Building Teams That Work

Some time or another, you will be asked to either work on a team or build a team of your own.  Just bringing people together and assigning them a task isn’t enough to build a cohesive team. A team that works well is one that is productive and efficient – and the members enjoy their work on the team. The team has a clear sense of direction, an understanding of each person’s role within the team, and ways to resolve conflicts as they occur. A good team is a mix of skills and interests, not dominated by the most verbal, outspoken, or popular personalities. You as a manager have several things to consider in developing and leading teams that work.

1. Set clear goals and a purpose for the team. Talk to the team about their performance goals and how the team is a part of the company’s success. Purposes and goals can change over time, so remember to revisit these.
2. Clarify the individuals’ roles in achieving the goals and purpose. Be as specific as possible – assigning tasks and communicating expected results.
3. Plan for conflicts and how you will resolve them. Conflict, when handled well, can actually produce constructive ideas and draw the team members closer together. Let the conflicts come to the surface and deal with them quickly. Each team will have a different approach to resolving disagreements, below are some tips:
1. Make sure each team member has a chance to explain the problem as they see it.
2. Encourage employees to solve problems themselves so that you aren't always in the middle. However, if they can’t resolve it, or it keeps coming back, make sure they know that you are available to coach them through a problem-solving framework.
4. Remember your leadership role. While ownership of the work is healthy for all team members, avoid being “just one of the team.” You are the one accountable for the team’s results. Hold each employee responsible for meeting goals and for solving problems. Let your team know that you are their greatest supporter by removing obstacles and supporting them when issues arise.
5. Establish ground rules. Let your team know how you like to operate. Are you a solution-oriented manager, who requires that everyone contributes ideas for a solution? Do you prefer to do a root-cause analysis first to better understand the problem before moving on to finding a solution? The important thing is that your team knows your preferred style.

The-4 Player Model

David Kanto and William Lehr designed a communication model for family systems in 1975. This model was adapted by Deborah Ancona and William Isaacs of MIT’s Sloan School of Management to teams in organizations. There are four acts that are essential building blocks of team behavior. In appropriate sequence, these acts help the team consider a wide range of alternatives, examine each, refine and elaborate with ideas from inside and outside the team, choose an alternative, and act.

Move – this act establishes a direction and sets the team in motion.  Example: “Let’s build Product X.  Product X is the best Idea out there.”

Follow – this act provides support for the move and serves the function of completion. Example: “I agree with the arguments you’ve made. Product X is the way to go.”

Oppose – the oppose act questions the move that has been initiated. Example: “The data don’t support your claims. We’ll be in real trouble if we go with Product X.”

Bystand – this provides perspective and invites the team to be more reflective. A bystander may bring in more data, an historic perspective, or some insight about the operation or team. Example: “We tried some of these same ideas two years ago and they didn’t work. What do we think has changed?”

What Makes a Plan Successful?

Many people fail to realize the value of a project in saving time, money and many issues. Even small projects should be thought through; otherwise problems can quickly spin results out of your control. A good plan creates a platform for communication, establishes and manages expectations, and prioritizes and focuses resource utilization.

Specifically, a project plan should have these elements:

Goal – a project is successful when a goal has been attained. It is important that you identify the stakeholders in your project and find out their needs. Take the time to understand their true needs so that your project creates real benefits. Your goal statement should be SMART – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Framed.

Once you have defined the project goal, create a list of deliverables. Specify how and when each one should be completed. These can be translated into milestones in the schedule below.

Scope – this section of the project explains the boundaries of the project, establishes responsibilities for team members, and sets up procedures for communication, delegation, and approval. The better the scope is set at the beginning, the easier it is to adapt the plan to changes along the way.

Schedule – create a list of tasks to carry out for each deliverable and assign a due date. For each task, identify:

·         the amount of effort (hours or days) required

·         the resources assigned

·         any contingencies to be met

Budget – assign a cost for each deliverable. Be sure to include wages; equipment purchases, maintenance or rental; supplies; and contractor costs.

One of the common realizations at this point is that the project has an unrealistic delivery time or cost based on estimates. The Iron Triangle gives you the following options to ensure project success:

1.        Renegotiate the deadline (time)

2.        Employ additional resources (cost)

3.        Reduce the deliverables in quality or quantity (scope)

Now you should have a reasonably well thought-out plan. While you may have spent some time at your desk that you would have rather spent completing actionable items, this process will result in a plan that:

·         Clearly communicates the goal and scope of the project

·         Uses resources effectively and efficiently by detailing tasks with responsibilities, priorities and deadlines

·         Provides transparency to team members and stakeholders

·         Identifies risks and plans for contingencies so that setbacks can be dealt with quickly

5 Steps to Planning A Successful Project

The key to a successful project is in the planning.  Creating a project plan is the first thing you should do when undertaking any kind of project.  Taking the time to plan a project can seem tedious, especially when you are excited about the potential outcome, but having a project plan can save time, money, and many problems.  There are five elements of a project plan:

1. Goals:  A project is successful when the needs of the stakeholders have been met.  The best way to determine who the stakeholders are and their needs is to conduct interviews.  Take the time to understand the true needs that create real benefits.  Once you have a comprehensive list of needs, assign them a priority level and create a set of  SMART goals.  Record the set of goals in the project plan.   
2. Deliverables:  Create a list of things from the goals that the project needs to deliver in order to meet those goals.  Specify how each item should be delivered.  Add them to the project plan, under the relevant goal, with an estimated delivery date.
3. Schedule:  Create a list of tasks to be carried out for each deliverable.  Identify the amount of time required to complete the task, the resource, and any contingencies to carrying out the task.  Use this information to refine the estimated delivery dates listed under the deliverables. One of the common realizations is that the project has an unrealistic timeline based on your estimates.  Consider the following actions to reestablish expectations:  1)  Renegotiation of the deadline (project delay); 2)  Employment of additional resources (increased cost or personnel); 3)  Reduction in the scope of the project (less delivered)
4. Budget:  Assign a cost for each deliverable.  Be sure to include resource wages; equipment purchases, maintenance, or rental; supplies; and contractor costs.
5. Supporting Plans:  Below is a suggested list of plans that could be a simple, one-page memo to support your project plan.

• Human Resource Plan - a list of participants and resources, with their roles and responsibilities
• Communications Plan - a document outlining who needs to be kept informed of project progress, as well as frequency and method of communication
• Risk Management Plan - identify as many risks to your project as possible.  Track the risks with a simple log, write down what you will do in the event that it occurs, and what you will do to prevent it from occurring.  Some examples of risks are:  time and cost estimates too optimistic, unexpected budget cuts, unclear roles and responsibilities, poor communication, and lack of resources.

photo courtesy of MyStrategicPlan.com

Project planning is a skill that improves with practice.  The first project will take some time to develop, but keep at it, for you will find that this exercise will help you to keep the project on track and to clearly communicate expectations.