Project Management: Team Dynamics and Collaboration

If team building or collaboration were easy, far fewer books would have been written on the subject. Personalities, expectations, working styles, cultural backgrounds, and newsroom practice can influence how journalists work in teams. The project manager can monitor, guide, handle team dynamics, and ensure the team is in the best shape to do what it’s there to do: collaborate on an investigation.

Building the Dream Team

Teamwork is a powerful force. Harnessing individual strengths and gathering diverse perspectives and ideas can help complete projects more efficiently, but these benefits only materialize if a team works together effectively. Successful teamwork doesn’t happen by accident; leaders must make strategic decisions, foster positive behavior, and create an environment that enables people to perform at their best — not just individually but as a cohesive unit.

“A water cooler channel [in Slack] is my favorite, which is where people can talk about anything as if they were in front of a water cooler [in the office],” said Jacopo Ottaviani in IJNet’s Tips for Leading Cross-Border Journalism Teams.

Networking is essential for connecting with other investigative journalists (or other roles needed for a collaborative investigation). It is through these existing connections that trust is built and teams are created.

“Find allies! Find people who are willing to work with you. They might already work on beautiful data and topics,” advised Charles Boutaud from TBIJ’s Bureau Local, during an opening speech at a 2020 conference of the Dutch and Flemish Association of Investigative Journalists.

Where to Find Investigative Journalists for Collaborations

• Conferences

• GIJN Network

• GIJN Resource for Contacts and Networking

• Hostwriter — an open network that helps journalists collaborate across borders

• Arena Journalism — a European network that facilitates open networks for information sharing to help journalists collaborate across borders.

• El CLIP — the Latin American Center for Investigative Journalism (and GIJN member) helps news organizations partner up to report and publish cross-border exposés about the region and globally.

• AmaBhungane, which is part of a larger, regional network, IJ Hub, is an example of an African site that often collaborates with others, hosts fellows, and presents workshops.

• Social media (LinkedIn, YouTube, Bluesky, X, Facebook).

• Search for award winners and grantees of collaborative schemes.

• Fellowships.

It’s all the more important to organize in-person meetings if some team members don’t know each other. This will ensure stronger bonds throughout the investigation — particularly if working remotely.

Some organizations have an onboarding process in which the whole team is given instructions on how the collaboration will proceed. The ICIJ, for example, has worked with large datasets it acquires, through leaks or other sources, such as the Panama Papers. After processing the data with a dedicated team, they invite journalists to work with the data, but not before they have gone through a thorough onboarding process coordinated by a dedicated project manager. As part of this process, working style, conditions, agreements, and expectations are decided and aligned in one go — so everybody works within the same framework provided by the ICIJ.

This process — and the related kick-off meetings — perform several important functions, such as helping teammates get to know each other, hashing out preliminary agreements, and expressing commitment.

The project manager organizes this meeting (possibly along with the initial project creator), provides a location and agenda, ensures that presentations about initial research are prepared, and perhaps arranges a dinner. (Researchers from the University of Oxford discovered that communal eating increases social bonding and feelings of well-being, and connection to a community.) By supporting the team in organizing, time management, and monitoring progress during these sessions, the members can focus on the research they’re about to embark on.

Basic Requirements for Good Teamwork

• Trust

• Commitment

• Accountability

• Communication

• Agreements

Developing “soft skills” such as effective communication and leadership is essential to a team’s success. While it may seem obvious that everyone should be aligned on goals and responsibilities, research shows that team members often lack the clarity that project managers expect. Implementing formal processes for decision-making and problem-solving can help teams avoid predictable bottlenecks and stay on track. Unresolved conflicts can impede productivity and damage team dynamics.

Teambuilding

• Set goals. Identify individual and team goals.

• Discuss success. What does it mean, how would it feel, what does it look like?

• Discuss values. Find out what the team members value most about investigative journalism, about their role in the team, and about the project.

• Discuss strengths and weaknesses. At what level would members need help, or what they would like to get out of the collaboration?

• Commitment. Who can invest what (time, expertise, network, etc), and what can each team member promise to bring to the table? How can the team hold itself accountable?

• Praise. Provide positive feedback for work and/or behavior.

• Make room to connect in a non-work setting. For example by adding a communication channel where team members can share music, films, or memes.

• Lead by example.

• Communicate clearly. Make sure the other one understands what is said.

• Ask the team for help.

Read More about Teambuilding

61 Ice Breaker Games [That Your Team Won’t Find Cheesy] | SessionLab

There are many more websites with icebreakers or games for team building: consider some examples from Mentimeter, ProjectManager.com, and Hubspot.

Effective Communication Strategies

Most collaborative teams will consist of journalists working together from different newsrooms, countries, or even continents. But even with close colleagues, you need to discuss the communication strategy — how you will communicate, how frequently, and what tools you’ll use.

Communication Tools and How to Use Them

• Use the Signal app for short messages and only for team members.

• A platform such as Wiki (where the team can share information and exchange data and comments) for documents and summaries of interviews.

• Email for longer messages or communication with external parties.

• Weekly newsletter with updates from the team with links to Wiki pages.

• Online weekly meetings for discussing specific topics.

While weekly online check-ins may be sufficient for one team, another may need more. A newsletter with all the updates from the various team members can be a good way to create space during the online meeting for questions, crises, requests for help, or decisions. Everyone should agree on content, form, and frequency of communication — and adhere to those agreements.

Example of a Communication Plan

An example of a communications plan.

Conflict Resolution and Team Cohesion

The essence of teamwork is in collaborating with others. Each person brings their own emotions, perspectives, experiences, preferences, and more, to the table. This diversity is what makes working in a team both enriching and challenging. Project managers must be equipped to navigate disagreements and maintain team cohesion.

Conflict management is a topic in itself, but here are some insights into effective conflict resolution strategies. First, create a safe arena for everybody. One of the project manager’s responsibilities is to maintain a positive, pleasant atmosphere and to prevent and reduce tension — which can spill into conflict.

Reasons for Conflict

• Unclear responsibilities. Some team members may feel they are doing more work than others, or resent those who seem to have less responsibility. Blame and frustration can build up over duplicated work or unfinished tasks.

• Competition for resources. Time, money, materials, equipment, and skills are finite resources. Competition for these can lead to conflict.

• Different interests. People may focus on personal goals rather than team goals. Or they may be held up and frustrated by others they depend on to do their jobs effectively.

• Difference in values or ideologies.

• Power imbalances and differences in status. 

• Assumptions.

Conflict-Solving Tips

• Raise the issue early. Don’t let it linger, it will not disappear.

• Strong emotional reactions are not helpful. Stay calm — focus on the issue and on solving the issue.

• Show empathy. Listen to both parties and try to understand their position.

• Practice active listening. Understand rather than respond.

• Acknowledge criticism. Criticism is constructive feedback; keep an open mind.

Leadership and Motivation

Project managers are the linchpin of the investigative team, providing guidance, motivation, and leadership. A set of essential leadership qualities are required for investigative journalism projects — such as team motivation, recognizing and valuing the contributions of each member, creating a safe space, and fostering a collective sense of purpose.

For many, leadership is a position of authority that allows one to set clear expectations and influence behavior through rewards and consequences. But in project teams, where you have experts doing what they do best, the project manager is more of a coach. The project manager’s role is to keep everything running and organized so well that the team doesn’t have to think about anything other than the investigation they’re working on. The project manager is the team coach — helping and supporting team members, and ensuring all can perform at the highest level.

Coaching Leadership

• Active listening

• Constructive feedback

• Emotional intelligence

• Growth and development

• Mentorship

• Open communication

• Support and encouragement

Leadership in Listening

• Make sure everyone is attentive when important topics are discussed.

• Give people space to make their point and avoid interruptions.

• Be prepared for your meetings and stay on topic.

• Allow enough time to discuss the planned topics; this prevents important discussions from being missed for lack of time. If necessary, schedule a follow-up.

• Maintain attention by speaking more softly.

• Pay attention to posture and body language, even when meeting online.

• Avoid assumptions and ask further questions if something is not clear. Also, note any differences in (cultural) interpretation.

• Pay attention to the people who speak less frequently and actively give them space to join in the discussion.

• Pay attention to the reactions of others in the team: when someone seems irritated, ask why and whether they can explain.

• Conflicts are sometimes best settled immediately, but sometimes it’s preferable to talk separately with those involved first. Make sure the parties hear from each other exactly where the frustration is and ask further questions if necessary.

• Ask the team for help.

Tips, Tactics, and Best Practices for the Project Manager

• Create an overview of all the expertise and skills needed for the project. Are all skills covered? Does the team have the right expertise for all parts of the project?

• It’s best to involve experts from the start, even if their work will come in towards the end. This way they can have a say in the development of the research or help make plans. For example, if a photographer is going to take photos of a location based on research, but happens to know the region in question is impassable due to flooding at certain times of the year, it’s better to know this from the start.

• Diversity offers a range of perspectives, but it also brings challenges.

• Trust is the foundation of any collaboration; without trust, the team would be better off ending the project or ending the cooperation with some team members. Of course, that’s not a decision that should not be taken lightly; discussions with the team should lead to a unanimous decision to do so. Try to separate peacefully — you will meet again somewhere.

• There are also differences in the type of employment. Are team members freelancers or permanent employees, available full-time or only part of the time? Keep this in mind when discussing budget and workload.

• Diversity in journalism culture. Not every editorial team will have the same way of working — make sure to agree on one. For example, teams may have used different tools in the past, so find tools that most are familiar with.

• Culture in country/region/language: consider differences in language use, humor, and work culture. This can lead to enormous misunderstandings and even conflicts. Face-to-face meetings are a good arena for talking about personal boundaries — for example, differences in language use, humor, and etiquette.

• Time differences. If you are holding a meeting online, consider those working in the farthest time zones, and find times when everyone can participate comfortably.

• Commitment. If someone stops coming to agreed meetings, ask them: “What can we do as a team to be whole again?” This gives the person space to explain the reason honestly without feeling attacked. Someone may have a sick child, a boss demanding more time for another project or perhaps has lost interest in the project.

Further Reading

More about conflict management techniques.

Conflict Management

• 4 Common Types of Team Conflict and How to Resolve Them – Harvard  Business Review

• How to Handle a Disagreement on Your Team – Harvard Business Review

• Conflict Resolution:  8 Ways to Resolve Conflict in the Workplace – Mindtools

• Conflict Management: The Ultimate Guide to Healthy Conflict – Liane Davey

Leadership

• 7 Core Behaviors for Honorable Leadership — Leading With Honor

• The importance of project leadership | LinkedIn Learning

Coco Gubbels became aware of the need for and added value of project management in investigative journalism a few years ago. As a former freelance investigative journalist and practicing project manager in the corporate world, she noticed how collaborative journalism was maturing, but journalists were still lacking the necessary skills. 

She now combines her passion for investigative journalism and her profession as a project manager in her one-woman organization PM-IJ: Project Management in Investigative Journalism. As a freelance project manager, she coordinates large international investigations, coaches and trains coordinators and mentors cross-border teams. She is the founder of a peer support group on LinkedIn to create a network of collaborative managers to learn and share experiences.