High-Impact Tools for Teams

High-Impact Tools for Teams aims to combat recurring project-management problems that take place in teams and especially during meetings, which tend to get chaotic and deviate from their initial purpose, all through the Team Alignment Map, a solution proposed by the authors.

Most people hate meetings, and for a reason. An appointment is usually just a time when team members gather around to discuss a given topic but end up circling it and talking nonsense. According to research conducted by Atlassian, approximately half of the meetings are unproductive and considered a waste of time.

So how can we change that and put those resources utilized in the process to better use? The answer is simple: Ditch team meetings and use other communication tools instead. Of course, teamwork and communication set the base for every successful project, so managers must find more interactive ways of engaging with their people.

By this point, it’s clear that meetings don’t increase the level of communication and connectivity. This is because team members often feel afraid to speak up and say something stupid, especially in front of their colleagues. Moreover, team roles are often ambiguous, leaving much room for interpretation, making team activities unaligned and unstructured.

Simply put, no one knows what the other person should be doing, let alone themselves. For this reason, the authors suggest using the Team Alignment Map (TAM). This tool makes planning and teamwork easier by presenting a clear structure of a team and its activities at any given time.

Now that I’ve introduced the TAM, it’s time to break it down into simple words and see how you can start using it right away to manage a team of people better! First, the TAM helps people plan and assess. It consists of a four-column chart and a header with a Mission and a Period. You may add the meeting agenda in the Mission row, while in the Period tab, it is where the meeting’s time frame is written. The header makes the structure of the meeting clear from the start and lets members form an idea about it. The Mission tab should inspire them and make them understand the meaning behind the project. The Period tab helps them develop how long the project will last. Distributed as follows are the four columns: The Joint Objectives is a column that answers what you’re going to achieve together and what needs to be done. Here you must set SMART goals and short-term objectives to meet them. The Joint Commitments pillar is to write down their name and pick up tasks that make up the end goals. The Joint Resources column states the resources that will be used in the process and…