Agile methods, best practices in collective intelligence

Are you a digital project manager looking to implement agile project management? This incremental, step-by-step approach offers a number of advantages. Thanks to its flexibility, the agile method offers a better assessment of project scope, optimized risk management and greater anticipation of change. An effective method that puts people and collaboration at its heart.

Gauge the personalities of team members.

Team cohesion is the key to running an agile project. But to create a healthy collective intelligence, it’s essential to know each member well, and above all to assess their personalities.
This is the best way to give each member the place where he or she will be most effective, and where they can best develop their abilities.

Master the phases of team cohesion using the Tuckman model.

By its very nature, a work team is alive. Dr. Bruce Tuckman has modeled this life cycle in 4 phases :

1. Team building: everyone takes their place, with new responsibilities and challenges. At this stage, everyone needs to take stock of their own role. Emotional relationships and connections remain superficial, and to move to a higher level of productivity, the team needs to anchor itself in a more serious relationship.
2. Tensions: a more serious relationship means more tensions. Opposing opinions, approaching deadlines, unforeseen events can all generate friction between team members… Tensions are inevitable, but it’s how you deal with them that will enable the team to excel.
3. Normalization: the calm after the storm. Only teams that manage to overcome their conflicts and establish new emotional connections based on complementarity and understanding of each other manage to reach this stage.
4. Productivity: Thanks to the bonds that have been created, a synergy emerges, enabling the team to be more productive. The result is a close-knit group driven by a common goal, where each member is independent, accepted and understood.
   And let’s not forget that, at some point, the team may get stuck in one of the “boxes”, particularly during the tension phase. It can also backtrack when a change occurs in the life of the project.

Establish transparency and honesty.

For the agile method to work, you’ll need to ensure that your team operates in an open manner, with each member acting with benevolence and transparency.

It’s all about cooperating in a spirit of solidarity, with everyone demonstrating emotional intelligence towards the other members, including you!

Fostering positive emotional intelligence.

Emotional intelligence, or “EI”, is the ability to recognize, understand and control one’s own emotions in order to successfully deal with those of others. This ability is a real factor in individual and collective performance.

As a digital project manager, you need to be able to control your emotional quotient so as not to hinder the smooth running of the project. You also need to help team members improve their emotional intelligence, by encouraging them not to let their emotions get the better of them.

Promote team dynamics.

You don’t have to be afraid of setting objectives, but rather of the way in which they are set and monitored. No more unilaterally decided objectives, it’s important to consult the team so that everyone can participate in setting them.

We’ve also done away with the interminable Monday morning meeting, during which no one wants to take the floor, and we’ve favored flexibility by offering dynamic moments of exchange, where everyone can express themselves freely.

In short, to be effective in agile mode, the key is to demonstrate transparency and trust in your team. Keep in mind that if your project partners feel in their place and know their role, they will gain in performance and quality.