Leading effective project teams

Introduction

If you can't work well with people you'll never be a super project manager. So much of a project's success revolves around how the people in a team perform - and a project manager plays a pivotal role in this. Project management isn't simply a technical discipline con ducted in some dark corner. A large part of the role involves building effective working relationships with a whole range of people - and sometimes in challenging circumstances. A mantra for us is: project managers manage people not activities.

There's a prevalent view that managers don't need to be popular; that in fact they're more effective if their teams don't like them.

Autocratic, dictatorial, kick-up-the-backside project managers have lived by this philosophy for many years. For some, this has brought considerable success. But success built on trepidation is short-lived and rarely repeatable. We agree that project management isn't a popularity contest. However, as a project manager you won't be super without the respect and support of your team and other key individuals around you.

For us, the litmus test for project managers is whether or not they can repeat success. Whether or not they can repeatedly build effective teams - sometimes using personnel regarded as average performers. For this to happen, you must develop a reputation based on respect - respect for your knowledge of the job and how you carry out your role. You also need to possess at least a core set of likeable characteristics!

Begin with a smile

Quite often teams have low expectations where the behavior of their managers is concerned. Therefore simple displays of good manners are a fine start. You'd be amazed how productive cheerful 'good morning' and 'good night' salutes are. It's very simple and surprisingly effective.

Make sure you're polite to everyone though, not only the movers, shakers and beautiful people.

Of course, it takes more than a cheerful 'hi' in the morning to get your team running on all cylinders. There are many effective techniques that are simple to use and we've grouped them into three topics:

_ Building a project team - recruiting and inducting new team members.

_ Motivating the team - techniques for improving your team's productivity .

_ Providing leadership - setting direction and building a loyal following.

It shouldn't happen to a project manager (but it did) . . .

A cynical employee we came across was not a big fan of project managers, yet was heard purring with delight about a new recruit. What was the secret to this unparalleled turnaround? The new sheriff in town brought doughnuts to the weekly team meetings! Small tokens can make a big impression. It's amazing how productive a simple gesture can be.

[ First impressions count. If you get off to a poor start with your team, it's very hard to recover confidence and support]

Building your project team

Project managers rarely inherit a fully fledged and effective team.

More often than not they inherit one that's already misfiring or they have to start by building from scratch. The practical constraints you'll encounter when assembling your team will make this a challenging task. Some of the following might sound familiar:

_ Budget constraints preventing much-needed recruiting. Or conversely a generous budget fuelling unrealistic expectations of a fast ramp up.

_ Projects being used as a dumping ground. Other managers using your new team as a convenient home for staff that they're not really sure what to do with.

_ Selfish managers who monopolizes the best staff. They hold onto the star performers even when their skills and experience are desperately needed elsewhere.

All this is invariably against a backdrop of an acute sense of urgency to get a team up and running. It's essential not to be panicked into making rash decisions. Building the right team - as far as it's realistic - is one of the factors critical to the success of any project. Avoid the temptation to recruit indiscriminately or to think anybody is better than nobody.

Team recruitment

It's essential to have a controlled approach to recruiting, making sure you always have the right people on tap when they're needed.

Your recruitment activity should be driven by your resource schedule and your expected lead times. Whatever happens, don't miss out a key stage in your project just because the right resources aren't on board. It's surprising how many projects commit hara-kiri by starting the main building works before the foundations are laid, just because the right resources weren't on hand when needed.

But by far the most common recruiting mistake is panic buying of masses of extra resource to meet an impossible target. It's a fallacy that ramping up project resources late in the day is a solution to meeting a deadline that's in danger of being missed. This course of action tends to be counterproductive.

The time that's spent on securing and inducting a new resource is usually underestimated. The considerable drain on current team members as they bring the new people up-to-speed is also often over looked. The net effect is that recruitment of additional resource can actually result in a reduced team capability for several weeks, as the new team members are found and absorbed. A project would usually be better off focusing its resource on completing the job at hand as efficiently as possible, rather than being distracted by an eleventh hour recruitment drive.

It shouldn't happen to a project manager (but it did) . . .

A project was falling behind and resources were severely stretched. As dead lines approached, the project manager released two under-performing staff and things improved. Later on, another team member was let go and the project eventually went in on time and under budget.

Recruiting is not the only way to improve average performance.

[[ Team recruitment tips:

_ Make recruiting key team members a priority. In the very early stages of a project it can be tempting to put off recruitment activity. However, without a team in place you're never going to deliver . So give serious consideration to clearing the decks for team recruitment - even if this means some short-term pain.

_ Take an objective and constructive look at the staff on offer. Be wary of second-hand assessments of personnel on offer. Form your own views on their capabilities and the extent to which they meet your requirements. Remember that many so-called under-achievers flourish in a project environment when given the right direction and support.

_ Think about the mix of people that will work well together. You’re unlikely to need a team consisting solely of superstars. Look for a productive mix of people with bright ideas, people who are good starters and finishers, and people who can keep slogging away even when things look bleak.

_ Look for a positive attitude. You can nurture and develop someone who's a bit short of the skills that you need, if they're full of enthusiasm and committed to doing their best. However, someone who's cynical and obstructive will just be a drain on the project team whatever skills they possess. So, if you have to make a choice, favor attitude over skills.

_ Don't think: anybody is better than nobody. Don't be tempted to take on someone who isn't quite right for the job. Invariably a disproportionate amount of time is wasted trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. If in doubt say no.

_ Remember the practical things that make a person effective. Things like a desk, a chair, tools for the job, a security pass and computer user accounts. Sounds obvious, but time after time we've seen new team members turn up and find that no preparation has been made for their arrival. ]]

Motivating your team (building team spirit)

A friend of ours once conducted an unusual survey. Towards the end of an office social event, he asked: 'How near to your full capacity do you operate at?' For a number of reasons the responses he received were candid and a consistent picture emerged. Everyone was operating at well below their maximum capacity - all at between 40% and 70%. This was hardly a scientific assessment, but we believe this straw poll corresponds to what we've seen in the workplace.

On the positive side, this anecdotal evidence tells us that everyone has significant scope for working more productively if they're suitably motivated. In fact you may well have seen this effect on a project, with a fast-approaching deadline being the classic example. Suddenly the whole team seems to step up through several gears and all sorts of things that have been trundling along miraculously get finished. The trick is to achieve something near this level on a consistent basis, not just in response to a project crisis. As a super project manager, you should make increased team productivity a primary target.

Conversely, everyone has the capacity to work even slower if they're de-motivated. A manager can single-handedly scupper any chance of an improved work rate and this sometimes happens. It's an unfortunate fact of project life that motivating a team can require persistent and well-considered effort, but de-motivation can be achieved in an instant.

[[ Tips for de-motivating:

1 Be inconsistent for no apparent reason. Like being cheerful and easy-going one day, grumpy and vindictive the next.

2 Ask team members for their opinions on important decisions and then consistently ignore their advice.

3 When the team has to work extended hours to meet an important deadline, make sure you leave the office early.

4 When something goes well, take all of the credit for yourself. Even better , when something goes badly, find a culprit immediately.

5 Make promises you have no intention of keeping and then shrug them off as misunderstandings when delivery time comes.]]

Simple motivational techniques

It's easy to over-complicate motivational techniques and, like a yo-yo dieter, find yourself switching from one fad to another with only patchy results. We also believe that you should motivate people in an honest and open way, not as a devious attempt to manipulate them while they're looking the other way.

First, make sure that you avoid anything that de-motivates. Put yourself in your team's position and ask yourself what you could do to undermine its morale. Then avoid doing these things like the plague! Once you've mastered avoiding de-motivation it's time to ask yourself the following simple questions - even better, get feedback from your team.

[[ Have I set clear objectives for all of my team members? Motivation is about being prepared to put effort into doing something specific. If team members are uncertain about what's expected, their productivity will plummet.

_ Do the team members have a good understanding of what's going on in the project? They're more likely to increase their contribution if they have some grasp of the bigger picture. This extends beyond simply being told the minimum your project manager thinks you need to know.

_ Is the workload across the team consistent with its capacity and is it properly balanced? If someone is overloaded they'll usually just give up or work themselves into the ground in a futile attempt to achieve the impossible. Both of these are a killer for motivation. So is having one part of the team sitting idle while others are working day and night.

_ Are team members appropriately involved in decision making in the project? If individuals feel that they can influence events they are far more likely to pull their weight. However junior you might be, there's nothing much worse than having your input consistently ignored.]]

Motivating individuals

While it's possible to motivate your team as a whole, project managers also recognize the importance of motivation at the individual level.

This requires an understanding of what makes each individual in your team 'tick' and selecting the best motivational techniques to use.

With most people, a little investigation will soon begin to highlight what gets them going. You might find this out in general conversation, by observing them in action or simply through a bit of trial and error.

Although motivation is a very individual thing, there are common motivators you'll come across in the workplace:

[[ _ Sense of achievement. Basking in the glory of having got something of importance done.

_ Seeing something completed. Gaining satisfaction from having seen something through to the bitter end.

_ Enjoying a challenge. Having the satisfaction of achieving something that you or others regard as difficult or demanding.

_ Career progression. Undertaking something that furthers your longer term career interests, even if the immediate task at hand is not that attractive in itself.

_ Peer pressure. Feeling the need to meet the expectations of your colleagues.

_ Intellectual reward. Enjoying the mental stimulation of a task that requires some thought or imagination. ]]

Longer-term motivators

Some motivational techniques achieve a result that's immediate, but won't have lasting impact. For example, giving someone a pay rise can be a good short-term motivator, but rarely has a positive effect in the long term. People soon get used to a certain salary level and the bonus becomes a norm. Short-term techniques like this have an important place in the project manager's toolkit, but don't rely on them exclusively .

You'll need to develop long-term, sustained enthusiasm within the team and this is rarely achieved with one dramatic action. It requires the cumulative effect of numerous smaller measures, often seen as something-and-nothing in their own right, but with a greater joint impact. It's possible to refine the way in which you manage people and organize your project work so that almost everything you do has a positive motivational aspect.

[[ Practical suggestions for building interest and enthusiasm

_ Set expectations. Start with being clear about how you expect your team to behave and the standards you're looking for.

_ Set targets that are challenging yet achievable. Set some objectives that are acknowledged as difficult to achieve and a 'stretch'. Most people respond to a challenge.

_ 'Feel the heat.' Arrange for team members to have a direct stake in important activities, rather than just a supporting role. For example, not just preparing the materials for a key presentation, but having a practical role in the event itself.

_ Find small but enjoyable rewards for staff. For example, offering to pay for a meal out for a team member (plus partner) who's had to work extended hours.

_ Organize informal social events. Something designed to create social interaction in a way that doesn't happen at work, such as an evening out bowling. ]]

A project manager sets the tone for the project. If you have a gloomy outlook from the start your pessimism will be contagious and it will trigger a self-fulfilling prophecy. Contrast this with a super project manager who believes the project is tough but doable if everyone pulls together as a team. So above all else, set an example by being enthusiastic and highly motivated yourself.

Providing leadership

So, you've built the right team and got them motivated. But do they know where they're going and how they're going to get there? More importantly, does the project manager know? If you don't have clear sight of the ultimate project goals and a firm idea of how to get there, it will be impossible for you to provide effective leadership. The end result will be a team that's either sitting idle or rushing off in different directions.

A solid plan is the foundation for effective leadership, but much more is required to inspire your team. A super project manager needs to work in a way that creates confidence and brings out the best in individuals. You can learn and develop much of this behavior and here are important areas for you to focus on:

[[_ Setting an example. Through the way that you behave you should set standards that you want others to follow.

_ Never giving up. You need to be prepared to stick at things until they're complete. _ Being honest but tactful. Honesty is the best policy, but don't pursue this in a way that undermines your working relationships.

_ Acting even-handedly. Treat everyone equally and fairly, even if you have your favorites. _ Being persuasive. You need to get your facts straight, to put together a solid line of reasoning and to be convincing. Remember that the way you deliver your argument can be as important as the argument itself.]]

Dictatorship or democracy?

There are many different styles of leadership ranging from the autocratic to the consultative. It's essential for your leadership style to sit comfortably with your character traits. If you're an easy-going fan of consensus reaching then an aggressive management style will be unconvincing. Similarly, if you feel you must call the shots without much room for debate, a more consultative style of working is not for you.

However, super project managers are able to adapt their management style to suit their projects. This involves being awake to the culture of the organization you're working in, the nature of the project you have to deliver and the immediate project priorities. A valuable asset is being able to recognize the situations in which you need to adjust your leadership style.

While you need to be careful about generalizations where people matters are concerned, it's our view that a consultative approach is far more productive most of the time. People rise to the challenge better when they feel involved. However, there's a big difference between being consultative and running your project by committee.

A project manager needs to listen to the team, but ultimately makes the decisions. A super one knows when to go against the popular view. Being totally driven by the team can be as counterproductive as not listening to it at all.

Hands-on or hands-free?

Another aspect of leadership style is the extent to which you are a 'hands-on' or 'hands-off' manager. Many project managers are promoted up through the ranks and have an almost uncontrollable urge to be hands-on - especially if they're true experts in the field. They believe it will be quicker to do the jobs themselves and they will be done better too.

It can be very hard for a new project manager to let go. Often they're right in the simplest sense about comparative abilities, but it's impossible to deliver anything apart from small, simple projects single-handedly. It's important to stop working on the project and to start managing it.

We're not arguing in favor of a totally hands-free approach and there are times when the team will appreciate your expert intervention. But do this too often and you'll run the risk of being seen as dabbling and interfering. A super project manager is aware of the pros and cons and only intervenes judiciously.

You've got to get the balance right. You need to be sufficiently hands off so that your team feels a strong sense of responsibility for delivery, but not to the extent that problems are allowed to get out of hand or you lose touch with your project.

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Hands-on or hands-off?

Advantages | Disadvantages

Hands-on [_ Good first-hand knowledge of what's happening at ground level. _ Can intervene directly and quickly.]

[_ Can undermine team members through persistent intervention. _ Can be easily sidetracked away from project management responsibilities.]

Hands-off [_ Team members are told what to do rather than how to do it. _ Can concentrate on core project management tasks.]

[_ Can become out of touch with what's happening on the ground. _ Can appear remote from team members.]

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Crisis? What crisis?

No matter how well a project is planned and managed, it's inevitable that something significant is going to go wrong at some point. Perhaps the neighborhood’s lights go out when one of your diggers severs a buried power cable. It's at times of crisis that a project manager's people skills are put to the test and any chickens thinking about a bed for the night finally decide to come home to roost.

[A project is a unique piece of work, with a defined beginning and end. And at least one major crisis.]

Crises show up how well a team is organized and motivated. They also provide a good test of leadership skills. With help from the team, a super project manager will deal with each crisis and emerge with a stronger team and an enhanced personal reputation.

Where a dictatorial project manager is in command, at the first sniff of a crisis a witch-hunt will be launched and the culprit hunted down. This can create a temporary fear factor, where team members work harder to avoid a repetition. However, for someone trying to motivate their team and to achieve sustainable success, a crisis presents an excellent opportunity to build respect and goodwill: essential assets for a super manager.

When it hits the fan, instead of looking for a culprit, concentrate on solving the problem. Don't ask 'Who's responsible?', ask: 'What needs to be done to fix the problem?' Don't look to offer up a sacrificial lamb to senior management, show leadership by demonstrating you're in charge and actively looking for a solution. In fact, in times of crisis it's especially important that you demonstrate that responsibility rests with you as project manager.

More often than not, relatively small problems are blown out of all proportion and on closer, considered inspection there's a solution or at least a way of working around the problem. So it's essential to remain calm and to concentrate on working out the way forward. Your hand ling of an alleged crisis will be remembered by your team.

Section Summary

People skills are as important to being a super project manager as the ability to produce a sound project plan or to maintain a slick risks and issues log. That's because so much to do with project management involves dealing with people. One minute you'll be coaxing a reluctant team member to get on with the job, the next trying to placate a demanding customer; and all this while trying to juggle project responsibilities.

Forget the popular notion that it's only hard-nosed, take-no-prisoners project managers who get results. Many kinds of leadership styles are successful, and it's important that you work in a way you're comfortable with. However, there's much to be gained from taking a consultative approach - and this isn't the same thing as decision making by committee. An important part of project leadership is showing that you're ultimately responsible for everything that happens on your project, and this includes taking all the important decisions.

Don't ignore the obvious motivators and de-motivators, and always remember that your team is made up of individual characters. What gets them up in the morning and what can you do to get the best out of their talents? You'll need to find the answers to these questions if your team's going to reach the levels of productivity that are possible -- but not the norm.

It's amazing how word spreads when a project manager is good to work for and 'alright I suppose' (team members will never publicly admit to much more than this). This gives you an added extra: the kind of team members you'll want in your team will be keen to work for you.

_ You're only as good as your team.

_ When it comes to productivity, don't settle for the norm - you can do much better than that.

_ One size doesn't fit all. Don't be afraid to experiment with motivational techniques until you find what works best.

_ Don't steal glory and don't pass on blame.

_ Remember there are times when nobody is better than any old body.

_ If you don't know where your project's going, your team certainly won't!