Coordination and control in professional service firms are difficult. Your team members usually come from different departments and have their regular and pressing work commitments. The project is likely to involve a wide range of tasks undertaken by different people, sometimes in parallel and sometimes in sequence. There are a couple of useful tips to help the process along. The first is to think about how much attention you need to give to the tasks undertaken by your team colleagues. A simple way to do this is illustrated in Coordinating and checking progress .
The second thing to do is to raise and maintain awareness about what might damage the success of the project. This can be done at project meetings and on a one-to-one basis with team members. Ask them to keep you informed about events outside the project that might pose risks for it. An example might be a sudden increase in the day-to-day professional workload as a result of a colleague being ill.
The progress reviews at meetings provide the opportunity for the project leader and team members to reflect and learn from what has happened so far in the project. Was it expected or unexpected? What are the implications for us? What actions do we need to take to modify or remedy the situation?