Reasons to Use Project Management Software for Teams

I watched a $50M hospital expansion get delayed by 8 months because of one email sitting in someone's inbox. The approval was ready. The budget was approved. The contractors were waiting. But the project manager had no visibility into where things stood. After working with 200+ organizations, I've seen the same manual workflow mistakes destroy project timelines and team morale. Here are the 5 most damaging ones: → Spreadsheet dependency for project tracking Teams lose hours updating multiple versions, and critical details slip through the cracks. One outdated cell can derail an entire milestone. → Chasing approvals through email chains Decision-makers get buried in their inboxes while projects sit idle. What should take 2 days stretches into 2 weeks. → Disconnected systems creating data silos Finance uses one tool, operations uses another, leadership gets reports from a third. Nobody has the complete picture. → Manual status reporting that's outdated before it's sent By the time you compile that weekly report, three new issues have emerged and two "green" items turned red. → Lack of structured accountability When everything is tracked informally, nothing gets tracked consistently. Problems surface too late to fix them effectively. Behind every delayed project are dedicated professionals trying to deliver value to their communities. They deserve better than being trapped in operational chaos. The solution isn't just better software. It's structured workflows that create transparency and accountability from day one. What workflow challenge is slowing down your current projects?

I see (ambitious, well-meaning) agencies fall into these 5 pitfalls every day. And all of them are related to project management. 1. There is no single source of truth for their work. Tasks and commitments are spread across Google Docs, sheets, meeting notes, calendar slots, and PM software. It’s a simple recipe for chaos. Nobody’s able to keep track of everything they committed to, or realistically assess if they can get it all done. The fix: Set up a single source of truth. (For ZenPilot and our clients, we follow a simple rule: “if it's not in ClickUp, it didn't happen”.) 2. Work is not aligned with a realistic and detailed timeline. Deliverables may have due dates, but the particular steps (or subtasks) to get that deliverable done either aren’t there, or they don’t have information on when the steps will be completed. When you don’t know when each team member will complete each subtask, you won’t know who’s overbooked = they won’t get to their subtask on time = the whole project might be delayed. The fix: Prioritize work using due dates, and layout steps/subtasks in your process so that their due date falls on the day when it will be done. (Due Dates == Do Dates) 3. Processes/SOPs live separately from day to day work. If you’ve got your SOPs in a separate wiki or a set of Google Docs, that can hurt you in the long run. You’ll have your team hunting for SOPs outside of their day to day PM system. And if they find them, they’ll be scratching their heads whether the process is up to date. And even if it is up to date, now they need to create tasks for themselves to follow the process… The fix: Make your processes live where the work gets done. Ideally, turn them into ClickUp templates. 4. Ignoring project management habits. Your PM tool setup (hierarchy, folders, etc.) matters. The way your team uses the tool every day matters 10x more. If you’re not intentional about the habits you’re building, your tasks and projects will be updated inconsistently, with varying amounts of detail—leading to unclear data about where work actually stands. The fix: Set and train the team on uniform habits and standards around how often and in what detail tasks get updated. 5. Lack of consistency + accountability in their PM system. Typical scenario: An agency owner/director leads the charge implementing a new PM tool. It works great. They move on to their next goal. Without their supervision, standards fall apart. Nobody’s accountable for checking whether the system is being maintained. Team members end up updating the system “when they get around to it” (which quickly turns to “rarely ever”), making the data in the system unusable for decision making. The fix: Appoint a ClickUp Champion. Give them the task of checking the system daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly. Have them remind/train team members who don’t follow the system. Fix those, and you’ll be a top 10% agency.

One of the biggest questions I get asked is "How do you do SO much?" The answer is easy(ish). Project management tools, coupled with rockstar teams of humans who are REALLY good at what they do. Launching, scaling, and managing a business can feel like juggling a million tasks at once. And often, founders are left unfocused, dropping balls and running full steam without direction. Project management tools, allow you to get the plan out of your brain (which is for thinking btw-not to do lists 🧠), and in an actionable and time bound plan. From keeping us organized to implementing teams seamlessly, these tools are the unsung heroes behind every successful venture and every project I take on. Here is why- 💫 Staying Organized: Project management tools like Asana and monday.com help us break down complex projects into manageable tasks, ensuring nothing falls through the cracks. 💫 Implementing Teams: Collaboration is key to success, and these tools make team collaboration a breeze. Assign tasks, set deadlines, and track progress—all in one place. No micro managing needed! 💫 Live Status Reports: With real-time updates and dashboards, we always have our finger on the pulse of our projects. No more guessing games or missed deadlines! 💫 Centralized Communication: Say goodbye to endless email chains and scattered messages. Project management tools provide a centralized hub for communication, keeping everyone on the same page. 💫 Deadlines and Priorities: Never miss a deadline again! These tools help us stay laser-focused on our priorities, ensuring we meet our goals on time, every time. 💫 Driving to Deadlines: Project management tools take us on a journey from idea to execution, breaking down every step of the process day by day. It's like having a roadmap to success! 💫 My Fave Tools: Personally, I swear by Asana and Monday.com for their user-friendly interfaces, robust features, and ability to streamline workflows. These tools have been game-changers for me and my team, helping us turn dreams into reality one project at a time. I refuse to work on a project or with a company unless we set up comms (Slack) and project management. Whether you're a solopreneur, #startup founder, or seasoned #entrepreneur, investing in the right project management tools can make all the difference in your business's success. Trust me, you won't know how you ever lived without them! What is YOUR favorite tool, or are you headed to sign up now 😉

The best ideas come when you least expect it. I thought of Motion while ...scrolling on the toilet. 4 years ago, when Motion was just a "Task & Calendar app," our team was using another project management tool to manager our internal projects. I couldn't trust the status of projects. I didn't know which threads to look at. I didn't know who was prioritizing what. And, I couldn't get a hold of anyone when I had questions at Saturday 1am (duh). So, I started Motion to fix 3 things: 👉 First, legacy project management solutions are unreliable. They only notify when projects are late...on the day of the deadline. That's not good enough. I need to know, with 95%+ confidence, if and when deadlines will be hit. Motion tells me exactly that. Motion's AI project manager notifies me when projects will be late, weeks in advance. We coined the phrase: "Due date ≠ do date." 👉 Second, traditional gantt charts fall apart as soon as real work starts. I need a high-level overview of all of our projects, updated in real time, with 100% accuracy, which is exactly what Motion's gantt charts do. They update automatically as - projects change, - priorities are shifted, - or deadlines move. Projects move themselves forward in Motion. That way, I can make decisions based on what's actually happening at any point in time. 👉 Lastly, I was wasting too much time on check-in meetings and emails and messages. Every second counts. And I was spending hours a day on them. I needed to make sure my team prioritizes correctly, without wasting everyone's time, which is what Motion's optimization engine does. It scans tens of thousands of datapoints (to-dos, dependencies, and priorities) to build the perfect plan, so everyone knows the most impactful thing to work on, every day. All of these combined (+ many more) = Motion, my team's AI project manager. Tens of thousands of teams on Motion get projects done 30% faster with 55% less check-ins, emails and messages, and status updates. Sign up here to 2x your team's productivity: https://lnkd.in/g8BY-eYx

The biggest productivity killer of remote teams? It's not bad WiFi. It's manual work slowing everything down. Without automation, remote teams struggle with: ❌ Late updates that cause miscommunication ❌ Missed deadlines that stall projects ❌ Endless admin work that eats up time The fix? Automation tools that do the work for you. These AI-powered tools handle project management, communication, HR, and security. Here’s how to automate and streamline your remote team using them: 📌 Project Management & Task Automation Asana Auto-assigns tasks, tracks progress, and sends deadline alerts Trello Moves tasks, schedules reminders, and automates workflows 📌 Communication & Collaboration Slack  Automates updates, notifications, and scheduled messages Microsoft Teams  Uses Power Automate for approvals and meeting scheduling 📌 Time Tracking & Productivity Hubstaff Auto-tracks time generates reports, and runs payroll timegram AI-powered time tracking with automated invoicing 📌 HR & Administrative Tasks Employment Hero Automates onboarding, leave requests, and performance reviews BambooHR Manages HR workflows, time-off approvals, and detailed reporting 📌 Security & Access Management Okta Automates logins, access control, and compliance LastPass Secure password sharing with automated updates The best teams don’t waste time on things that can be automated. They focus on growth and results. Follow Tersh Blissett for more automation insights.