TOPIC 11: PROJECT TEAM
Sub-Topics
- Team versus Group
- Characteristics of High Performing Teams
- Stages in Team Development
- Responsibilities of a Project Team Manager
- Duties of a Project Team
TEAM VERSUS GROUP
- Teams are formed for a particular purpose while groups can exist as a matter of fact
- Team members, individual roles are specified while groups are much more informal
- Team members are aware of a set of people they collaborate while groups have personal relationships
- Teams members are usually performed orderly by use of a criteria but there is no formal criteria for forming a group
- Team members are inter-dependent while group members can entirely be disconnected from one another
- Teams require coordination of tasks and activities to achieve a shared goal while
groups don’t need to have focus on specific outcomes
Ways of establishing team identities
- Creating a team name
- Team rituals e.g symbolic actions
- Effective use of team meetings e.g setting specific date and time for the team
- Team logos and uniforms
- Core location of team of team members to specific working space
CHARACTERISTICS OF HIGH PERFORMING TEAMS
While recruiting team members that is project manager into the organizational by asking for volunteers to reduce conflict
a.When the project is high priority and critically to the future of the organisation select
people with the capacity that is required, ( Knowledge , skills )
b.When recruiting project team members remember project solving ability of members , availability , technologies expertise, credibility, ambition, initiative , energy , political
connection
c.High performing project teams should have performance measures set, that will be used to determine the level of performance. Such measures include :
Project success according to agreed standards
On time performance measures
On budget performance
Overall customer and donor satisfaction
Responsiveness and flexibility to customer requirement
Positioning the project for a future progress
A high performing team , is the team that that exerts energy toward problem solving rather than inter-personal issues or competitive struggles
This is a team where differences of opinions are encouraged and freely expressed
This is a team whereby members have set high personal standards of performance and encourage each other to realize the objectives of the project
It is a team where roles are balanced and shared to facilitate both accomplishment of tasks and feeling of team cohesion and morale
It is a team that identifies individual talents and expertise and uses them depending on the project needs
It encourages risk taking and creativity and views mistakes as opportunities for learning
STAGES IN TEAM DEVELOPMENT
The following are the stages in Project Team Development
1.Forming stage
In this stage, the members become acquainted with each other and become aware of individual behavior and exploit some of the do’s and don’ts.
2. Storming Stage
In this stage, conflict arises here and there among members when they disagree or tend to exert dominance. Such disagreements may arise over priorities goals or methods and sub groups may emerge within the team
Here the project manager must be focused and consistent in communicating the objective of the project and he task ahead of the team members
He / She should ensure that the conflict are resolved by sticking to he set guidelines.
3. Norming Stage
Once the disagreements, conflicts have been resolved and addressed, the team comes together, group unity emerges as the members establish common goals and norms under sense of cohesion, motivation and productivity begins to emerge.
4. Performing stage
The team now begins to function, everybody taking up their roles and responsibilities and moves towards accomplishing them. All members work cordially and responsibly willing to learn from each other. All the projects tasks are implimented and monitoring is continuously done to ensure successful completion of the project.
5. Adjourning stage
When the work is accomplished successful the group wraps up its act and focuses its performance to closure.
RESPONSIBILITIES OF A PROJECT TEAM MANAGER
Roles and duties of project Managers in developing high performing teams
- Recruiting team members who can perform
- Conducting meetings
- Establishing team identity
- Creating a common sense of purpose / Shared purpose
- Managing a reward system that encourages working system of the team
- Strengthen decision making
- Resolving conflicts in the project team
DUTIES OF A PROJECT TEAM
- Planning
- Coordination of activities
- Resource Mobilization
- Implementation of project activities
- Monitoring and evaluation
- Project risk management
- Project resource allocation
- Project procurement
