Adapted from Leading Team Projects

When completing team projects, it is critical that the project leader organizes the team for success. A project leader acts as a coach, guiding a team toward a project objective. In achieving a project objective, the team achieves victory. By fulfilling the following coaching functions, the project leader can blaze a path towards victory. We have identified 15 coaching functions, and here, we discuss three of them.

Recruit the Right Team Members

A coach recruits high quality people to the team. Likewise, the project leader screens people to determine who fits and who does not fit for the position or the project. As you look for the right candidates, ask yourself, what skills do I need to accomplish this project objective? Will this person work well with the other members of my team?

Position an Effective Starting Lineup

A coach places each team member in their proper role. In soccer, the coach will place long-distance runners in the midfield position because midfield players cover the most ground in a given game. The coach may also place sprinters in the defense position because defense players must quickly kick the ball out of their territory. The coach would not place a sprinter in a position that required endurance, nor would the coach place a long-distance runner in a position that required sprinting. Likewise, the project leader must accurately determine team member strengths, assigning tasks that nurture and encourage their strengths.

Communicate the Game Plan

A coach casts the vision of the “Big Picture.” Before each game, a coach lays out a game plan, a strategy for how the team will achieve victory. Likewise, a project leader must communicate the overarching vision for what the project must accomplish and how the team members must accomplish it.

As you go about your week, ask God to guide your team projects. Which people does He want you to put on your team? What tasks align with their strengths? What is the “Big Picture” for this project?

*Click here for a full list of all 15 coaching functions, as well as a sample LTI lesson on Becoming an Effective Project Leader