Teams in Project Management

Think back to the team you are a part of - it might be a team work, sports or other hobbies.

Think of the best teams ever worked on, think of the worst teams. What’s the difference? How a group so large and the other team did is not?

As Project Manager, you can choose what kind of team you created. It is your job to help really good team. If you think the best team you are on, many of the above features are most likely there.

A successful team:

•  Stakeholder Meets Expectations – He/ She knows what the expectations are, and will be able to meet them.
• Reduce barriers - between team members and between the team and the team leader. The team members know and respect each other's differences and similarities.
• With and change control - if there is one thing we can be sure about the project, it is that we will change. A successful team will use it to move forward, to learn and grow, and continue to improve the way they work.
•  Basic rule - no rules, no one knows what is acceptable and what is not. Ground rules can be written, or just talked about, but a successful team has a clear policy (or expected) from the beginning.
• Communicates - a successful team that communicates openly. The idea that "information is power" is not applicable.
• Mutual Accountability - As a team, feel responsible and accountable for each other and our common result we. we work together to create a team result.
• Collaborative Creativity - it allows us to find new and innovative solutions to problems or questions. We are able to work effectively together as a team, are more creative than as individuals.
•  Joint decision - a successful team is used to make decisions together. The team leader is there to help, and sometimes make the final decision, but the team actively.
• Appropriate initiative - a Team Leader must ensure that team members feel valued and empowered enough to take the initiative if necessary - they do not feel they have to wait for their lead. This saves time and motivates people to do better.

Each team you can think of - work, sports or other activities - even a relationship - goes through several steps before they can be really effective and "execute" can be.

Stages of Project Teams

The first stage - Forms - when we first met. We do not know each other yet, we are polite, we stop and wait to understand what the others are like, what their positions, their views and opinions, and where we all fit team:

Storming - It is necessary to go through the storming phase before a team can begin to execute. Storming should not say outright fighting and conflict, but this is the stage where team members begin to give their opinions, and to take their place in the team. This is the stage where we realize that we do not agree all the time with each other and this is where we start to discover how to make decisions and to reach an agreement as a team.

Norming - once the team found their place, and found strategies for making decisions and reaching agreement, the team relaxes a bit, and begins to feel more comfortable.

Carried out - on a project, time is very important, so the sooner the project manager can bring the team to perform better. Without the storming phase, a team will never do, so it is important to make the attack (in a controlled manner!) By having a kick-off meeting, by ensuring that teams requires decisions that people of influence to take an early stage.

Featured - each project ends, so each project is coming to an end. This phase will also be managed by the Project Manager, to ensure that team members feel valued enough to want to return to work in teams, and to ensure that they have the feeling that the project "chapter" was closed. Having a party or just a team or team dinner drink at the end of the project is very important.