By: Rachel Ann Chuaquico (Team Lead Architect)
Project management is not new to me, but doing it virtually takes it to the next level. Working at Casia Robinson, an architectural firm which promotes a remote working setup, opens a new challenging environment for me.
A day in a virtual workplace became the new normal for my profession. Each week there are new projects which tasks have their own unique needs, different problems to solve, and goals to complete.
Managing a team is a bit difficult and challenging, especially when the members are not in the same office as you. That’s why to handle a successful virtual team, I need to develop my management skills that will help me to lead efficiently without becoming overwhelmed by multiple projects.
With the help of project management tools like OneDrive and Asana, it allows us to organize project files and assign tasks to individual team members within a given time frame to avoid confusion that leads to collaboration enhancement.
I start my day by checking the active projects in Asana. Each week there are 3 to 5 active projects at the same time divided for the two-team leaders to manage. To effectively manage multiple projects, it is better to first review the workloads and the deadlines. Knowing the goals and desired outcome of each project, I need to create an advance management plan that can cover the entire week to ensure that all projects are running smoothly.
After reviewing all the active projects, it is time for me to delegate the tasks as an effective way to complete multiple projects at the same time. As a team leader, I must have a general idea of how long the tasks take and how many people are needed to accomplish the given project.
Knowing my team members’ strengths, it is my duty to ensure that I provide a clear set of instructions which can help to direct them in a positive and productive way to achieve the common goal in the given time period. I must also ensure that there’s a fair share of tasks to maximize productivity. Scheduling a time to check if all members are participating and if the tasks are being done effectively as per standard.
The most important factor that makes project management successful is communication. It is my responsibility to provide regular project updates and check-in with my team to ensure successful project completion.
Communication in a virtual team is difficult with the lack of visuals and gestures, but with the help of good management and communication tools, it makes the project flow easier.
As for being a Team Leader, I want to share effective ways that help me finish more tasks individually.
Stop Multitasking. Scheduling tasks one after the other based on their rank of priorities will increase productivity and more tasks will be completed.
Be Flexible. Flexibility is essential when managing a virtual team. There are times when you have to face unexpected problems like tasks whose priority level suddenly changed. This results in shifting priorities; you must be able to think quickly and plan proficiently when determining which project you should work on first.
All these points are my approach to overcome any challenges and to effectively accomplish my responsibilities as a Team Lead. There are more factors to develop and skills to enhance that can help our virtual team achieve more goals in the future.
