Work Effectively in a Team

Distributing Tasks

A mission is a “super objective” which will be broken down into tasks (actions that will be distributed between several team members) with deadlines. These tasks, or intermediate objectives, will need to be tracked.

Distributing the tasks and scheduling their execution are fundamental. As soon as a mission involves more than two staff members, you must:

• establish the organization chart for the tasks.

• define the levels of responsibilities.

• centralize all the documents and procedures for accompanying the mission/project.

• put tracking in place.

1) TO: The Task Organization Chart

The Task Organization chart is a tree diagram giving a breakdown of all the jobs to be performed as part of the mission/project. The lowest levels in the tree structure are called work packages. A work package defines a deliverable, i.e., the product of the task accomplished. For example, building a website, identifying and canvassing sponsors, market research, visiting and auditing sales outlets, etc.

A few rules:

1. The mission is broken down into tasks until work packages are distributed. 

2. This breakdown is performed according to the 3Rs rule: A work package is assigned to a single person Responsible for it, for an identified Result, according to the Resources assigned for this purpose.

3. When an element of the TO is broken down, it is equal to the sum of the broken-down elements: Nothing must be omitted, because anything that isn’t scheduled, won’t get done!

4. There are several logical approaches for breaking down the tasks: by function, geographically, product nomenclature or supplier. One logical approach is usually enough.

5. Each work package corresponds on average to 10-20 days of work for one person.

For example, a mission is being put together to create a website for a convention. Here’s the TO for it:

2) Responsibilities Table

The responsibilities table is a tool that lets you visualize the 4 levels of responsibility. Either your collaborative tool includes these levels, or you can use an office application solution (Excel) integrated into your collaborative platform.

• (R) Responsible: Guarantor for the accomplishment of the task package. They play a part themselves and/or may delegate all or part of the tasks.

• (P) Participant: They complete the work package.

• (C) Consulted: An expert who will complete a task or technical validation.

• (I) Informed: A team member to whom documents are distributed, who is kept informed of progress and is invited to meetings because the task package has an impact on their own mission.

From the task organization chart, copy the work packages into the left-hand column, then on each line indicate the various stakeholders in the tasks. For example:

3) Workflow

At this stage in your organization, you need to schedule the deadlines for each work package in accordance with the final delivery date, making a realistic calculation of the time to complete them, including, if possible, a small cushion to lessen the impact of unforeseen events.

Representing the tasks in sequence, including deadlines, is called a workflow. A Gantt chart also allows you to visualize the steps and the margins for error.

4) Reporting

Depending on the scale of the mission, its duration and the number of people involved, reporting needs to allow for the completion of the intermediate objectives to be validated. A spreadsheet allows you to periodically track a panel of indicators.

Reporting is particularly important when turnover and/or cost budgeting is involved. An annual turnover objective must be broken down into monthly, or even weekly, objectives.

A configured collaborative platform allows this reporting to be edited and made available in real time. If the various tools are not integrated, a reporting manager will have to be designated.

Delegating

Why Delegate?

In the preceding example, several work packages are separated into “Responsible” and “Participant,” because the task has been delegated. Delegation usually occurs as part of a hierarchical link (from the manager/project leader to the staff member), but an experienced or overloaded team member might also delegate to someone else with less seniority in the job or who is less busy.

Knowing how to delegate is a state of mind, as it means:

• giving up doing it yourself and being in total control.

• sharing the credit.

• trusting people.

But it also involves know-how, as you have to:

• choose the right person to delegate to.

• be sure to give them rewarding tasks and not just busy work.

• pass the necessary know-how on to them.

• give them independence as to the method.

• check on the results regularly.

Properly supervised delegation has multiple advantages.

• For the one who delegates:

  • Saves time and stress

  • The ability to concentrate on the core of their mission

• For the person being delegated to:

  • Personal growth

  • Skills-building

Choosing the Right Person to Delegate to

In order to correctly choose the person to whom you are going to entrust the task, you need to differentiate between skills and motivation. Here are a few tools to help you choose:

For each person being considered, assess each criterion from 1 (low/weak) to 5 (high/strong):

Putting Supervision in Place

You have decided to entrust the performance of a task to a team member. You must:

• Define the objectives of the mission/task in detail by using SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) goals.

• Clearly describe the results expected and the supervision method.

• Provide the means required.

• Put the supervision routine in place (a regular review, reporting, etc.).

• Announce officially to the whole team at a meeting that you are delegating this task, giving the reasons (skills, workload, etc.). The more transparent you are, the less chance of internal rivalry.

A few rules for appropriate supervision:

• Monitor the overall progress and review the results expected according to the initial experience of the person and the way their independence is developing. In due course, avoid any intrusion other than the appointments arranged for progress reviews.

• If the person to whom you have delegated a task is tempted to give you a report every day, correct this and help them find their independence.

Let's Recap!

• Distributing and scheduling tasks, as well as effectively delegating and supervising task execution, are fundamental to teamwork.

• Task management may include the following tools:

  • Task Organization chart, or TO

  • Responsibilities table

  • Workflow

  • Reporting

Distributing tasks and delegating needs to be organized collectively in meetings. Knowing how to run meetings is essential.

Next up: operating instructions for agile, effective meetings! 😄