Leading and Managing Project Teams

Chapter 13 Project Management: A Contemporary Approach Kloppenborg

2009 South-Western, a part of Cengage Learning

At the end of this chapter

Describe stages of team development and relate them to stages in the project life cycle. Describe characteristics of a high performing project team and determine which characteristics your team can improve. Assess your individual capability and describe how to improve to be more helpful to your project. Assess your teams capability and describe how to improve to be more helpful to your project.

At the end of this chapter

Explain how to utilize several of the project team relationship and process ground rules to improve a project team. Describe different methods for project team decision making and under what circumstances each is most appropriate. Manage your project team and stakeholders including conflict management.

Acquiring the Project Team

Some core team members may be added after planning Subject matter experts (SMEs) may be added after planning Acquiring the project team involves preassignment, negotiation, and on-boarding.

Acquire project team the process of obtaining human resources needed to complete the project. PMBOK Guide

Preassignment of Project Team Members

It is good for motivation to include the implementers in planning when possible When the people who will actually perform the work help to plan it, many more details may be considered Assign project team members early to be sure they are available when needed Bringing SMEs on board early may be costly

Negotiation for Project Team Members

A project manager (PM) may need to negotiate with the functional manager and/or a worker directly to secure his services for a project. Wise PMs often develop good relationships with functional managers so it is easier to negotiate for a good worker. Most projects will have a combination of experienced and inexperienced resources PMs may need to persuade a worker to work on their project. The PM wants to sell the person on the project. Core team members may need to be excellent generalists

Tatro, Inc., Strategy for Recruiting Project Team Members

On-Boarding Project Team Members

Ensure that the new person both understands the project at a high level and is enthusiastic about being part of it Learn about the persons personal motives how their personal goals and project goals are aligned Assign the new worker to specific activities and develop a plan for personal improvement The ideal time to on-board core team members is during chartering

Developing the Project Team

Understand stages of project team development Understand characteristics of high-performing project teams Assess individual member capability Assess project team capability Build both individual and team capability Establish team ground rules
Develop project team the process of improving the competencies and interaction of team members to enhance project performance. PMBOK Guide

Stages of Project Team Development

Most teams will still spend at least some time in most stages Some teams get stalled in an early stage and do not progress Setbacks for project teams can occur Projects are temporary endeavors some teams may not experience some start-up stages

Stages of Project Team Development Team Member Relationships

Forming - help the new team develop team operating methods Storming team members feel more stress as they begin to understand the magnitude of the project Norming feel part of the team Performing feel close to team mates Adjourning feeling of loss when team disbands

Progression Through Development Stages

Characteristics of High-Performing Project Teams

Characteristics of High-Performing Project Teams

Ideals toward which a project manager tries to guide his team. Necessary personal values
High need for achievement Understanding and acceptance of personal responsibility Commitment to self-development and self-directed behavior Put project needs before their own needs within reason A willingness to consider alternative views and to change Personal commitment to the project.

Effective Team Behavior Methods For Enhancing Personal Values

Team members are selected to have the right skill mix. Team members help each other. Team members demonstrate a constant focus on improvement. Team members use effective time and meeting management. Team members strive for innovation with a minimum of formal procedures. Team members capture, share, and use lessons learned.

Communications Methods For Enhancing Personal Values

Information is freely and widely shared within and beyond the team. All important topics are openly discussed. Conflict over approaches is valued but personal conflict is discouraged. Potential problems are proactively reported. Barriers to communication are overcome.

PM Methods to Further Team Development

Agree on common goals and objectives for the project. Jointly plan the project. Use the charter to guide joint decision making. Work together to accomplish activities. Proactively identify and solve problems. Hold each other mutually accountable.

Appropriate Feelings For Team Members

Recognize how interdependent they are. Be willing to be flexible on how each contributes to the project. Be willing to share risks with teammates. Understand, appreciate, like, and trust each other. Share in strong project leadership.

Personal Rewards
Enjoyment of their work High spirit and team morale Pride in being part of the team Satisfaction in project accomplishments The other set of favorable outcomes is the following strong project results: Persevere despite challenges. Produce high-quality results. Consistently meet or exceed stakeholder expectations

Assessing Individual Member Capability

1. Activity-specific knowledge and skills

2. Personal planning and control

3. Personal learning 4. Organizational understanding 5. Interpersonal skills and sensitivity

Project Team Success Factors

Project Team Success Factors

Project Team Success Factors

Assessing Project Team Capability

Working together to develop, sign, and distribute the charter greatly aids in communications and commitment Project teams with strong leadership are more likely to be successful Effective team leadership can lead to mutual trust, respect, and credibility among all parties Cross-functional cooperation and support helps guide a project through turbulent situations.

Assessing Project Team Capability

Planning and executing effective two-way communications is a major key to a teams success Consider staffing the project with a combination of experienced and less-experienced members People work hard and enthusiastically if they find their work stimulating and believe they will be rewarded for it.

Project Team Capability Building Cycle

Building Individual and Project Team Capability

Demonstrate personal leadership.
Leading by example gives team members a model to follow

Utilize project management tools.

Project managers can use project management tools to give their team focus

Demand situational leadership.

The goal is to develop multiple leaders on the project team

Create a desirable team identity.

People want to be associated with a winner

Building Individual and Project Team Capability

Teach personal responsibility.
Complete their individual work on time, on budget, and correctly. Complete their joint work responsibilities with teammates on time, on budget, and correctly Each team member is also responsible for improving work methods

Develop understanding and respect.

Understanding others starts with understanding oneself

Use a learning cycle.

The team uses creativity to jointly develop and consider alternative approaches while striving to learn at each point in the process.

A Dozen Ground Rule Topics for Project Teams

Establishing Project Team Ground Rules Relationship Topics

People who feel valued often work with much more enthusiasm and commitment. Balanced input can ensure that all functions are given the opportunity to provide input. People need to be able to trust that a sensitive issue will not be repeated outside of the project team.
Ground rules a list of acceptable and unacceptable behaviors adopted by a project team to improve working relationships, effectiveness, and communication. PMBOK Guide

Establishing Project Team Ground Rules Relationship Topics

Use active listening techniques to avoid misunderstandings Each team mate should be worthy of the trust of teammates Trust teammates unless one proves unworthy of trust. Conflict over ideas is often encouraged, while personal conflict is often settled by the individuals offline.

Establishing Project Team Ground Rules Process Topics

Assign roles within the team to try to help everyone feel valued Spend the most time and energy on important issues and to delegate, postpone, or ignore less important issues Consider at least two alternative approaches before proceeding

Gather the facts instead of arguing over opinions

Establishing Project Team Ground Rules Process Topics

Consider alternative decision making methods
The project manager or sponsor makes the decision. One or two team members make the decision. The project team uses consensus to make the decision. The project team votes to make the decision.

Managing and Leading the Project Team

Keeping tabs on what is happening Assessing human performance in comparison with plans Taking action to get the team back (or keep it) on track Motivating both individual members and the team as a whole, Continually improving the capability and satisfaction of both the project participants and the methods they use
Manage project team the process of tracking team member performance, providing feedback, resolving issues, and coordinating changes to enhance project performance. PMBOK Guide

Types of Project Manager Power

Project Manager Power and Leadership

Project managers often have less legitimate power than other managers. People tend to support the things they helped to create. Stimulating work is one of the most powerful rewards. A project team member may do work for the project manager out of personal desire. The project managers reputation for success may make people more inclined to work hard on the project. Empower the core team to distribute information promptly and accurately according to the communication plan. Project managers can use the power of the sponsor when necessary.

Assessing Performance of Individuals and Project Teams

Goals of performance assessments include rewards and promotions and determination of areas for improvement. Performance assessment can be both informal and formal
Informal assessments include observing, asking questions, and providing suggestions. Formal performance assessments are often the primary responsibility of the direct manager.

Project Team Leadership and Management Outcomes

Morale changes
How the project manager wields power, communicates, appraises progress, and generally manages can enhance or detract from team morale

Quarter mile stones to inch stones

A wise project manager is not going to let a project get derailed because of one worker who is not performing well.

Staff changes
Poor appraisals, insufficient progress, conflict, necessary reassignments, or other causes lead to necessary staff changes

Training needs

Project Team Leadership and Management Outcomes

Discipline
Coercive power is often considered a last resort

Role clarification
The PM and all impacted workers may need to clarify roles by detailing who is responsible for each work activity.

Issues
Issue logs serve as living documents of issues that arise in the course of managing the project team.

Lessons learned
Resolved issues sometimes make good lessons learned if documented and stored for easy retrieval in a knowledge base

Managing Stakeholder Expectations

Manage Stakeholders
build trust with all project stakeholders through honest and ethical behavior manage effective two-way communications with all stakeholders use lessons learned from previous projects and previous phases of the current project.
Manage stakeholders the process of managing communications to satisfy the requirements of, and resolve issues with, project stakeholders. PMBOK Guide

Managing Stakeholders
Understanding stakeholder assumptions
Different stakeholders may hold very different assumptions Assumptions form the basis of stakeholder expectations.

Clarified assumptions become expectations Reconfirm expectations by sharing planning documents with stakeholders. Project progress reports may lead to additional expectations

Managing Project Conflicts

Project charters may help the project core team, project manager, and sponsor head off potential conflict between individuals. Stakeholder analysis and communications planning can identify and deal with potential sources of conflict among the broader stakeholders.

Typical Sources of Project Conflict

Sources of Project Conflict

Conflict over how to proceed with a project can lead to more creative approaches Conflict over how to complete a project with a tight schedule can also be positive. Competition for ideas has the potential for generating more innovative and successful approaches Personal conflict is negative Deal with conflict on projects promptlyor even proactively. Relationship conflict can be detrimental to project team success Task conflict may be useful or take away from project progress

Conflict Resolution Process and Styles

1. Understand the conflict. 2. Agree on conflict resolution goals. 3. Identify causes of conflict. 4. Identify potential solutions for conflict. 5. Pick desired conflict solution. 6. Implement chosen solution.

Styles of Handling Project Conflict

Negotiation
Project managers are generally held accountable for more performance than they have responsibility to direct people to perform Everyone the PM negotiates with has their own set of issues and goals. Project management tools make negotiation easier In negotiation, the project manager and the other party attempt to reach a solution that benefits botha win-win solution.

Negotiation Process

Summary
New project team members, core or SMEs need to be on boarded they need to understand the project and start to develop working relationships with their new team members. As teams progress through typical stages of development, PMs use understanding of these stages and characteristics to guide their team to better performance. Ground rules include rules for improving relationships among team members and improving the process of how the team works. The PM must monitor and control the human side of the project.

Summary
The PM uses appropriate forms of power in managing the project team to obtain desired results. PMs manage stakeholder expectations through understanding their expectations, delivering on those expectations, and communicating effectively Constructive conflict over ideas often yields better approaches Destructive conflict that gets personal needs to be headed off PMs use many general conflict reduction techniques