Project Management

7. Managing Teams
Our goal today is to develop and facilitate leadership, team building,
performance management, and conflict management skills in the
context of an IT environment
Main reference: Gray & Larson, 2006,
Ch 11.
Effective Team Characteristics
Why Join Teams?
Team Development
Keys to Managing People
Managing Project Teams
Project Team Conflict
Project Team Pitfalls
Effective Team Characteristics
What is a Team?
A team
is a group of individuals who cooperate and work together to achieve a
given set of objectives or goals (Horodyski, 1995).
Teamwork
is close cooperation between cross-trained employees who
are familiar with a wide range of jobs in their organization
 Team-building
is high interaction among group members to increase trust and openness
Effective Team Characteristics

1
Project Team Size
2
Common Characteristics
Project Team Size
Performance is based on balance of members carrying out roles and meeting social and emotional
needs
Project teams of 5 to 12 members work best
There are
problems you
encounter as size
increases
1. It gets more difficult to
interact with and
influence the group

2. Individuals get less

satisfaction from their
involvement in the team

3. People end up with less

commitment to the team
goals

4. It requires more
centralized decision
making

5. There is lesser feeling as

being part of team
Project Team Size

The Mythical Man-Month

Assigning more programmers to a project running behind schedule will make
it even later, due to the time required for the new programmers to learn
about the project, as well as the increased communication overhead.
- Fred Brooks
Group Intercommunication Formula

n(n − 1) / 2

Fred Brooks
The Mythical Man-Month
Group Intercommunication
Formula

n(n − 1) / 2

Examples

Fred Brooks
The Mythical Man-Month
 Group Intercommunication
Formula

n(n − 1) / 2

Examples

5 developers -> 5(5 − 1) / 2 = 10

channels of communication

Fred Brooks
The Mythical Man-Month
 Group Intercommunication
Formula

n(n − 1) / 2

Examples

5 developers -> 5(5 − 1) / 2 = 10

channels of communication

10 developers -> 10(10 − 1) / 2 =

45 channels of communication
Fred Brooks
The Mythical Man-Month
 Group Intercommunication
Formula

n(n − 1) / 2

Examples

5 developers -> 5(5 − 1) / 2 = 10

channels of communication

10 developers -> 10(10 − 1) / 2 =

45 channels of communication
Fred Brooks
50 developers -> 50(50 − 1) / 2 = The Mythical Man-Month
1225 channels of communication
Common Characteristics of High Performing Teams
Goals are clearly defined and matched with
measurable outcomes
Accurate effective 2-way communication
Leadership is shared and participation encouraged
Effective decision making and problem solving
Team identity and cohesiveness
Diverse backgrounds and experience
Cooperation and collaboration
They share a common identity
Figure 1 Characteristics or needs of effective teams
(Horodyski, 1995, p12)
Why Join Teams?
Why do people want to join teams?
Individual reasons

Security

Status

Self-esteem

Affiliation

Power

Goal achievement
Why do teams work well for organizations?
Team Development
 Project team

Project teams usually come together for a project

and then disband. What challenges does this
create?
Tuckman (1960s) published five stage model of team development
Figure 9.1 Stages of Team Development
(Robbins et al, 1998, p309)
Figure 11.1 The Five-Stage Team Development Model
(Gray & Larson, 2006, p345)
Implications for teams:

A project manager needs to devote initial attention to helping the

group evolve quickly to the (performing phase).

This model provides a framework for the group to understand its own
development.

It stresses the importance of the norming phase which contributes to

the level of productivity.
Recent studies suggest that there is no standardized pattern of group
development. What do you think about Tuckman’s model?
Does it feel right to you?
Punctuated Equilibrium Model
(1988) Gersick found that there are natural transition points during the
life of teams in which the group is receptive to change and that such a
moment naturally occurs at the scheduled midpoint of a project
By imposing a series of deadlines, with milestones, it is possible to create
multiple transition points for natural group development
Figure 11.2 The Punctuated Equilibrium Model of Group Development
(Gray & Larson, 2006, p346)
Training

The main goal of team

development is to help
people work together more
effectively to improve
project performance.

Training can help people

understand themselves and each
other, and understand how to
work better in teams.
Team building activities include physical challenges and psychological
preference indicator tools
 MBTI

What are you?

e extrovert introvert i

s sensation intuition n

t thinking feeling f

j judgement perception p
e extrovert e introvert i

s sensation n intuition n

t thinking t feeling f

j judgement j perception p

me
 e extrovert i introvert i

s sensation n intuition n

t thinking feeling f

j judgement perception p

NTs are attracted to technology fields

There is a belief that IT people differ from population in a tendency to not
be extroverted or sensing.
 The Max Wideman MTBI article

“Do we have enough of the right kind of people?”

R. Max Wideman, (1998) Project Teamwork, Personality Profiles and the Population at Large: Do we have
enough of the right kind of people? FPMI, AEW Services, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
http://www.maxwideman.com/papers/profiles/profiles.pdf
 What is your suitability to Project Work?

* Wideman, R. Max. “Project Teamwork, Personality Profiles and the Population at Large: Do we have enough of the right kind of people?”
(http://www.maxwideman.com/papers/profiles/profiles.pdf ).
 Another model

Social Styles Profile

Assertiveness

People are perceived as behaving primarily

in one of four zones, based on their
assertiveness and responsiveness

Responsiveness
 Another model

Task

Analytical Driver
Responsiveness

Amiable Expressive
People

Ask Assertiveness Tell

Reward and Recognition Systems

Team-based reward and recognition systems can promote teamwork

Focus on rewarding teams for achieving specific goals

Allow time for team members to mentor and help each other to meet
project goals and develop human resources
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hi-phi/1100036300/
 Team Development cont’d…
Reward and Recognition Systems cont’d…

Recognize individual performance?

letters of commendation
public recognition for outstanding work
desirable job assignments
increased personal flexibility
Keys to Managing People
Psychologists and management theorists have devoted much research and
thought to the field of managing people at work. Important areas related to
project management include (1)Motivation, (2)Influence and power, and (3)
Effectiveness
 Motivation

Intrinsic motivation causes people to Extrinsic motivation causes people to do

participate in an activity for their something for a reward or to avoid a
own enjoyment penalty
eg. read, gardening… eg. homework
Motivation Theorists
– Maslow’s hierarch of needs
– Herzberg’s motivation-hygiene
– McClelland’s acquired-needs
– McGregor’s X and Y
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

(1960s) Abraham Maslow developed a

hierarchy of needs to illustrate his theory
that people’s behaviors are guided by a
sequence of needs

Maslow argued that humans possess unique

qualities that enable them to make
independent choices, thus giving them
control of their destiny
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
http://talkingtails.wordpress.com/2007/07/23/maslow-greek-philosophy-indian-mysticism/
Hertzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene
Theory
In the late 1960s Frederick Herzberg wrote
about worker motivation.
He distinguished between motivation factors
and hygiene factors.

motivation factors hygiene factors

Help motivate workers cause dissatisfaction if
directly absent but do not
eg. achievement, motivate,
recognition, work, eg. Money, working
responsibility conditions,
http://www.provenmodels.com/21/motivation-hygiene-theory/herzberg-mausner-snyderman
(Robbins et al, 1998, p221)
McClelland’s Acquired-Needs
Theory
(1961) David McClelland proposed an
individual’s specific needs are acquired or
learned over time and shaped by life
experiences.

Categories:
– achievement
– affiliation
– power
McGregor’s Theory X and
Theory Y

In the 1960’s Douglas McGregor popularized

the human relations approach
Theory X: workers dislike and avoid work
Theory Y: work is as natural as play or rest
Theory Z: emphasizing trust, quality,
collective decision making, and cultural
values
http://www.provenmodels.com/20/theory-x-&-y/mcgregor
Thamhain and Wilemon’s
influence bases

(1970’s) HJ Thamhain and DL Wilemon

identified nine influence bases available
to project managers
1. authority
2. assignment
3. budget
4. promotion
5. money
6. penalty
7. work challenge
8. expertise
9. friendship
Steven Covey’s 7 habits

Ca be applied to improve effectiveness

on projects

1. Be proactive
2. Begin with the end in mind
3. Put first things first
4. Think win/win
5. Seek first to understand, then to
be understood
6. Synergize
7. Sharpen the saw
Covey’s Habit 5: Seek first to understand, then to be understood
Managing Project Teams
Project managers must lead their teams in performing various project
activities
After assessing team performance and related information, the project
manager must decide:
– if changes should be requested to the project
– if corrective or preventive actions should be recommended
– if updates are needed to the project management plan or organizational
process assets
Tools and techniques available to assist in managing project teams
include:
– observation and conversation
– project performance appraisals
– conflict management
– issue logs
Develop your team
Develop your team

Be patient and kind with your team

Fix the problem instead of blaming people
Establish regular, effective meetings
Allow time for teams to go through the basic team-building stages
Limit the size of work teams to five to twelve members
Plan some social activities to help project team members and other
stakeholders
Stress team identity
Nurture team members and encourage them to help each other
Take additional actions to work with virtual team members
Know the conditions favorable for
development of high performing teams

Voluntary team membership

Continuous service on the team
Full-time assignment to the team
An organization culture of cooperation and trust
Members report only to the project manager
Functional areas are represented on the team
The project has a compelling objective
Members are in speaking distance of each other
Meetings?
A brief diversion into Management and Meetings
Don’t waste my time
 Conducting Project Meetings

Managing Establishing
Subsequent Ground Rules
Meetings

Conducting
Relationship Planning
Decisions Project Decisions
Meetings

Managing Change Tracking

Decisions Decisions
Time Meeting goals
Date Agenda
Place Expected outcome
Who must be there Preparation required
 Recruiting Project Members

Factors affecting recruiting

– importance of the project
– management structure used to complete the project
How to recruit?
– ask for volunteers
Who to recruit?
– problem-solving ability
– availability
– technological expertise
– credibility
– political connections
– ambition, initiative, and energy
Figure 11.32 Creating a High-Performance Project Team
(Gray & Larson, 2006, p348)
Establishing a Team Identity

Effective Use
of Meetings

Co-location of
team members

Creation of project
team name

Team rituals
Figure 11.4 Requirements for an Effective Project Vision
(Gray & Larson, 2006, p357)
Orchestrating the Decision-Making Problem
Process Identification

Generating
Alternatives

Reaching a
Decision

Follow-up
Rejuvenating the Project Team

Informal Techniques
– institute new rituals
– take an off-site break as a team
from the project
– view an inspiration message or
movie
– have the project sponsor give a
pep talk
Rejuvenating the Project Team

Formal Techniques
– team building session
facilitated by an outsider to
clarify ownership issues
affecting performance
– engage in an outside activity
that provides an intense
common experience to
promote social development
of the team
Challenges of Managing Virtual Teams
Challenges of Managing Virtual Teams

Developing trust
exchange of social information
set clear roles for each team member
Challenges of Managing Virtual Teams

Developing effective patterns of communication

include face-to-face if at all possible
keep team members informed on how the overall
project is going
don’t let team members vanish
establish a code of conduct to avoid delays
establish clear norms and protocols for surfacing
assumptions and conflicts
Figure 11.6 24-Hour Global Clock
(Gray & Larson, 2006, p369)
Project Team Conflict
Managing Conflict in the Project Team
Managing Conflict in the Project Team

Encouraging Functional Conflict

– encourage dissent by asking
tough questions
– bring in people with different
points of view
– designate someone to be a
devil’s advocate
– ask the team to consider an
alternative
Managing Conflict in the Project Team
Encouraging Functional Conflict
– encourage dissent by asking
tough questions
– bring in people with different
points of view
– designate someone to be a
devil’s advocate
– ask the team to consider an
alternative
Managing Dysfunctional Conflict
– mediate the conflict
– arbitrate the conflict
– control the conflict
– accept the conflict
– eliminate the conflict
Project Team Pitfalls
Figure 11.5 Conflict Intensity over the Project Life Cycle
(Gray & Larson, 2006, p363)
 Project Team Pitfalls

Bureaucratic
Groupthink
Bypass Syndrome

Team Spirit Becomes

Going Native
Team Infatuation
 Review
1. Effective teams have common characteristics such as; size range,
purpose, communication, leadership, cohesiveness, identity,
diversity, and cooperation.
2. Traditional research suggests teams develop in 5-stage process;
forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. Modern
approach indicates growth occurs at project transition points.
3. Team development can be facilitated through training,
personality indicators, social styles profiles, and reward systems.
4. PM’s can utilize people handling strategies from motivation
theorists and other theorists such as; Maslow, Hertzberg,
McClelland, McGregor and Covey …
5. Other areas of importance include; recruitment, maintenance,
and conflict management of project teams.
 References
Horodyski, K. (1995). Managing and developing teams. Footscray, Vic.: Open
Training Services.
Greenberg, J. & Baron, R. (1993). Behavior in organizations (4th ed.). Syd.,
NSW: Allyn and Bacon.
Robbins, S., et al. (1998). Organisational behaviour (2nd ed.). Sydney:
Prentice-Hall
 BetterProjects.net

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