Something is Off The project is moving forward and making decent progress. People are showing up, doing their bit, and dealing with the daily grind. But lately, something feels off. The pace feels frantic, deadlines are looming, and you can sense the tension hanging in the air. People aren’t really clicking like they used to. Conversations are shorter, more strained. Meetings, once productive, have turned into passive-aggressive exchanges. There’s more whining than problem-solving, and it feels like everything is harder than it should be. You find yourself frustrated, noticing the troubling signs everywhere. Enthusiasm has been replaced with a sense of “just get through it.” And sure, things are still moving, but are they moving in the right direction? Midboarding Midboarding should take place every six months. The objectives are similar to onboarding but adjusted to the realities of having worked together for an extended period. The goal is to ensure clarity on: What you’re delivering…Who’s doing what, and who’s in chargeThe communication strategyTeam integrationNon-negotiables Rather than repeating the onboarding process, midboarding takes the lessons learned over the past six months and bakes them into a refreshed approach. By now, you’ve had time to observe your team in action, gather

Onboarding your team properly is important. Very important. Obviously. Rarely do project managers do this well. During project kick off, you probably don’t have a fully mobilised team. The client wants progress, chasing you for documents, schedules and submittals. You barely have your office set up and you are firefighting from day-one. As the project manager, it is up to you to set an environment in which your team can succeed. Onboarding your team properly and professionally is a foundational step for this. Not only is it important for those who report directly to you, but also for everyone within your jurisdiction. And you shouldn’t palm this off to HR either. HR doesn’t know your processes and your expectations. You are the project manager. People work for you, and it is up to you to set the rules. Your team needs to have confidence in you to lead a successful project. I’m not suggesting you do this all by yourself. If you have a large team, say 300 people working on your project, it’s unrealistic to onboard everyone personally. However, it’s your responsibility to ensure that everyone is properly onboarded to the project. By setting clear expectations and leading by