Many people show better results in what they do if they get visual instructions for the tasks. Long texts are boring, and they will easily embrace the instructions and changes if they have a visualization of them. Our eyes want things to be concise, clear, and attractive, so they can get into our brain. By using smart structure, different colors, right data, and informative icons, the project managers are helping the team to be more effective at work, and complete the different tasks on time.
So, a lot of things are available at this point, including online tools to visualize the project, priorities, and instructions on how things should be done. By using that approach, managers can track down the whole process, and predict when the task will be completed, but also correct the mistakes as early as they can, so it saves a lot of time and money too.
Good project managers always choose visual instead of written explanation, and if you check on xTiles, you will see what we are talking about. Can you see how a visual representation of the project should look like?
That’s one of the ways to manage a successful team and land good results.
But, here are some additional tips on how to manage things better:
1. Understand what are project management tools
In general, those are online or offline sheets, charts, boards, schedules, prints, and plans you are using to manage the way your team works, assign them tasks, and explain what are the goals of the project. By using the management tools, they always have the tasks in front of their eyes, and they can track down the whole process, be more productive, and improve teamwork and communication. It will help them organize better, prioritize the tasks, but also track down the whole process until they are ready to move to the next project.
At this point, it’s important to know that these tools will improve communication, resolve the issues with lack of collaboration, and of course, there won’t be boring meetings that only waste precious time, without anything beneficial for the job.
2. Improve the communication
You need to focus on both visual and verbal communication, so you can create a comfortable working environment, no matter how hard the task is. Encourage the people to get the best of them, allow them to take a few breaks during the day, and let them show what they know the best.
Try to be present as much as you can, because no one wants to be overwhelmed by emails and text messages during the day. And also, while you are talking, you all can get even better ideas on how to complete the project better. Surely, proof of communication is always required, but you can do that on the tool dashboard, instead of sending endless emails. The tools improve all the aspects of the communication, for both the whole project and specific tasks from it.
3. Visualization improves the productivity
No matter which method you choose, you can represent the goals and tasks visually by using some of the online tools available, or even the Google Spreadsheet tool too. Try to visualize every important part of the project, the steps that should be taken, and the expectations for the outcome. Also, assign some deadlines, so they can know the timeframe for the project.
Again, avoid the traditional representation of the tasks, because no one wants to look at the raw text and try to find what their job is. Be creative, so you can understand better what should be done, and explain to the team. Making the job more interesting should be your priority if you want better results at the end of the day.
4. It reduces the stress
By using the right management tools, you can be sure you won’t be stressed because of the project, and so won’t your employees. It’s so easy to overwhelm the whole process with a lot of information, updates, and demands, but the tools like boards, charts, and tables, will help you avoid that.
When the team is not stressed because of the work, they are able to fulfill their responsibilities, and the whole process is easier to track and monitor. That also helps address the mistakes on time, and everyone has enough time to correct them. Stress is bad for the job process, but also for physical and mental health. So, avoid that, and use all the tools you think can be useful to organize the project. You will be surprised by how effective it is.
5. Create a trustworthy environment
We are sure that you are carefully choosing the people to work on these projects, and you trust them completely. If you don’t trust them, then you are doing something wrong. Anyway, you can improve the situation by using the tips and tools from this article to organize the team, assign tasks, and prioritize the things that should be done first. After that, you surely need to monitor the whole process and see how things are done, but don’t put a lot of pressure on the employees. They are professionals, and they know how to do their job. You only should point out if things are going too slow, or something is done completely wrong.
Don’t fight with them, because it’s too easy for someone to give up on the project, and it will be really hard to find a replacement who knows what to do in the middle of the project.
Conclusion
Today, we are lucky to have plenty of online and offline tools, so we can organize the tasks. You can plan things in advance, and adjust them according to the performance through time. Try not to overwhelm the employees with a lot of information and different boards and tables, because just one or two of them are really enough. Choose the tools you use smartly, and you will have a productive team who will complete the project right on time.