Whether you have resources on hand or are building from scratch, a good project team requires planning.  We always want to create a team that is more than a collection of the members.  Luckily, the history of good and bad teams gives us some keys to success.

Communication

As we see with project failure reasons, communication is important.  A good team will not only communicate among themselves, but there also should be someone that can share with others.  This role may fall to the leader or manager, but a team that does not have someone to be “the voice” of the team will struggle.  This person may be a good writer, speaker, or presenter; the point is communication.  A team that cannot interact within and without is doomed to failure.  Lack of communication is a common source of project issues.

Complementary Skills

We often hear about groups and organizations with “too many chiefs” that struggle to be effective.  In fact, this concept applies to nearly any role.  The members of a project team should complement each other in their skills rather than all be the same.  For example, we have mentioned communication, and there are also design, planning, implementation, and testing areas of skills that should be possessed by the team.  A team full of communicators is not very useful if they do not have a mix of the other skills.  In particular, find a leader/motivator and then there is no need for another one.  Some skills are useful in multiple team members (e.g. testing, implementation).  However, many skills should only exist with one member (or a small percentage) to avoid conflicts.  Even two superb leaders can butt heads over an issue and thus negate each other’s skills.

A Project Team of Old and New

Everyone loves a good process and set of best practices.  The problem is that those tried and true approaches do not always work.  It takes a new pair of eyes to see where innovation and improvement can be made.  Thus, find a mix of project team members that are veterans and those that are newer to the focus of the project.  The veterans can help jump start the team with their experience and knowledge of how to approach the solution.  The neophytes can learn from the veterans while asking questions in case there is a better way to get the job done.

Define Roles Clearly

When a team is built, there are often roles that members are assigned.  These roles should be clearly noted and not assumed.  In particular, do this for the positions where you only want a member, or two focused on that aspect.  Assuming that everyone knows who should do what on a team often leads to confusion.  It can cause minor problems like slowing the team down or even be the source of crippling internal conflicts.  Remember that everyone on a team should have a role or roles, and they should be clear on what theirs are.