Photo by smbuckley23 - Creative Commons Attribution License https://www.flickr.com/photos/17207222@N02

Photo by Sister Ray - Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License https://www.flickr.com/photos/16858775@N03

It's not uncommon for creative teams to feel overwhelmed,

miscommunicate, and then lose track of responsibilities on a

project — especially if everything is only verbally

communicated in meetings.

Photo by HeyThereSpaceman. - Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License https://www.flickr.com/photos/95257089@N00

It is important to be able to recognize what your team struggles with and know how to fix it. Here are 5 ways you

can boost your team's productivity:

Photo by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center - Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License https://www.flickr.com/photos/28634332@N05

Photo by NASA Goddard Photo and Video - Creative Commons Attribution License https://www.flickr.com/photos/24662369@N07

In a study1 on virtual teams, 80 teams from the United States, South America, Europe, and Asia proved that virtual teams can perform with higher efficiency and

increased productivity using the “Follow the Sun” process.

Photo by Stuck in Customs - Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License https://www.flickr.com/photos/95572727@N00

Using this process means that as the end of the work day arrives for some team members, their tasks are handed off to teammates in a different time zone, so that work keeps

going while some team members sleep.

Photo by wwarby - Creative Commons Attribution License https://www.flickr.com/photos/26782864@N00

If you feel like you have one or two people on your team who perform best, it's tempting to just give them all the responsibility.

However, this can lead them to feel overwhelmed and might make other members of the team feel dispensable.

Photo by smswigart - Creative Commons Attribution License https://www.flickr.com/photos/7621212@N02

Try to assign tasks based on strengths or skills your team members wish to sharpen.  

Soon enough, your entire team roster will be full of all-stars!

Photo by Engin Erdogan - Creative Commons Attribution License https://www.flickr.com/photos/33847763@N00

Photo by Jer Kunz - Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License https://www.flickr.com/photos/68196771@N00 Created with Haiku Deck

Team meetings are great for project

kickoffs and initial brainstorming sessions, but

frequent meetings can quickly become

a time sink.

Photo by Florian SEROUSSI - Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License https://www.flickr.com/photos/22144986@N00

Creative teams need to

communicate throughout project

execution, so questions can be answered right as

they come up.

One of our most recognizable customers, Redfoo, is constantly

traveling and often unable to attend team meetings.

His uses Wrike with his team to manage his music and clothing businesses, so he

is able to frequently check project updates on his phone via the Wrike

mobile app.

Click

Here!

Watch the full Redfoo interview here

Photo by roadkillbuddha - Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License https://www.flickr.com/photos/20847502@N00

Photo by kristina sohappy - Creative Commons Attribution License https://www.flickr.com/photos/29837554@N05

Studies2 show that it's ideal to have a 50/50 gender mix on a business team. One reason is because both men and women tend to struggle with contributing

confidently when they are in the minority.

It's also good to have a mix of personality

traits on your creative team.

This allows for diversity in thinking and communicating, and it broadens the creative boundaries

of the team.

Photo by .SilentMode - Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License https://www.flickr.com/photos/40209390@N06

After the round of high-fives, go back through your process and evaluate what worked and

what didn't.

What communication

fell through?

How can we communicate better?

Was this t

he most

effective

way to sh

are

designs?Did everyone have enough time to complete their tasks?

Let’s get productive!You’re now equipped with the right tools for creative

productivity! Click here for more tips on

improving productivity!

Sources:  1http://sloanreview.mit.edu  2http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1826024  

Images:  Photo  by  Tom  Treanor  Photo  by  Ashley  Coombs  https://flic.kr/p/9ffhWS  (edits  made)  Photo:  https://flic.kr/p/o4ZHuD  (edits  made)  Photo  by  Nana  B  Agyei  https://flic.kr/p/bpcqNp  (edits  made)