Understanding on Pitfalls and Building Project Teams, Essay Example

When formulating project teams there are numerous considerations in terms of getting the right team that will be able to accomplish the mission. This includes such items as human cultural considerations, right skills mix, and ability to work as a team. If you get this wrong the pitfalls may have serious ramifications in terms of getting a harmonious team together and ultimately achieving your objectives. The Project Manager is a key component in the selection of the team resources and ensuring the correct fit for the job.

Pitfalls in building project teams

The Project Manager is instrumental in the selection of the right resources in order to get the project accomplished on time, within scope and according to the budget. As such the PM will require a team with a different and diverse set of skills. On an IT project for example this might include: A project Planner, A business analyst, two programmer/analysts and system testing personnel. This of course will vary in accordance with the size and nature of the project. In addition to the requisite technical skill sets the team must be fluid communicators and must share information in a harmonious work environment. (Wysocki, 2002)

Cultural issues are extremely important, for example if implementing a project in the USA it is important that English is the business language used and the team must be proficient in the use of English language. If the project was in Mexico it may be useful to have a number of Hispanic (Spanish) speaking people in the team. Respect is important in multi-cultural project teams and everyone should be treated in an equitable manner.

The Project Manager is responsible for setting the ground rules from the onset of the project. This is best accomplished at the very first meeting. Certain key ground rules need to be established. Items like punctuality at work, treating the clients with respect, etc. The PM needs to assert his authority and go over the hierarchies within the team so reporting lines are clearly understood. It is the time to remove any conflicts or other ambiguities. (Jack Gido, 2009)

The PM must establish clear goals and objectives for the team members; instrumental in this will be the assistance of a good project planner. The team plan must comprise a realistic and idealistic set of objectives that are mutually achievable across the entire team. This should be designed to avoid conflict or ‘hot spot’ areas. Roles and responsibilities need to be clearly defined. The aim is to build a team that can work harmoniously free from conflict and engage the project from a common perspective. (Joan Knutson, 1991)

Conclusions

Communications are one of the most important aspects of any project team. Consider Effective listening skills are of equal importance to that of speaking skills in the art of communication. Without the ability to listen effectively meaningful communication is reduced. Two helpful techniques to improve listening skills are:

1. Understand the difference between that of ‘Active’ and ‘Passive’ voice | with active listening you are employing all of your senses to listen. Passive means only using your ears in order to absorb the sounds.
2. Play close attention to a speaker’s body language | carefully observe the face and hand of the speakers and assimilate suggestions on how the information is to be interpreted. (Write-out-loud.com , 2006)

In conducting an effective meeting it is important to have a clear sense of purpose and direction. Understand the objectives to be accomplished and the proposed outcomes. Time management and focus on the objectives is essential, avoid divergence onto non related matters. People do not object to attending meetings provided that they are constructive and they can make a contribution. Two helpful techniques are:

1. Prepare an agenda | Outline the structure and topics of the meeting, with suggested time for each topic. This has a positive impact on planning the meeting because of the allotted times and subject area focus.
2. Prioritization | Get the important topics dealt with first. Ensure that these are given top priority in the Agenda. This provides a sense of gravity to the planning process(Billikopf, 2006)

References

Billikopf, G. (2006, 8 11). Conducting Effective Meetings. Retrieved 3 9, 2011, from University of California: http://www.cnr.berkeley.edu/ucce50/ag-labor/7labor/11.htm

Jack Gido, J. P. (2009). Successful Project Management. New York: Cengage Learning.

Joan Knutson, I. B. (1991). Jack Gido, James P. Clemens. In I. B. Joan Knutson, Jack Gido, James P. Clemens (p. Chapter 3 refers). New York : AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn, 1991.

Write-out-loud.com . (2006). Why a Speaker Needs – . Retrieved 3 10, 2011, from Write-out-loud.com : http://www.write-out-loud.com/effective-listening-skills.html

Wysocki, R. K. (2002). Building Effective Project Teams. London: John Wiley $ Sons.