The Most Effective Techniques to Encourage Team Members to Contribute to a Project
The success of any project depends on the contributions of every member of the team, but some teams work together better than others. When team members have a sense of personal ownership in the group project, believe that their contributions are valued, and see that the project manager contributes equally and leads by example, they feel motivated to contribute their best work.
Encourage Ownership
Team members contribute more and work harder for any project if they feel a sense of ownership in its success or failure. Communicate openly and honestly so team members understand just as much about the project as you do. Don't hold back information about expected difficulties or any other aspect of the task. When problems or roadblocks arise, call on the whole team to help you solve the difficulty. Give them the freedom to experiment with different solutions. If you try to control the project from the top down, your team members may see the project as yours rather than theirs. Give participants a chance to display their talents and ideas, and they'll be motivated to make the project a success.
Give Everyone a Chance to Speak
Some team members are naturally assertive and self-confident, while others are naturally shy and quiet. An assertive and self-confident person doesn't necessarily have better ideas than a shy and quiet person, but assertive people are a lot more likely to be heard and to have their ideas acted upon. To get the best out of your quieter team members, structure your meetings so that everyone has an equal opportunity to speak. Give people time to fully articulate their ideas. Try to assess each suggestion as objectively as possible based on the idea itself and not the personality of the team member proposing it. If you don't like a suggestion or choose not to make use of it, don't criticize it too severely. A shy team member may take strong criticism as a rejection and may avoid making suggestions in the future.
Make Everyone a Leader
Create a team full of leaders by using a collaborative rather than hierarchical model. In a hierarchical structure, only one person leads at each level of the organization. In a collaborative structure, every member of the team has a leadership role in some part of the project. Assign personal responsibility for some aspect of the project based on each team member's strengths and talents. For example, one team member might be in charge of developing applications for the project. On any issue having to do with applications development, that team member would be the leader. Questions relating to the technological infrastructure would go to another team member who is the leader for that portion. Instead of a strict division between leaders and followers, every team member takes on a leadership role in one context and a follower in others.
Be a Good Example
Model the behaviors you expect from your team members. Enthusiastically contribute to all aspects of the project. Keep your attitude positive and your motivation high. Negative comments from the top can damage morale and decrease motivation. Contribute new ideas and solutions, listen to the ideas and suggestions of your team members, and make it clear that you're always available to help work through any problems. Use praise more than criticism and leave room for relaxation and fun. Team members look to the project manager to set the tone for the entire project, so your words and actions need to contribute to the project's success.