The benefits of team-based task management

What is team-based task management?

In many teams, each person manages their own tasks in their own way: a notebook, a spreadsheet, flagged emails, sticky notes. The manager then has to ask everyone where things stand, and tasks that depend on several people fall through the cracks.

Team-based task management takes the opposite approach. Tasks are listed in one place, visible to the whole team. Each task has a named owner, a due date and a status that is kept up to date. The team decides together what needs to be done and who does it, then follows progress at regular meetings. It is one of the foundations of collaborative work.

Better collaboration

When tasks are shared, everyone sees what their colleagues are working on and how their own work fits in. Dependencies become visible: you know who is waiting for whom. Team members can offer help to a colleague who is behind, or warn early when their own task will be late.

Collaboration also improves because responsibilities are clear. A shared task without an owner tends to be done by nobody. On cross-functional subjects, a RACI matrix clarifies who carries out the work, who approves, who is consulted and who is informed.

Equitable distribution of tasks

Managing tasks as a team also allows a better and fairer distribution of work. Team members identify together the tasks to be done and assign them according to each person's skills and workload. This avoids overloading some people while others are available, limits frustration, and ensures that each task is done on time by someone with the right skills.

A visible workload also helps the manager detect overload before it becomes a problem. Our article on mental overload and its risks explains why this matters.

Real-time progress tracking

Team-based task management allows progress to be monitored in real time. Team members see the status of tasks and know who is responsible for what. Delays and blockages are reported as soon as they appear, rather than discovered at the deadline.

For the manager, this means fewer status meetings and fewer reminder emails: the information is already there. Meetings can then focus on problems to solve and decisions to take.

Improved communication

Communication improves when the team works on a common list. Everyone can discuss what needs to be done and what obstacles must be overcome. Regular moments dedicated to reviewing tasks help avoid misunderstandings, find solutions together and make sure that everyone is on the same page.

Shared tasks also reduce interruptions: when the answer to "where are we on this?" is visible to everyone, there is less need to ask. Our article on how to handle interruptions develops this point.

Increased productivity

Working on tasks as a team has a positive effect on productivity. Everyone can focus on their own tasks and on their contribution to the rest of the team, knowing what comes before and after their work. Skills are used to the full and the workload is smoothed out. The result: better outcomes, delivered on time, with fewer risks.

Team-based task management also makes it easier to reach objectives, because it brings collective intelligence into play. It relies on trust: in the manager and between team members.

How to set it up in your team

1. Choose a single place for tasks. One shared list per team or project, not one per person.
2. Set three rules for every task: one owner (a person, not a department), a due date and a status.
3. Feed the list from meetings. Every decision that implies work becomes a task before the end of the meeting.
4. Review the list regularly. A short weekly review is enough to deal with delays and blockages.
5. Close what is done. Completed tasks are marked as such, so that the list stays reliable.

Pitfalls to avoid

• A list nobody updates. If statuses are not reliable, the team goes back to emails and reminders.
• Tasks with several owners. Shared responsibility often means no responsibility.
• Too much detail. A team task list is not a to-do list for every minute of the day. Keep tasks that matter to others.
• A tool that sits outside daily work. If tasks have to be copied from one tool to another, they will not be.

Tracking your own tasks is sometimes difficult enough; tracking a whole team's without a collaborative task management tool is unrealistic. A good action management tool reduces delays and the number of emails, and gives everyone the same view of the work. To assess the result, see our article on measuring the effectiveness of collaborative work.