Use these techniques to build a high-performing team

High-performing teams are a magical, but rare, convergence of the right people, processes, and environment. They work much more effectively and have a much higher productivity rate than most teams. Best of all, they are extremely fun and motivating to work on.

There are some common characteristics of high-performing teams. Knowing these characteristics can help you move your team down this path.

Set common objectives. Teams cannot perform at a high level unless all of its members are striving toward a common set of objectives. Even if members of your team do different jobs, you can usually write a set of objectives that will encompass all of them. If possible, the team should also be rewarded based on achieving this common set of objectives.

Establish good internal work processes. You can’t build consistently good products or deliver good services with poor work processes. The high-performing team has a set of internal processes that guide how members act and react in particular circumstances. For instance, if problems arise, they know how to invoke problem-solving techniques. If a customer makes a request for a change to specifications, they know to invoke scope change procedures.

Instill good work ethic. This probably goes without saying. High-performing teams rarely form in an environment where people complain about their workload or where team members complain about the work habits of other team members. High-performing teams find the challenges associated with their work and work hard to complete their assignments within expectations.

Keep everyone focused. The high-performance team is focused on the objectives and the deliverables, and understands how to achieve them. They don’t get sidetracked by rumors or politics. They don’t get absorbed in gossip. They don’t spend more time complaining than working. They know what is expected of them and do the best they can to meet those expectations.

Strive toward a balanced set of key skills. A high-performance team has all the skills needed to complete the work on its plate. Team members have the skills needed from a technical standpoint, as well as the right set of role-based skills. For instance, it’s hard to be a high-performance team when everyone wants to be the Team Leader. If some of these “leaders” are asked to build deliverables instead, they may not have the right skills or the right motivation for the team to be successful. In a high-performing team, people understand their strengths and weaknesses, but they’re also willing to work outside their comfort area when needed.

Foster mutual respect. Members of high-performance teams typically get along with each other and like each other. They have respect for each other and trust that the others are working as hard as they are. They assist other team members when they’re in need and understand that team members will do the same for them if needed.

8 techniques to get your project back on budget

On most projects, actual expenditures are tracked and reconciled on a monthly basis, since most companies only provide accounting reports monthly.

Let’s say you’ve been doing that but that you’ve just realized that you’re trending overbudget. It may not be time to panic, but you don’t want to ignore the situation either. Here are some proactive techniques you can use to get back on budget as quickly as possible.

1. Swap people. If cost containment is more important than the deadline, you may be willing for the work to take a longer time if it ultimately can be completed successfully at a reduced cost. This technique could also be used to replace a contract resource with an employee resource, if the employee would end up costing less for your project.

2. Eliminate or reduce non-labor costs. Just as with people, it may be possible to utilize less costly materials, supplies, or services than what was originally budgeted. For instance,

* You may ask project travelers to stay at a discount hotel chain instead of more upscale accommodations
* You can see if team members can utilize existing upgraded hardware instead of new machines.
* You can substitute less expensive computer-based training, or team mentoring, instead of formal training classes.

3. Implement “zero tolerance” scope change. You must ensure that no unplanned work is added to your project unless formal scope change management is invoked. This doesn’t mean you won’t do the extra work. It means that you need to receive incremental budget for all new work you add to the project.

4. Work unpaid overtime. This option only applies, of course, if your staff doesn’t get paid for overtime. If you’re getting toward the end of the project, you may be able to issue comp-time after the project is completed. However, this is usually not a good solution if you have to apply it for a long time.

5. Use budget contingency (if you have it). Your company may allow a budget contingency to account for the uncertainty and risk associated with your estimate. The contingency is separate from the project budget. If you’re tending over budget because of estimating errors, you can tap the contingency budget.

6. Improve processes. On longer projects, you can look for ways to streamline project processes. Work done more efficiently takes less time and costs less.

7. Renegotiate external contracts. It may be possible to renegotiate license and contract terms. If you use contract labor, you might be able to negotiate a reduced fee. Perhaps your software vendor will take less money for their product. In many cases, the vendor will be willing to trade off one benefit for another. For instance, a contract resource might reduce his rate in exchange for additional work hours. Perhaps a vendor will take less money in exchange for getting paid earlier. If you’re overbudget, especially on a large project, all of the vendors should be reviewed for potential cost savings.

8. Scope back the work. If all else fails and you’re not able to get additional budget relief, you may need to negotiate with the client to remove some of the work from the project. There may be options to complete this project on-budget with less that 100% functionality, and then to execute a follow-up project to complete the remaining requirements. This isn’t the place to start getting back on budget, but it may be your final option if all other techniques fail or are not available.