Project managers should assume a leadership position. Their aim should be not only to supervise but more importantly to coordinate the efforts of the team members. This often requires direct involvement in the major phases of the task so that the team works together, budgets do not show significant variances, schedules are kept, and deadlines are met.
A schedule of work should be prepared for outlining responsibilities. Everything should be written down. Checklists should be used to ensure that all team members know their responsibilities and deadlines. Team members sometimes work on several projects simultaneously. Under these conditions, there may be conflicts among priorities, especially if’ they are working under different project managers. To minimize such conflicts, team members should be asked to let project managers know in advance about scheduling conflicts. Team members may then be reassigned to different tasks.
Team members should be given detailed instructions, and participation should be encouraged from the beginning. Their input should be solicited. Let the members propose solutions and assist in implementation. Active participation will motivate the project team, and when the ideas are good, the entire project benefits.
Conducting the Initial Meeting
Before starting the project, the project manager should meet with the team to set a positive tone and define the project’s purpose. The meeting can help avoid misunderstandings and save time and effort later. It also clarifies the nature of the assignment, as well as the authority and responsibility of each individual.
Meetings should then be scheduled at regular intervals, but limited in time and frequency. If the project team spends all its time in meetings, not much else will be accomplished. At the same time, it is important to get together to review progress, resolve problems, and ensure adherence to budgets and schedules.
At the initial meeting, each team member should identify the problems he or she anticipates in working on the project. A list should of anticipated problems should be prepared and team members should generate solutions. If additional data is needed, a discussion should be started regarding who will research the data and from what sources. How will this information be verified? What if the data are inaccurate, obsolete, or misinterpreted? Be sure to consider how much time it will take to gather and check additional data or to conduct research.
A list of initial tasks should be prepared and assigned to appropriate individuals. Whenever possible, let the team members volunteer; they are likely to be more motivated if they define their own roles. The entire team should gain an understanding of the scope of the entire project at the initial meeting.
For all major phases of the project, prepare an initial schedule. For each phase, as well as for the overall project, establish the anticipated start and completion dates. Some phases, of course, may overlap. Subgroups of the team may be working independently and the work of one subgroup may not depend on the work of another subgroup. Nonlinearity in a project and its overlapping phases offer tremendous flexibility in scheduling activities.
While deadlines should be established in the initial schedule, maintaining flexibility is also important. It is highly unlikely that everything will happen according to schedule. Furthermore, as the team starts its work, the members will gain a better understanding of the problems, and the schedule and budget may have to be modified.
An initial financial budget should be prepared for each phase of the project. The initial budget should be prepared after considering human, financial, and information resources. For capital expenditures, consider both purchasing and leasing, as appropriate. Variance analysis should be conducted at the end of each phase by comparing the actual to budget Exhibits for costs, time, and productivity. This allows you to monitor actual expenditures and time, and to take corrective action, if necessary, to keep the project within budget.
Assembling the Project Team
The project team is a major determinant of the success or failure of a project. As the team increases in size, its diversity increases, managing the tasks becomes more difficult and complex, and the potential for conflict increases. There might be misunderstandings in communication. Different individuals have different motives and goals.
Team Assignment
As a project manager, you may or may not have control over the staff members assigned to the project team. If a team is being imposed, you should communicate with senior management and request that they allow your involvement in the selection process. For example, you could give them a list of individuals with whom you have worked successfully in the past. Emphasize the importance of having a cohesive project team and that such a team is critical to the project’s success.
Of course, sometimes it just is not possible to put together a team of your choice and you have to do the best with those you are given. These individuals may be perfectly capable of doing the job. Alternatively, they may have been assigned to this project simply because they were available. It is also possible that these individuals were assigned because of their interest or talent. In any event, you should give each individual a chance to do the best possible work, and you may find yourself pleasantly surprised.
It is important to inspire and motivate team members. Your aim should be to help team members understand how the success of the project will affect their individual success. It is common for individuals to place top priority on self-gain, so ensuring that team members anticipate personal success ensures their commitment to the project. You need to specifically identify the benefits to the team members to motivate them and to focus their energies on the project. An ideal team member understands the desired results and is committed to making it happen.
Job Assignment
It is generally best to break a large project into several phases and each phase into distinct tasks. Each team member should then be assigned the responsibility of executing one or more of those tasks, which should not be highly structured. To motivate team members, assign them the responsibility for a given job and let them approach it the way they believe is best. This, of course, does not mean that you should not supervise them or give them guidance. Coordinate the activities and make sure the team members understand the goals and aims of the task. However, by providing team members with responsibility for certain tasks, you give them an incentive to put in their best efforts. This also lets them know that you trust them and that you have confidence in their abilities.
Delegating Duties
If you are too assertive and too controlling, you may stifle the freedom of your project team and impede its creativity. An effective project manager knows how to delegate the work. You should not insist that the project be done your way. Your role should be to monitor the team’s work and coordinate its efforts, while watching the budget and the time schedule of each phase of the project. Of course, you should be available to help your team members, especially if they come to you with a problem.
Conflict Resolution
Conflicts sometimes develop among team members or groups of team members. For example, individuals may differ as to how to approach the project or solve a problem, or groups may compete for credit for some work. As the project manager, your aim is to resolve conflicts and to make sure these conflicts do not destroy the progress of the project. Emphasize to your team that the success of the project is more important than the success of any individual. Stress that everyone benefits from the project’s success and everyone loses from its failure.
Self-Directed Work Teams
The self-directed team structure is an alternate to the traditional
