Building a High Performance Project Team Essay

In order to deliver a graduate(prenominal)-quality encounter genius that success fully balances scope, magazine, and cost in which the needs and expectations of the users atomic number 18 met, the be sick group moldinessiness non only be effective and stimulate well together, tho as well as the externalise theatre director essential have the talent to give out and manage the police squad temporary hookup focusing on tidy sum issues. This is a great deal a difficult task since many frame mangers argon commonly expected to devolve groups without fleshal authority. Controlling a escort blends the artistic creation and recognition of ascertain oversight expression a strong, committed police squad at the same time you atomic number 18 making progress against the curriculum (Verzuh, 2012).This means that jump out attractors should seek to discover and turn problems while they are still small and at the same time superintend progress while putting in place measures to ensure the aggroups continued focus on the destructions and expectations of the tramp. Thus, it is critical for project managers to image that project success does non hinge only on the science of project management, notwithstanding also on the ability to build a committed, cooperative, and glutinous squad. A project manger who exhibits practical understanding of how to guess and sustain an effective group capital punishment, along with the ability to identify and rapidly resolve key out resource issues throughout the project life cycle, is to a greater extent likely to reach a synergistic potential of the group. Consequently, drawing from contemporary projects, this brief study focuses on evident human attri stilles the effects on attractorship as the key to the aforementioned(prenominal) controlling activities that ensure that a project evolves in an orderly manner, rather than turning out of control.2Recruiting cypher aggroup up MembersEvery project manager plays a pivotal use in building a spunky executing team. While the attraction essential consciously invest in building a strong, sticky team capable of live oning together, the process of selecting and recruiting project team members pull up s yields across organizations. Two important factors affecting recruitment are the richness of the project and the management structure being used to complete the project (Larson & Gray, 2011). However, it is the project managers responsibility to optimize the teams carrying into action regardless of whether he/she gets to choose the teammembers or not. and so project managers essential develop strategies that jockstrap build a full(prenominal) writ of execution team unspoilt from the selection stage. 2.1 escort Team Dynamics prohibit interpersonal team dynamics is not only unproductive, but evoke make a project managers job a daily grind of frustration and resentment (Verzuh, 2012). When selecting and recruiting team members, project managers naturally look for jimmyive(prenominal)s with the necessary experience and agnizeledge/technical skills critical for project completion (Larson & Gray, 2011). However, when identifying project resources project managers more often than not feel themselves thinking about who they need rather than what they need. Thus, more emphasis is dictated on pervious working relationships. Aside from selecting team members who hold the right level of skill and expertise needed to support the project requirements, it is still as important to identify team members who are able to work well with another(prenominal)s and exhibit consistent levels of cooperation. These social intelligence skills include theability to persuade, negotiate, compromise, and make others feel important (DiTullio, 2010) Consequently, the key to creating a high performance project team lies in understanding and embodying the language-action relationship. This is critically important t o building relationships, trust, gaining alignment and cargo to gravel breakthrough results (Strategic Momentum, 2006). 3Defining Criteria For expulsion Team MembersTo fully discuss this topic, we must start with a simple definition of a team. Jon Katzenbach and Douglas Smith define a team in their best-selling prevail The Wisdom of Teams (Harper Business Essentials 1994), as a small number of mint with complimentary skills who are committed to a common purpose, a baffle of performance intentions and an approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable (Katzenbach & Smith, 1993). In other words, as Sarah Cook (2009) suggests, the characteristics of a high performance team therefore are * A bringly defined and a common divided purpose* Mutual trust and respect* Clarity around individual roles and responsibilities* High levels of conference* Willingness to work towards the greater good of the team * A leader who both supports and challenges the team* A climate o f cooperation* An ability to vowel system differences and appreciate infringeHowever, project teams have another characteristic They allow be temporary, formed specifically for the purpose of achieving the goal, after which they will fade a focussing (Verzuh, 2012). Thus, to get the people on the team to be mutually accountable to a common goal, trust each other, and be treated with respect while putting in the childbed to accomplish a task, the project manager must be able to put the pieces together by establishing strong ground rules and team identicalness that is built on commitment to a make outd goal. In this respect, the criteria is for the project manager to engage his team in simple exercises and hold multiple discussions with the team about the intelligible benefits of teamwork by encouraging best practices and innovation for the benefit of stakeholders. 4Developing Trust Among discombobulate Team MembersAs noted earlier, projects are temporary endeavors that begin and end, and so do project teams. Managing project teams is even more complicated minded(p) the trend towards cross-functional, organizational, and sometimes national boundaries. This unique characteristic only increases the likelihood that the composition of a new project team will comprise of more individuals with little or no previous working relationships. With this in mind, as (Verzuh, 2012) rightly suggests, developing trust, respect, effective communication patterns, and the ability to bind a positive relationships de malice disagreements takes time. Most importantly, it takes a conscious effort by the project team leader. Once the project leader understands that high performance teams ra bank occur naturally, a strategy must be put in place to help transform the way team members think and act in order to create and remark the highest level of commitment to the plan.According to (Strategic Momentum, 2006) conversational dynamics is critical in building relationships and trust. By conversational dynamics they mean the conversational panache used when the project team works together. envision leaders must encourage collaborative conversations among team members since they help build trusting relationships, and are able to effectively deal with real issues, thus accelerated results. collaborative conversations are open and authentic and they breed mutual respect and commitment. proletariat leaders dissolve rely on authentic conversations to deal with interpersonal relationships and trust issues. In the event of breakdowns, the focus is on restoring relationships and trust to insure on going alignment and commitment. It is apparent therefore that high performance teams have a culture that embraces trust, continuous review and clarification of goals, deep communication and holding each other accountable (Wagner, 2006). 4.1Communicating Effectively with Project Team MembersOnce an atmosphere of trust has been established, the project managers bigge st challenge is communication and clarity. Communication has long been ranked very high among factors attributing to project success. In this respect, Tom Wagner suggests that the project team leader must ensure the group stays firmly rooted in reality, sets win goals and priorities, and follows through on all tasks (Wagner, 2006). This means that the entire project team shares the responsibility of all the project goals, and receives relevant and concise information at the right time. This also ensure that team member do not engage in conflicting agendas that arise when team members pursue repugnant objectives. Consequently, when communicating within the project team (Verzuh, 2012), outlines four major communication needs ** Responsibility each team member needs to bop exactly what part of the project he/she is responsibly for. * Coordination as team members carry out their work, they rely on each other. Coordination information enables them to work together efficiently. * Statu s meeting the goal requires tracking progress along the way to identify problems and take corrective action. The team members must be kept up to speed on the status of the project. * Authorization Team members need to know about all thedecisions made by customers, sponsors, and management that relate to the project and its business environment. Team members need to know these decisions to keep all project decisions synchronized. 5Leading the Project Team MembersIn spite of advances in the project management profession, research studies have shown that many projects fail, underlining the wideness of the project managers role as manager. Specifically, the managers star(p) role is of great importance in motivating people and creating an effective working environment in order for the project team to meet greater challenges in todays global deliverance (Anantatmula, 2010). In other words, there are four specific elements that help create an effective team-working environment. The lea der must establish ground rules that explicitly define expected personal behavior in reference to team values he/she must build a team identity based on shared commitment and objectives thekey here is goal and project scope clarity and a solid understanding of team members strength and diversity a good leader must be able to teach his team to apply the proper problem puzzle out techniques which involves exchange of ideas and thus the ability to listen to different perspectives and last but not the least, the leader must be able to manage meetings effectively. By conducting team meetings that are actively steered toward the project goals, the team can share pertinent information, coordinate activities, uncover new problems and make informed decisions that produce synergistic outcomes. Ultimately, adding value to the teams effort should be the goal and role of the project team leader. Defining a clear mickle can do this and goal, facilitate a working environment, set clear expectat ions and responsibilities, and provide the team enough autonomy where they can work and do their jobs with full commitment and confidence (Wikibooks, 2010) 6Managing Challenging and Dynamic Issues and ConflictIt is not an easy task to get a team to jell but the productivity and joy that come with high performance teams are so monumental for a project team leader to assume it can occur naturally. According to (Verzuh, 2012), every project team faces two primordial challenges, two obstacles to becoming a highperformance team. * Project teams are formed to solve complex problems, and they must solve those problems together. * Project teams are temporary and so the must realize to work together.Thus, it is the responsibility of the project leader to understand these two challenges and harness the problem firmness of purpose berth of a rather diverse team. In other words, it will take a conscious effort on the part of the project manager to transform the team from a loose collection of talent and expertise to a cohesive unit. For the team to produce superior decisions needed to solve complex problems creativity is required. This means that disagreements are bound to occur and wherefore conflict-resolution skills become essential to make the best decisions possible without jeopardizing interpersonal relationships. Deborah Kezsbom, in her article entitled (Managing the ChaosConflict among project teams (American sleeper of slideway Engineers 1989), perfectly concluded, conflict is an inevitable and necessary part of the project environment. give the proper atmosphere, positionings, and training, conflict can broaden perspectives and stimulate innovative and cohesive interactions. Project managers who realize that preventing conflict is as important as solving them, are likely to be effective. The author went on to recommend the undermentioned for improving project leader effectiveness and minimizing conflict * Communicating key decisions in a incidentally fashion to project related personnel. * Adapting leadership style to the status of the project and the needs of the project team. * Recognizing the primary determinants of conflict, when they are likely to occur over the project life cycle, and the effectiveness of discourse approaches. * Experimenting with alternative conflict handling modes. ** Proving work challenge to motivate team members.* Developing and maintaining technical expertise.* Planning early and effectively in the project life cycle. * Demonstrating concern for project team members.7The London 2012 Olympics Construction ProjectThe construction of the London 2012 Olympic park was widely praised for itssuccessful delivery. With 9.3 billion figure, the Olympic project was one of the most high profile projects one could ever imagine. The project finished on time and under budget much to the delight of its sponsors who according to Sir John Armitt, the man in burgeon forth of the team that built the park, knew what it valued, balancing cost and quality, and made that clear to its suppliers. yet it was the ability of the project leaders to blend the art and science of project management that prompted some soul-searching about lessons that can be employ to future developments. The value placed on relationships between individuals and organizations working the project was a crucial ingredient in the projects successful delivery. According to a study conducted during the project which focused on the underpinning role of 13 distinct human characteristics including respect, trust, clarity, motivation, collaboration, openness and fairness and how these concepts have a practical specify on effective leadership, worker involvement, safety culture, communication, risk management, monitoring and assurance.The lead researcher Helen Bolt said The most important thing we spy in this research was the value of the relationships between individuals and organizations. Of all the characteristics of the rel ationships in record during the project, the most critical were respect and clarity -they underpin everything, are not costly or difficult to come through, and can have a significant impact on safety culture and standards. 8ConclusionAs outlined throughout this paper, project team members are faced with the challenge to work interdependently to achieve defined goals. These goals can be simple or complex depending on the nature and scope of the project. Nonetheless, every project presents peculiar challenges for the team and its leader who essentially make a series of decisions in accomplishing these goals. As the order of interdependencies increases so does the need for the team members to trust one another and rely on refined skills to work collaboratively. Since project teams are temporary, they must learn to work together to reach its synergistic potential. A high performance team does not evolve overnight, it take time and effort by the leader who facilitates the team, establ ishes a positive working environment and leads the team in learning problem solving as well as conflict resolution skills. It is no secrete that leadership is the foundation of a high performance team.Whilethere are many constant traits a leader must possess to be effective, there are however, many important components of leading a high performance team that lack a true(p) definition. One of the components of great importance is the ability to be adaptable in your leadership style, and let your leadership adapt and evolve as the team progresses through its developmental stages. Project team leaders must also exhibit the same accountability they demand from the team members and display the energy, attitude and commitment to propel the team forward. Ultimately, communication is the key to all the aforementioned activities. Project leaders spend a great deal of their time communicating. In fact, every project management technique is a form of communication and hence it is crucial to c ommunicate in a timely and effective fashoin among all stakeholders.ReferencesAnantatmula, V. (2010). Project Manager leadership role in improving project performance. Engineering Management Journal , 22 (1), 13-22. DiTullio, L. (2010). Project Team Dynamics enhancing Performance, Improving Results. Management concepts. Katzenbach, J., & Smith, D. (1993). The Wisdom of Teams Creating the High-Performance Organization. Boston, MA Havard Business School Press. Kezsbom, D. (1989). Managing the Chaos Conflict among project teams. American Association of Coast Engineers. Transactions of the American Association of Coast Engineers , 9. Kortekaas, V. (2012, August 19). Retrieved on August 09, 2013, from http//www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/57d92e9c-d7df-11e1-9980-00144feabdc0.htmlaxzz2d6NUQRbS Project Management Lessons can be learnedfrom sucessful delivery. Financial Times . Larson, E. W., & Gray, C. F. (2011). Project Management the managerial process (5th ed.). bracing York, NY, USA The McGra w-Hill Companies, Inc. Strategic Momentum. (2006). Retrieved August 06, 2013, from Strategic Momentum.com www.strategic-momentum.com/_downloads/the_critical_steps_to_building_a_high_performance_team Verzuh, E. (2012). The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management (Vol. 4). Hoboken, NJ, USA John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Wagner, T. (2006). Building high performance project teams. Loiusiana Contractor , 55 (3), 41. Wikibooks. (2010). Managing Groups and Teams.