Team building is one of the essential aspects of project management. The graduate Hub project is composed of a carefully selected team to aid in its implementation. The team works together towards realization of the goals. However, the process of selecting a new team since the MA students seek to join the project is not going to be an easy task. The process will require a lot of objectivity from the project managers. The managers have to ensure they stick to the goals and objectives of the Graduate Hub project in order to build up a team.
The process of selecting a team requires one to take into account the special skills needed for each project task. The team also needs to possess certain qualities or characters which are essential for the development of teamwork. The team members must enjoy to work together as a team. They have to be open to opinions and suggestions from the management and other team members in addition to being involved in the project tasks. These qualities are important for team work and in order for the graduate hub project to succeed, team members must work as a unit. Other technical qualities needed would depend on the type and nature of the project.
As project manager, developing the capacity of team members is important. This is where team building exercises come in. The process of team building implies developing coordination among the team members. There will be a lot of opinions to be given during project implementation. Several questions will be asked by team members throughout the entire process. It is only through team building that project manager will be able to utilize all the opinions and suggestions provided as well as answer all the questions raised.
According to Brinkman et al. (2010) team building is not something that is done just one time but it is supposed to be conducted in all the team interactions. The team is supposed to be coordinating as they discuss issues, brainstorm ideas, and considering the opinions and suggestions provided by others.
The process of team building is regarded by Burk (2003) to be a process of motivating team members every time they interact. The article notes that team building does not only include the tasks provided by management but it includes the participation and motivation of the whole team. Therefore the author proposes the need for project managers to learn how to lead informal groups. The groups have some characteristics that need to be understood and well learnt in order to control them. Once these characteristics are understood, a manager can be able to take advantage and use them for the benefit of the entire group. It is not enough to assume that informal groups have similar characteristics to formal organizations (Frigenti and Comninos, 2006). There are some characteristics that are unique to both groups which the manager has to note and be able to use for the advantage of the entire group.
The strategies for supervising team members are another important factor that the graduate hub project management must take into account in the process of team building. Project leadership needs to understand how best to enhance the effectiveness of the group and use approaches that support this understanding (Gardiner, 2005). The various tasks within the graduate hub project might also require the creation of smaller teams to spearhead the tasks. These teams will have supervisors or team leaders to manage the progress of the tasks. The relationship between such team leaders and top management is important for the effectiveness of the group. Similarly, the relationship between the team leaders and team members is also important for the effectiveness of the group.
Team building is also enhanced through communication. A network of communication is essential for the success of the graduate hub project. The group leaders and management can appoint individuals who help disseminate information to the entire group. Effective communication has been dubbed by Bolles and Fahrenkrog (2004) to be critical for enhancing a sense of harmony in the entire team which is good for the success of the project.
Importance of leadership in project management
The project manager is usually considered as the lead figure for a particular project. All responsibilities of management are assigned to the project manager. The role that played by the leader is not just to ensure proper management of the project but also to ensure that the goals and objectives of the project are achieved in the long run. According to Gibbons (2002) leadership and management are unique and distinct although there are a lot characteristics that the two share. However, in project management, the qualities of both a leader and a manager are needed for proper execution of the project. This means that a project manager is required to act both as a leader and a manager. The authors also suggest that harmony in project management can be realized when the leader manages to balance both leadership and management qualities.
An effective project leader will display the following characteristics: the leader must visionary, able to listen and question opinions, empowering team members, influencing team members to focus on meeting the objectives of the project, communicating important information to team members, strategizing on ways of achieving the objectives and goals of the projects, developing capabilities of the team, and focused on success of the project. This implies that in addition to doing the required things, a project manager must also ensure that he or she does the right things aimed at achieving the goals of the project (Kerzner, 2001).
Application of leadership skills in the graduate hub projects will depend on the nature of this project as well as the duration. The graduate hub project is a large scale in nature and utilizes the participation of people from diverse background. The project also has a restricted project budget which has to be adhered to. In order to stick to the time and budget limitations of the project, it is important for leadership and management qualities be displayed by the project managers. As earlier explained, leadership has to be expressed in the process of team building. The graduate hub project will have people from different cultures and backgrounds. In order for such a team to be able to work together and ensure realization of project goals, the leader has to be effective in coordination partnership among the team. The leader has to ensure that all team members understand the tasks required and select specific members, depending on their competencies and skills, to accomplish each of the tasks.
The other area requiring application of leadership is the project process which involves getting thing done. Basically, team members have to be motivated and that takes the role of a good leader to ensure that everyone is motivated.
Reference List
Bolles, D. and Fahrenkrog, P, 2004, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, 3rd Edition, ANSI, USA.
Brinkman, J., Bateman, I., Harper, D. and Hodgson, C. 2010, Unlocking the Business Environment, Hodder Education, New York.
Burk, R. 2003, Project Management Planning and Control Technique, 4th Edition, John Wiley & Sons, New York.
Frigenti, E, and Comninos, D, 2006, The Practice of Project Management, Kogan Page, GB.
Gardiner, P, 2005, Project Management A Strategic Planning Approach, Palgrave, Boston.
Gibbons, T. 2002, Goal Directed Project Management, Price Waterhouse Cooper, USA.
Kerzner, H, 2001, project management: a system approach to planning, scheduling, and controllin,. 7th ed, John Wiley & Sons, Inc, New York.
Medinschi, S. & Colta, S. A., 2004. The importance of team building for the success of a project. Journal of Project Managment, vol.1, no. 12, pp. 224-231.
