Building a Successful Project Team

By Laurence Buenerd // Coordinator and editor

In 2019, COFA initiated a new Service Centre Project for Eastern Ontario. Initially envisioned as a multi-service one-stop shop modelled after "Fonce.ca Nord" for Northern Ontario, it began with a mapping exercise with Eastern Ontario Service Providers to identify the needs and services available in LBS in the region. During consultations led by COFA, the partners decided to move towards a project led by high-performance teams, aimed at better targeting adult audiences who might have an interest in improving their skills in Francophone communities. This new project ended in October 2022. In April 2022, the project's steering committee, "Fonce de l'Est", launched a first work team, designed as a "performance team", with a collaborative operating model. The team's mix of members, its field approach and the short-term results objectives ensured that its members were well motivated. These types of teams are modelled on Start-Ups. Their main characteristics were detailed in the "Information, Assessment and Referral Services in Eastern Ontario and Collaborative Model" Report by Matthieu Brennan from Brynaert, Brennan & Associé.e.s, Ottawa in December 2021.

Photo: Jason Goodman, Unsplash

1. AN ACTION-ORIENTED COMMITMENT

A successful team sets a specific, achievable goal with clear milestones for progress. It breaks down complex projects into short-term sub-products and sets a fast production pace.

2. TEST FAST, FAIL FAST, ADAPT FAST

To be successful, the team must test its concepts and beta versions quickly, learn from its "go-to-market" and move quickly to the next stage to test and refine its product again. It must have a high-risk tolerance.

3. COMPLEMENTARITY

A successful team must mobilize the skills required for each product or sub-product of the project. It must integrate different perspectives. The members will contribute in a complementary way to the common objective to be reached and the sum of their contributions will thus give a better result.

4. RESILIENCY

The team needs to be flexible and cope well with ambiguous situations. It must proceed by trial and error and remain resilient to achieve its goal.

5. STRUCTURE

The structure of the successful teams and their functioning are comparable to those of a Start-Up company. A Start-Up must necessarily go through certain steps to get into business. A similar pathway for LBS Service Providers is proposed as an operating model in the next section.

THE SIMILARITIES BETWEEN A START-UP AND A HIGH-PERFORMANCE TEAM

START-UP

The Start-Up has an entrepreneur, a core group of developers or a group of Angel Investors who bring their expertise to the company.

The winning combination:

The team mobilizes the expertise related to the task. When the task is completed, the team dissolves. The next team is made up of those members who have the necessary expertise.

FOR A HIGH-PERFORMANCE TEAM

In our case, a steering committee acts as an Angel Investor and ensures the continuity of the teams' work. Workforce Planning Boards could be an avenue to explore.

It seizes an opportunity, an idea, a need. The team recognizes the common need to expand the Francophone Customer Base. Focus: geographic areas, client categories, new products.

• The Start-Up rapidly develops prototypes to be tested in the field. • It maintains close feedback loops between designers and users. • It develops an evolving business plan that quickly incorporates lessons learned. • The team develops a collaborative work setting such as a "Project charter" or "Team charter". • It ensures the complementarity of its strengths, expertise and resources. • It assigns expectations and respective roles according to a

RAM matrix1 . • It establishes a communication protocol.

Market Research is part of the business plan. The Start-Up develops and refines its understanding of user behaviour. It constantly redefines its understanding of the needs to be met. The steps of a successful Market Research Project Team: 1. The team researches and discovers information; 2. The team analyzes the data and develops typical user profiles; 3. They model the desired product format; 4. Experiment with it; 5. It evaluates and evolves with the results obtained.

The Start-Up works with the available resources. It seeks funding from Angel Investors. It makes sure to have an organic growth. The team carries out the financial arrangements: 1. Initial Funding Exploration - Exploration and Concepts; 2. Proof of Concept Funding; 3. Funding for Market Entry; 4. Expansion funding.