# 5 Tactics to Enhance Project Management Team Performance | Capterra > Project management speaker and author Peter Taylor helps you discover the benefits of team alignment for better cohesion across projects. Source: https://www.capterra.com/resources/project-management-team-performance --- Project PlanningProgram & Project Management # A Project Management Expert's 5 Tactics To Enhance Team Performance By Peter Taylor Peter Taylor Keynote speaker and coach, Peter is the author of the number-one bestselling project management book "The Lazy Project Manager," along with many other books ... [See bio & all articles](https://www.capterra.com/resources/author/peter-taylor-guest-contributor/) Published April 18, 2023 5 min read Table of Contents - [The power of teams](#the-power-of-teams) - [5 principles for enhancing project team performance](#5-principles-for-enhancing-project-team-performance) - [#1: Acceptance that it’s time for a new approach](#1-acceptance-that-its-time-for-a-new-approach) - [#2: Empowering managers has never been more important](#2-empowering-managers-has-never-been-more-important) - [#3: This change is critical for all project-based teams](#3-this-change-is-critical-for-all-project-based-teams)  - [#4: Identifying areas for improvement](#4-identifying-areas-for-improvement) - [#5: Start today, not tomorrow](#5-start-today-not-tomorrow) ## Discover the capability of true team performance in project management and how your team can get there. A focus on project team performance will be the next quantum leap in project success. But the challenge today, and increasingly so into the future, is that projects are becoming more complex in their nature, with increased expectations of delivery and greater scale. Teams are also more remote in nature, which adds to the challenge for team leaders to know how their team members are feeling and what they can do to aid performance levels and engagement. With this focus on team performance in mind, even high-performing teams should be continually examining their interpersonal dynamics and collective approach to challenges. But how can you take advantage of this people- and team-centric future in your own organization? To understand the future progression of project team performance, I believe that there are five principles that are first required to be acknowledged and then used as the building blocks for a future world of high-performing teams. All of this should be driven through great people leadership—and powered through team analytics. ## The power of teams For me, it is all about putting people back into [project management](https://www.capterra.com/project-management-software/) and a focus on people back into team dynamics. There is a real power to teams, in that they are more likely to achieve larger goals than individuals alone, and they are more likely to be innovative, more productive, and more adaptive as changes in the marketplace or workplace occur. The advantages of teams over individual workers are very clear. The successes that I have had over the years in project delivery and PMO leadership could not have happened without performing teams. None of this is a solo effort. ## 5 principles for enhancing project team performance ### #1: Acceptance that it’s time for a new approach One cannot go about making a change effectively if they don’t believe that change is necessary. The first step to progress is to accept the necessity for progress to be made. No matter what the past or current success levels are, there is always room for improvement. You need to really understand the importance of a people-centric approach. After all, these are the people who work on the front lines every day; those who can make an immediate difference to an organization’s performance. They can do this by starting with _team_ performance and _team_ well-being to ultimately achieve _team_ success. ### #2: Empowering managers has never been more important The world is changing at an increasingly fast pace. Because the pandemic has accelerated the transition to [remote work](https://www.capterra.com/remote-work-software/) and in-person interactions (both formal and informal) have fallen by the wayside, it has never been more important for managers to find ways to keep their fingers on the pulse regarding their teams’ performance and engagement. Working virtually will inevitably make issues harder to notice and will increase the likelihood of problems sneaking up on unsuspecting managers.  As the rate of change accelerates, organizations must become more agile. Those who can adapt rapidly will survive; those who can't, won’t. To make the right decisions swiftly, managers need data delivered in real-time. They need _leading_ data points on team performance that can help them tackle issues as they arise—not _lagging_ data points that highlight issues after they’ve come to the fore—measuring performance not merely to _evaluate_ team members but to _empower_ them.  Without timely insights, managers are essentially left flying blind, unable to understand the human factors that impact team dynamics, performance, and engagement.  ### #3: This change is critical for all project-based teams  As we’ve stated, the need for real-time performance data is particularly pressing for managers of project-based teams. The way these cross-functional teams operate and the way they are assembled and disassembled means that they face greater uncertainty and urgency than functional teams do. As a result, a great deal of agility is required from project-based teams.    To succeed consistently in our projects, we must give managers and teams the insights they need to solve problems collectively, before they escalate, and to make more informed decisions. This need will only become more apparent with the ongoing shift toward project teams and away from traditional teams in our world of work.  ### #4: Identifying areas for improvement Most organizations are doing some form of team feedback, retrospection, or assessment already, albeit ineffectively. It is generally too infrequent, not mandated, systematic or automated—but it’s a great way to start by identifying the closest thing to what you already have and expand on that as a low-hanging fruit.  Since retrospectives are unfortunately mostly focused on work and not the team, they’re not always inclusive—often the same team members contribute their opinions, with the quieter bunch staying silent. We’ve seen many teams start improving their retro practice by implementing a data or analytics tool and then rocking up to a retro equipped with insights and ready to act together as a team—often already having asynchronously found solutions. This also allows all team members to participate and provide suggestions without feeling any form of trepidation or fear of scrutinization.  ### #5: Start today, not tomorrow I truly hope that, through reading this article, and other research and experience, you will reach the (inevitable) conclusion that this change is coming. The call to action is simply, start today, don’t leave it to see what happens to other organizations or what happens to other teams. Instead take the lead, take control, take the advantage.  As noted in principle #4, you are, most likely already doing this in some way and this can form the platform for progression to a much more productive world of project team performance, the world of team analytics. To read more from Peter Taylor and see the rest of his work on Capterra, check out the following pieces: - [Artificial Intelligence—Threat or Aid to Project Managers?](https://www.capterra.com/resources/artificial-intelligence-for-project-managers/) - [How AI Can Help Project Managers Bring the Focus Back to People](https://www.capterra.com/resources/focus-on-people-with-ai-in-project-management/) And for more resources on guiding your project management team, take a look at these additional Capterra pieces: - [5 Project Management Principles Every Business Leader Should Know](https://www.capterra.com/resources/project-management-principles/) - [What Is the Waterfall Methodology in Project Management?](https://www.capterra.com/resources/what-is-waterfall-methodology/) ## Capterra's 2026 Software Buying Trends Report ### Download our 2026 Software Buying Trends Report to see how successful software adopters avoid disappointment and how your business can, too. * * * Looking for Project Management software?Check out Capterra's list of the [best Project Management software](https://www.capterra.com/project-management-software/) solutions. ### Was this article helpful? * * * ## About the Author [### Peter Taylor](https://www.capterra.com/resources/author/peter-taylor-guest-contributor/) Keynote speaker and coach, Peter is the author of the number-one bestselling project management book "The Lazy Project Manager," along with many other books on project management, PMO development, executive sponsorship, transformation leadership, and speaking skills. He has built and led some of the largest PMOs in the world with organizations such as Siemens, IBM, UKG, and now Ceridian, where he is the VP Global PMO. 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