Goals/Results of Project Team Building
- Team members are interdependent
- There is a consensus on well-defined project goals and objectives
- Team members are committed to working together
- Team is accountable as a functioning unit within the larger organization
- There is a moderate level of competition and conflict
Symptoms of Poor Teamwork
- Frustration
- Conflict and unhealthy competition
- Unproductive meetings
- Lack of trust or confidence in the project manager
Ground Rules for Project Team Building
- Start early
- Continue team building through the life of the project
- Recruit the best possible people
- Make sure that everyone who will significantly contribute to the project, full or part time, is on the team
- Obtain team agreement on all major actions
- Recognize the existence of team politics but stay out of them
- Behave as a role model
- Use delegation as the best way to assure commitment
- Don’t try to force or manipulate team members
- Regularly evaluate team effectiveness
- Plan and use a team-building process
The Team-Building Process
- Plan for team building
- Carefully define project roles and assignments
- Ensure project goals and members’ personal goals coincide
- Negotiate for team members
- Obtain the most promising personnel available
- Choose candidates for both technical expertise and potential to be effective team members
- Organize the team
- Make specific assignments to specific people
- Prepare and circulate responsibility matrixes
- Hold a “kickoff” meeting (See Lecture 8 for details)
- Set technical and procedural agendas
- Ensure sufficient time for members to get to know one another
- Establish working relationships and communications
- Obtain team-member commitments
- Time commitment
- Role commitment
- Project priority commitment
- Build communication links
- Conduct team-building exercises
- Incorporate team-building activities into all project activities
- Meetings, planning sessions, and technical/schedule reviews
- Group and individual counseling sessions
- Recognition of outstanding performance
The project management teams ability to influence others plays an important role in negotiating staff assignments, as do the politics of the organizations involved.