Tips, hints, links, and helpful information related to the discipline of Project Management.
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Saturday, August 28, 2010
Great Project Team Leaders
If you watch professional sports you often see the positive results of a great coach and a great team (Go Tampa Bay Rays!).
Great team results come from good coaching, and the right team talent all coming together at the same time to obtain a mutual goal...Winning!
A project manager is often thrust into the role of team coach. A coach is a critical component of the team, and their job involves ensuring the team is ready and able to deliver the "desired results". No matter what your style of communication, or your level of team building skills, it is important to lead the team in a way that ensures they use their talents to their fullest potential.
My Three Random Team Rules
1.) You must know each team member's skills, talents, and abilities and manage them accordingly.
2.) As team leader you must be respected, you must be a tireless champion for the cause (desired results, winning, meeting milestones, etc), and you must form a bond built on trust with each member of the team.
3.) The weakest relationships you have on the team can often be your project's biggest risk.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Would You Like Cheese with that Whine?
Project teams are dynamic and interpersonal relationships amongst team members are always in a state of flux. Some teams are high performing and function at a high level over a long period of time. Other teams can't seem to come together and function at all.
An effective, experienced project team leader is an important part of any successful team, however, all team members must be personally accountable for their actions and be supportive of other team members if the team and project are to be successful.
Individual team member behaviors can contribute to team success in many ways. Emotional maturity and willingness to compromise are two important team member traits that help make a good team dynamic and lead to a successful project outcome.
Here are some negative team member behaviors I have personally observed. These behaviors detract from team synergy and place an unfair burden on other team members.
Projects fail or take longer than they should when team members:
Leave problems for others to solve rather than solving the problems themselves
Routinely blame others (stakeholders and/or other team members) or circumstances for not getting their tasks complete on time
Aren't personally accountable for their project task outcomes and timelines
Are unwilling to hold stakeholders accountable for their responsibilities
Aren't properly documenting their findings and defining a scope of work or adhering to an agreed-upon project scope
Aren't documenting Scope Change Requests
Aren't bringing issues and concerns to the team for discussion
Are constantly complaining, whining, and finger-pointing
Are unwilling to reach consensus with their team members
Are unwilling to let go of past negative circumstances and relationships
Are unwilling to admit past and current mistakes and learn from them
Play the victim and exhibit passive-aggressive behavior
Have a recurring theme in their dealings with others that everybody else is wrong and they are right
Continually demanding that things be done their way when it is contrary to the stated direction of the team
Team members who exhibit some or all of the above behaviors above should be placed on a performance improvement plan as their behavior is disruptive to the team and the project.
Project teams can't afford to have team members that aren't willing to compromise, are emotionally immature, and are a constant distraction to the team. In addition to being placed on a performance improvement plan, these team members should be released from the team as soon as possible as they are detriment to team cohesiveness and productivity.