- As the project manager,

you need to set the example.

And here are some guidelines

that I suggest you communicate

to the rest of the team,

as well as emulate yourself.

Having an effective team means that

all the members are participating

and that they're playing by the same rules.

It is essential that people take responsibility.

There's no room for blaming

other people on a project.

That doesn't mean that mistakes

don't often involve more than one person,

but it's not about finger-pointing

or ducking on blame.

You need to take responsibility for what's yours,

and oftentimes, you need to take

responsibility for others.

As the project manager,

you're pretty much always to blame

if something goes wrong.

That doesn't mean that an individual

team member didn't affect this,

but you can't blame other people,

because it's your job to manage things.

You also need to make sure

that people understand follow through.

A made commitment is a kept commitment.

This might mean working late

or coming in early to fix a problem,

but it does mean if you've made a commitment,

particularly if there's a schedule,

that you honor it.

A lot of team members don't understand

that slipping a deadline

could have huge repercussions

because there's multiple steps that come next.

The small adjustment of one missed deadline

could affect everyone else on the team

and risk the whole project.

So getting people to understand the schedule

and their part in it is really essential.

You also need to actively listen.

It's very easy that

while we're working on projects

to be thinking about multiple things.

Most of the people on your team

have more than one job

or they're working on several projects.

Even if you think they're wholly on your project,

there might be bleed-over

from the last video they edited,

or questions from a client

reaching out about a new project.

It's important that you get a good culture

of active listening

and that when you have team meetings

or other things, people aren't distracted.

Get the cell phones put away, close the laptops

if they're not part of the meeting,

and get people to focus on each other.

Clear communication is critically important.

Don't mince words, don't try to be overly polite,

be direct and succinct.

If you're asking for a response,

make sure it's clear.

"Yes" or "no" is much clearer than "I understand."

"I understand" just means "I heard you,"

it doesn't mean that

I'm committing to do something

or that I'm not going to do to it.

You need clear answers,

yes and no is a very clear answer.

So when working with teammates

or people on your project,

make sure that you get a clear commitment

and a clear understanding of things.

Additionally, provide feedback.

Your job is to make sure that others

know what they're doing

and that they're it correctly.

But everyone on the team should

feel comfortable providing feedback.

That doesn't mean that the video editor

wants everyone to walk by

and offer their opinion

nonstop throughout the day,

but it does mean,

particularly if they ask for an opinion,

that people are willing

to take the time to watch.

Creative projects are often difficult and risky,

and people want confidence

and they get that from their team.

It's also important not only

that you're willing to provide feedback,

that you're willing to take it.

Even as the project manager

or an experienced person, you'll make mistakes.

There are times that I

get into disagreements with my team

and usually, they're bringing things up

for the right reason.

You have to be able to pay attention

and be willing to give and accept feedback freely,

but make sure you and the team

agree on some rules.

You don't need to argue in front of your clients,

and if there are disagreements,

you don't need to involve entire team.

Finally, make sure that everyone on the team

is tracking their time,

and everyone really sucks at this.

The problem with time-tracking is

people feel that you don't trust them,

but without time-tracking,

you don't know what it is.

You don't know how hard people are working.

You don't know if somebody's having

to log lots of extra time to meet the schedule.

Without that time-tracking data,

it's very difficult to fix problems.

You don't know if you're under-budgeting,

and what happens is is you create this feeling

of people being overworked.

Sometimes it's actually the case.

With a lack of data,

it's difficult to make changes

to your project plan

and time is the one thing we can track.

(pleasant music)