Introduction

When it comes right down to it, you’ve got to deliver. And the key to doing this is having a high-performing project team. You can have the greatest plan in the world, but if your core project team can’t get the work done as expected, it really doesn’t matter. Conversely, a high-performing project team can go a long way in compensating for inadequate planning and other less-than-ideal project environments. Although effective leadership and communication skills are key ingredients of a successful project team environment (and we reviewed these important facets in “Leading a Project,” and “Managing Project Communications,” respectively), there is tremendous value in understanding the specific principles and techniques that we can apply to maximize the performance of our project team.

We review the common characteristics of high-performing project teams, explore the management principles and techniques that foster better team performance, and offer key advice on how to best handle challenging project team situations frequently encountered by project managers.