Chapter 11 The Project Team

1. Chapter 11The Project Team

2. Learning Objectives • The development and growth of teams • Characteristics of effective project teams • Team building • Valuing Team Diversity • Ethical Behavior • Sources of conflict; approaches to handling • Problem solving • Effective time management 2 2 2

3. Real World Example • Vignette: Teamwork Creates a Miracle on Ice • Team USA’s gold medal run in the 1980 Winter Olympic Games may be the most indelible moment in U.S. sports history. • Coached by Herb Brooks, the U.S. Hockey team tied Sweden, beat Czechoslovakia, Norway, Romania and Germany. • The U.S. Hockey Team beat the undefeated USSR Hockey team and went on to capture the gold medal against almost impossible odds. 3 3 3

4. Real World Example • Vignette: Honesty in Project Management • Being honest can allow PMs to be more effective. • The concept of honesty must apply to all team members, too. • Honesty must start right at the beginning of the project • When the objective, costs, schedules, risk, etc., are being defined. • Honesty should be an integral part of all project phases. • “Magic Elements” for honesty: • True understanding among team, users, management • Fair and accurate project plan • Constant and open communication • A PM with a reputation as a trustworthy, honest person will have a better chance of success on current and future projects. 4

5. Project Team Development and Effectiveness • In many projects, people who have never worked together are assigned to the same project team. • Personal relationships take time to develop. • Teams evolve through various stages of development. 5

6. Stages of Team Development and Growth • Forming • Storming • Norming • Performing 6

7. Forming • First stage in team development. • Involves the transition from individual to team. • Individuals get acquainted. • Members generally have positive expectations. • Little work is actually accomplished. 7

8. Forming (Cont.) • Project manager must provided direction and structure. • Individuals do a lot of questioning: • What is our purpose? • Who are the other team members? • What are they like? • Project constraints must be stated. 8

9. Storming • Second stage in team development. • Members start to work on their assigned tasks. • Members begin to test the limits and flexibility of the project manager. • Conflict and tension increase. • Motivation and morale are low. 9

10. Storming (Cont.) • Members express their individuality not team allegiance. • Project managers should: • Be somewhat directive. • Not become defensive or take issues personally. • Provide an understanding and supportive environment. 10

11. Norming • Third stage of team development. • Relationships become settled. • Interpersonal conflicts have been resolved. • Cohesion begins to develop. • Project manager minimizes directiveness. • Work performance accelerates and productivity increases. 11

12. Performing • Final stage of team development. • Team is highly committed and eager to achieve the project objective. • Level of work performance is high. • Communication is open. • Members collaborate and help each other. 12

13. Performing (Cont.) • The project manager: • Fully delegates responsibility and authority. • Concentrates on project performance. • Acts as a mentor. 13

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15. Why is Teamwork Hard? • Why is it so hard for us to get along? • Why do we have to work at this stuff? • Why don’t we all agree with the same approach? Or answer? Or even on what the problem is in the first place? 15

16. The Effective Project Team • Characteristics of effective project teams: • a clear understanding of the project objective • clear expectations of each person’s role and responsibilities • a results orientation • a high degree of cooperation and collaboration • a high level of trust 16

17. Barriers to Team Effectiveness • Unclear Goals • Unclear Definition of Roles and Responsibilities • Lack of Project Structure • Lack of Commitment • Poor Communication • Poor Leadership • Turnover of Project Team Members • Dysfunctional Behavior 17

18. Being anEffective Team Member • Plan, control, and feel accountable for their individual work efforts. • Have high expectations. • Are self-directed and follow through on assignments. • Take pride in doing quality work. • Participate and communicate. • Are problem identifiers and problem solvers. 18

19. Effective Team Members (Cont.) • Put the success of the project above personal gain. • It has been said that there is no I inTEAM—there are no individual winners or losers. 19

20. Team Building • Team building is an ongoing process. • It is the responsibility of the project manager and the project team. • Socialization among team members supports team building. • The project team can initiate social events to celebrate project events. 20

21. Team Meetings • The team can periodically call team meetings. • The purpose is to discuss questions such as: • How are we working as a team? • What barriers are impeding teamwork? • What can we do to overcome these barriers? • What can we do to improve teamwork? • Only team-related issues should be discussed 21

22. Valuing Team Diversity • Diversity is differences among people. • Differences can create barriers to team performance. • Diversity of the team brings unique ideas and perspectives to projects. • Such differences can lead to more creative, faster, and higher-quality problem solving and decision-making. 22

23. Dimensions of Diversity • Age or generational • Appearance • Ethnicity or ancestry • Gender • Health • Job Status • Marital and Parental Status • Race • Religious Affiliation • Other aspects of diversity - sexual orientation, political affiliation, personal habits, and personal interests. 23

24. Stereotyping • Categorizing individuals into a group and then conferring on them the characteristics that we believe apply universally to all members of that group. • Inappropriate behavior regarding diversity includes: • Closed-mindedness, stereotyping, labeling, exclusion, ridiculing, insulting, harassment, intimidation, and discrimination. • Any diversity issues or conflicts should be addressed immediately so they can be resolved before they fester and ‘‘explode’’ at a later time. 24

25. Creating a Positive Climate for Diversity • Two actions the project organization can take are: • To develop a written policy regarding diversity and • To provide training about diversity in the workplace • Barriers to valuing diversity include lack of awareness and lack of understanding. • Organize training sessions on diversity. • Project manager must promote and foster a respectful and supportive work environment. • Team members can also do things to support valuing diversity. 25

26. Ethical Behavior • Ethical behavioris necessary within a project organization, and in project business relationships with customers, suppliers, and subcontractors. • Customers and suppliers want to do business with people they can trust. • Project manager and team members must communicate information to the customer • Withholding or falsifying information is unacceptable 26

27. Ethical Behavior (Cont.) • A project may present many opportunities for unethical behavior or misconduct • It is the project manager’s responsibility to set the tone and expectations and to exemplify ethical behavior • To help prevent wrongdoing, organizations must: • Have a policy on ethical behavior • Conduct training sessions on ethical behavior 27

28. Ethical Behavior (Cont.) • Project members should bring possible ethical situations to the attention of the project manager. • A non-threatening reporting process is essential • If wrongdoing is reported, the project organization must thoroughly investigate the allegations for the facts versus hearsay to determine if any disciplinary action should be taken 28

29. Ethical Behavior (Cont.) • Ethical behavior is everyone’s responsibility. • Team members must feel accountable for their actions • Personal integrity is essential • Use Peer pressure when team members engage in questionable behavior • Do not agree with, or condone such behavior • Key principles to guide ethical behavior: • Treat others the way you want to be treated • Don’t do anything you wouldn’t want your family, friends, neighbors or co-workers to read about in the newspaper or hear on the news 29

30. Conflict on Projects • You might think conflict is bad and should be avoided. • Conflict is inevitable and can be beneficial. • Differences of opinion are natural and must be expected. • It provides many opportunities for growth. 30

31. Sources of Conflict • Work Scope • Resources Assignments • Schedule • Cost • Priorities • Organizational Issues • Personal Differences 31

32. Handling Conflict • Conflict should be handled by those involved. • Handled properly, conflict can be beneficial. • Conflict stimulates discussion. • Conflict can foster creativity. • Conflict can help team building. 32

33. Approaches to Handling Conflict • Avoiding or Withdrawing • Competing or Forcing • Accommodating or Smoothing • Value placed on relationship • Compromising • Find intermediate position • Collaborating, Confronting or Problem Solving 33

34. Nine-Step Approach to Problem Solving • Develop a problem statement. • Identify potential causes of the problem. • Gather data and verify the likely causes. • Identify possible solutions. • Evaluate the alternative solutions. • Determine the best solution. • Revise the project plan. • Implement the solution. • Determine if the problem has been solved. 34

35. Brainstorming • Used in problem solving in which all members contribute spontaneous ideas. • A way to generate a lot of ideas and have fun. • The quantity of ideas is more important than the quality of ideas. • Members should be encouraged to come up with novel ideas. 35

36. Brainstorming: The Process • The team sits around a table, with a facilitator at a flip chart to record ideas. • Each member states an idea in turn. • Some people will come up with ideas that build on ideas previously mentioned. • This process continues until no one can come up with any more ideas or the time limit is up. 36

37. Brainstorming: Two Rules • No immediate discussion of ideas • No judgmental comments 37

38. Time Management • Some suggestions for effectively managing your time: • At the end of each week, identify several goals for the following week. • At the end of each day, make a to-do list. • Read the daily to-do list each day. • Control interruptions. • Learn to say no. • Make effective use of waiting time. 38

39. Time Management (cont.) • More suggestions: • Try to handle paperwork only once. • Reward yourself at the end of the week if you accomplished all your goals. 39