8. Support the team on the Ground

Image courtesy:  africa / Freedigitalphotos.net

Mistakes happen. Sometimes several of them at once or in a sequence. The team on the ground, under most circumstances at least has the strong support from the core team which is experienced and has encountered many such difficult project situations. Not So.
The core team is busy with other projects or is simply interested in churning out the monthly invoices to protect the bottom lines and manage salaries of the team. Support and advice in the form of a conference call can become difficult to organise.  In strictly hierchical firms, independent decisions by project teams are vigourously controlled where the project delivery becomes a risk.
Looking back at such situations, one could:

• Draw up clear protocols for raising project related issues all the way to the top of the hierarchy of the firm. Even top management including owners should remain accessible for project related issues. The access can of course be controlled and monitored so as to involve them in only crucial issues.
• Regular contact with the project team in forms of conference calls or meetings.
• If meetings or calls do not become possible, regular reports should be scrutinised and advice given for crucial, unanswered issues

In the next post, I shall be discussing the ninth point in the series – Don’t govern by threats.
Links to the previous posts
7. Provide Mission Critical information to the Project Team
6. Resource appropriately
5. How to (not) do your budget in five easy steps
4. Read the contract you just signed
3. Don't promise the impossible in a ridiculous timeframe
2. How (not) to win a contract
1. New Business Areas