A question I am frequently asked is: how can I hold my team members accountable to their commitments without using “the stick” and looking like an overbearing heartless PM?
My response is to confront the issue from a position of support and trust rather than of power and fear.
The following approach has worked well for me in the past. I follow-up with the team member in private and mention that I’ve noticed they have fallen behind on their project commitments and I wanted to check-in to see how they are doing. I also ask if everything is ok and if there is anything I can do to better support them.
This typically results in one of two responses. The team member either realizes that the PM is actually doing their job and monitoring the progress of the project and they kick their performance in gear, or it opens the door for them to share their frustrations around everything that’s been piled on their plate, the lack of support they’re receiving, or a concern that they’re in over their head in terms of the competence required for the project.
In either case, the next step is to discuss suggestions on how I can help them get things back on track. Depending on the situation, the preferred course of action by the team member may be for them to go to their Manager/Supervisor to discuss their allocation to the project/capacity/training needs/etc.
I then follow-up with the team member to discuss the results of the meeting with their Manager/Supervisor and confirm that the issue has been resolved. If the issue is not resolved, the next step is to approach the Manager/Supervisor as the next level in the issue escalation process to discuss an alternative corrective action plan.
Tip: Establish an issue escalation process at the start of the project. This takes emotion out of the equation especially when you are faced with people related issues. It is much easier to separate the issue from the person when you’re following a previously established process.
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