Building up from a lack of teamwork

Success Problem

According to PMI, about a third of all projects in the US fail due to a lack of communication and teamwork. A lack of collaboration can undermine even the best-planned and resourced project from the beginning.

Impact

When teams don't communicate effectively, either with internal or external players, at all levels, they lose time, waste money, reduce quality and hurt morale. A usual sticking point of issue is when one colleague tells another colleague key information or directions in either language that doesn't translate, between an engineer and a sales person for example. Another may be giving incomplete information and expecting someone to figure the rest out when it's not as straightforward as you may think in your own head. Companies that cut corners on communication methods and priorities risk breaking down the glue binding project effectiveness.

Recommendation

Teamwork when done well gives every team member a way to use their strengths to further the project's outcome even more. Team leaders should promote clear, concise, non-technical information sharing that can build trust among group members. Empowering lower team members through delegation can also improve the feeling of shared accomplishment and shared control. This creates a more positive environment that induces more communication as workers feel shared sense of mission. More responsibility can be fulfilling and give workers an opportunity to leverage each other in a way that heightens project success rate.

Category

• Teamwork & Influencing