Vince Lombardi once said, “Individual commitment to a group effort - that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.” (Brainy Quotes, 2013) Working as a team requires patience, stability, and growth working towards a common goal. As a project manager one of the main responsibilities of project management is creating a team. When project manager formulate a team creation it involves the working towards a goal, and gathering like people that want the project to succeed. Teams are important in any business aspect, and in any business environment. Teams are selected based on the collective skills and will be designated to work on each particular task. In order for teams to work, project managers must put a lot of thought and use of the best decision making in team creation. The purpose of this paper is to explore the team creation process, identify team selection, team-building strategies, conflict within teams, and conflict resolution.
Selecting Team Members
Successful teams are those that are able to rely on each of the members to contribute their best in order to reach the desired goal. When selecting members, the project manager must keep in mind each of the candidates’ strengths and weaknesses, and their availability in order to complete the objective efficiently and effectively. According to Project Management, “selecting the wrong team players can either lengthen the implementation process or reduce employee morale.” (Kerzner, 2009) That is why selecting the right members in team creation is important in all aspects of project management. One of the first steps are the project manager outlining the important aspects of the project that need the most attention. The project manager must select members they filled have the skills needed to fill these aspects. Project managers are able to do this by pooling together a group of qualified candidates to interview. Because of the project manager has to work closely with the team, “project managers have to operate in a more complex managerial environment, which, inevitably limits their power and discretion.” (Smith, G, 2001) In the interview process, the project manager must select individuals that display leadership, cooperation, communication skills, and team building factors. The candidates must be team players, a type of personality that is willing to ask questions and information, and those that are willing to be initiators in order to try new things. Team members must be clarifiers that are able to articulate their words clear, harmonizers that are able to agree with the group, those that are willing to be consensus takers, and gatekeepers to let everyone’s opinion be heard. (Kerzner, 2009)
Team members must be able to adapt to any situation and providing a positive outlook when situations are tight. Communication skills as expressed earlier are crucial to the success of a project. The members must have adequate relationships where the lines of communication are clear and open. This not only creates a viable work environment but also keeps the atmosphere friendly and in tuned. A lack of communication can harm team progress and cause conflict when expectations and responsibilities aren’t clearly defined. Lastly the availability of each potential member is pertinent to meeting timelines and the unexpected schedule delays. Making sure that the proposed schedule doesn’t conflict, the candidates must be available to answer questions from the project manager in order to determine if they are a good fit for the team.
Team-Building Strategies
In teams, in order to be successful, project managers must actively work within the team to promote a positive and creative work environment. Unlike traditional teams, project managers must take the steps to play mediator, enforcer, leader, and problem-solver. “Managers play a critical role in maintaining a team climate through their day-to-day activitiesteam building must be an ongoing activity internal to the organization. “ (Mealiea, Baltazar, 2013)The first steps in teams when they are initially formed are to clearly defined roles and responsibilities. Expectations are high and team members are eager to work. In an effort to build the team, project managers must conduct weekly meetings with members and client in order to establish goals and each member’s responsibilities. These weekly meetings not only are essential in team building but also provide a free flow of communication between members. When the lines of communication are open team members are more readily made aware of last minute changes, time constraints, and new discoveries in the project. Another team building strategy is when members reach an important milestone. These milestones need to be celebrated, these achievements build up team morale, and make the project run more smoothly. A nice gesture for the entire team will make a more cohesive team.
Project managers must outline the major characteristics in each team member in order to bring out the best in them. These characteristics will play a essential role in the team’s success. With these characteristic the project manager can build a team profile to be measured in the team climate in order to link positive team characteristics and team effectiveness. In outlining the positive characteristics, project managers can also identify the deficient team characteristics in order build on them to strengthen each team member. A project manager can capitalize off these characteristics by working on a reward system that award creativity and individuality, while also encouraging team members to work on their skills. These characteristics are good for decision making, and for using towards conflict resolutions that may arise within teams.
Areas of conflict within a diverse project team
Conflict is inevitable in teams. When working in a team conflict is bound to occur. Apart of the team creation phase is when a diverse group of members have conflict. Members have usually worked tight schedules and deadlines and have become frustrated, angry, and may harbor some feelings of hostility. Conflict can arise from set priorities, administrative procedures, scheduling, undefined responsibilities, and personal clashes with other team members. (Kerzner, 2009) The organizational changes within the project can cause conflict when the members disagree on the procedure or policies of the new adjustments to the project. When members feel that there is an unbalance in work load, conflict and frustration can occur, that will throw a wrench in the team cohesiveness. Conflict can occur when members of the group disagree on choices or ideas. As the project gets closer to time constraints, frustration grows when members try to make decisions. Members began to question their roles and responsibilities as the project progresses in respect to other members, and the project manager must play mediator. Personalities clash within a diverse team that is evident in their indecisiveness in ideas and differences in background interfere with group dynamics. In certain situations conflict is neither good nor bad. While conflict can also arise if everyone is not on board with the goal of the project or assignment. Conflict can effectively harm the work environment and the goal of completion for the assignment.
Reducing the Probability of Dysfunctional Conflict
The role of project managers are to litigate and resolve problems in projects without effecting the outcome of the project. In order for project managers to get this job done, they must use their skills and mechanisms used in problem-solving to resolve any potential conflict like risks between project members. Project managers understand that conflict can be used to iron out issues of the assignment as well as issues between team members. When team members learn to resolve their conflict they can grow closer as a team and be a more effective unit. Conflicts can be constructive and force group members to reexamine their tactics and strategies in completing their assignment. Project managers must try to see each side’s perspectives and work so that each side can get their opinion across. When done in a respectable manner conflict can help problem solve and create a tool to complete the team’s goals. Project members must actively listen to team member, understanding each person’s complaint or concern, and if needed solicit the help of a mediator or middleman if the situation gets volatile.
Conflict resolution techniques
Project managers can use different techniques in order to resolve conflicts in order to bring the team back together. These techniques include assembling the team for weekly meetings in order to talk out any disagreements or frustrations. This keeps in line with promoting good communication, and the opportunity for each to say their opinion. Encourage teamwork between members, continually motivating and praising them when they reach a goal. Actively listening and never taking sides to remain impartial allows for more flexibility when trying to provide different solutions to team members.
Conclusion
In conclusion, team creation is a selective process that requires much thought and technique in deciding the right team members for each project. In team selection candidates are evaluated on the proper skills, and characteristics needed to work cohesively as a team in order to get the projects completed on time. Team building strategies can range from public praise, weekly meetings, to keeping lines of communication open. Conflict is unavoidable but project managers must diligently work to resolve any conflict and work to stop potential conflicts that could arise in a diverse team where personalities can clash. Project managers must work to actively listen to make team members work within the family in order for the projects to be a success.
References
Kerzner, Harold. (2009). Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling, Tenth Edition. Hoboken, New Jersey. John Wiley & Sons.
Mealiea, Laird, Baltazar, Ramon. (2005). “A Strategic Guide for Building Effective Teams.” Public Personnel Management. Volume 34 No.2 Summer. Retrieved from http://loy9.com.kh/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Building_effective_teams.pdf
Smith, G. (2001). “Making the Team.” IEE Review, September, pp. 33-36. Retrieved from http://www.usq.edu.au/course/material/eng1101/common_resources/MakingTheTeam.pdf
“Team Quotes.” (2013). Brainy Quotes. Retrieved from http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/team.html
