake hands and pat backs

It’s easy to forget to praise your team’s successes. So every time you deliver a great quality product, finish a difficult task on time or get great feedback from a customer—congratulate those responsible in your team.

Tip 7: Meet at half time

Get your team together regularly to build a strong team spirit. Get them socializing together, so that new friendships are formed. The stronger the bond your team have with each other, the more likely they will work together as a single cohesive unit and achieve the objectives you have set.

Tips 8: Take time out

Don’t be afraid to give team members time off for working hard. By taking time out, it will reduce sick leave, improve motivation and increase efficiency.

Tips 9: Give them what they need

Everyone is motivated by different things. You need to know what motivates every different member of your team. Get to know them well. If you can reward each person differently based on their motivations, then you’ll improve their performance every time. This is the hardest trick in the book, but the one that pays the biggest dividends.

Tip 10: Celebrate your wins!

Staff all too often finish a project and move straight onto the next one without celebrating its success. When they do this, they carry their stress and pressure into the next project they work on. So help your team to “start afresh” by celebrating your success at the end of the project.

By taking these 10 tips seriously, you will improve the performance of your team and boost your chances of success.

And one further tip. Give your team the right tools to help them complete their work quickly and to a high level of quality. This builds personal pride in their work, improving motivation and performance.


Jason Westland has been in the project management industry for the past 16 years managing projects of up to 2 billion dollars. If you would like to find out more about Jason or about his new online project management software visit projectmanager.com.