Category: Team Leadership

Introduction

Project management (PM) is an integral part of any organization since it allows the accomplishment of key goals and the successful introduction of improvements. A project is typically viewed as the process of attaining a particular goal (Munns and Bjeirmi 81). Project management (PM), in turn, can be interpreted as the set of tools and theories for coordinating the specified process (Munns and Bjeirmi 81). In other words, PM consists of using the available tools to plan, implement, and control the changes that lead to improvements.

Analysis

The significance of a project in PM can hardly be underrated. A project provides a layout of the key steps that need to be accomplished to meet the essential goals, as well as the structure according to which the key processes will be accomplished. Therefore, projects play a crucial role in PM as the means of determining the key objectives, assessing the available resources, defining the tools that can be used to enhance the value of the resources in question, locating the primary obstacles and avoiding them successfully, etc.

A theoretical perspective of the PM is a set of tools and assumptions used for modeling the stages of PM, as well as improving and coordinating the associated processes. Traditionally, the scope of PM is defined by the differences between the goals of a particular project and the tools that are used to attain the set objectives (Bryde 776). One should keep in mind that there is a range of theories that allow an explanation of the essential processes underlying PM. For instance, there is the Theory of Execution, which focuses on the implementation of the designed strategies, and the Theory of Controlling, which states that changes must be fully integrated into the organizational system and monitored closely, to name a few. (Koskela and Howell 7). The choice of a PM theory, in turn, defines the design of a PM strategy to a considerable extent.

As a rule, a strategy is considered to be a measure or a set of measures used to reach a certain goal. In other words, following a specific strategy implies carrying out a particular set of steps in accordance with the existing plan. A strategy must be designed prior to implement the actions that are intended to lead toward the goal. In PM, a strategy can be interpreted as the approach based on which the organizational issues and the relationships between the participants can be managed. The PMBOK guidelines are typically viewed as the framework for designing a PM strategy (Koskela and Howell 3).

The process of PM can be viewed from several perspectives, hence numerous frameworks including a different number of stages. For instance, PM may be split into conception, planning, production, handover, utilization, and closedown (Munns and Bjeirmi 84). As stressed above, the PMBOK framework is traditionally used to delineate a project strategy and carry out the proposed actions. In particular, the approach suggests that three key elements should be incorporated into the process: plans, their further corrections, and the implementation of changes (Koskela and Howell 4). Careful planning is crucial, and planners must follow the designed set of steps for implementation and introduce efficient control tools to create a sustainable environment (Koskela and Howell 5).

Since PM allows the introduction of improvements in an organization, it must be viewed as part and parcel of any business environment. PM requires a company to set its priorities straight, which provides an opportunity to achieve the required objectives. Therefore, PM tools must be included in the list of any company’s management techniques.

Works Cited

Bryde, David James. “Project Management Concepts, Methods, and Application.” International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 23, no. 7, 2003, pp. 775-793.

Koskela, Lauri J., and Gregory Howell. “The Underlying Theory of Project Management Is Obsolete.” Proceedings of the PMI Research Conference. PMI, 2002.

Munns, Andrew K., and Bassam F. Bjeirmi. “The Role of Project Management in Achieving Project Success.” International Journal of Project Management, vol. 14, no. 2, 1996, pp. 81-87.

Dictionary.com defines trust as “reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing” or “confident expectation of something”.

Thompson (2004) explains that trusting a person means that he or she will respect all commitments even though he or she is aware that no one is going to monitor or observe their behavior. By maintaining integrity, a person can ensure that he or she will be able to win the trust of others.

Karlsen et al (2008) explain that trust amongst team members makes them more cooperative. Also, trust encourages team members to share relevant information when required and allows them to be influenced by decisions and actions of others.

Trust cannot be developed within a day and usually it will take some time to develop. The reasons for not trusting could be various ranging from past bad experience, cultural differences, prejudice, office politics, and many other factors that influence the judgment. This means that the project team put together may not trust each other well enough and it is the duty of the project manager to build and sustain trust amongst team members to ensure that the project runs smoothly and ends up successfully.

Trust is essential not only amongst internal project team members but also external people that include the management, clients, vendors, etc. If the management and the client don’t trust that the project manager can handle the project well, then there are bound to be issues on the project. Hence, the project manager needs to build and sustain trust with the management, clients and all other stakeholders involved in the project.

One of the keys to building trust is open communication. This means project objectives need to be discussed openly and clearly. Also, any bad news needs to be communicated clearly. So if the project is behind schedule, all stakeholders need to know about it.

If more resources are required, the stakeholders need to be made aware of that. If there is little or no participation by stakeholders, then the project sponsor needs to be communicated. Clear and open communication keeping all stakeholders informed and involved appropriately helps people understand that bad news are not being hidden from them and that they can expect honest reports from the project manager.

Another important aspect to build trust is to define clear roles and responsibilities of all team members and communicate it to all stakeholders. This ensures that everyone knows what their activities and tasks would be and what their boundaries are. Clearly defined roles and responsibilities also mean that there will be less conflict amongst team members and that there will be no territorial bickering.

A project manager can also help build trust by encouraging fun and laughter in the team. If done appropriately and especially when under pressure, it would help bring the team together and build trust.

While it takes a long time to build trust, it can take hardly a second to break it. Therefore, it is essential that effort is put in by all concerned to sustain that trust. This means ensuring that confidential information is not disclosed even accidentally. All team members are involved in communications related to the project rather than informing just one or two people.

Micromanaging people should be avoided and each team member should be given liberty to complete his tasks within his boundaries. This would help sustain trust over a longer period of time. (Larson et al, 2006)

Reference List

Karlsen, J. T., Græe, K. & Massaoud, M. J. (2008). Building trust in project-stakeholder relationships. Baltic Journal of Management, 3, 7-22.

Larson, E. & Larson, R. (2006) How to Gather Business Requirements & Build Trust. Web.

Thompson, L. L. (2004). Making the Team: A Guide for Managers. NJ: Prentice Hall.

Introduction

The concept of teamwork at the workplace is practiced in many organizations. A team can be described as a group of people who depend on each other for skills and resources to enable them achieve a specific objective. Managers need special skills to manage various employees in the organization to enable them collaborate on specific tasks to achieve positive results. Managers need to make all their employees resourceful to ensure their output brings positive returns to the organization.

Concept of Teams

Managers should realize that teams are formed to achieve a collective objective where all members depend on each other to achieve it. Team members need to be given freedom to make their own decisions. This approach makes all members of a team to tolerate different opinions put forward by their colleagues.

All employees in an organization have different personalities and this has an impact on the way they share ideas (Burke and Cooper 57). Managers should structure their teams to accommodate all types of personality profiles to make them diverse and competent.

Teamwork helps organizations to achieve key goals which are part of their long term strategies. Effective team managemen helps business organizations to come up with new ideas which make them stay competitive in their chosen industries. Employees who are skilled in a variety of disciplines enable firm stay ahead of its competitors because they share their knowledge and skills with each other.

Managers need to monitor their teams to ensure their activities are in line with the firm’s strategic goals (Heneman and Greenberger). A manager should not interfere needlessly in team operations as this will affect the ability of members to think on their own.

Conditions That Determine Team Success

Managers need to know that there are several conditions which determine the success of workplace teams. The design of work place teams should conform to the overall context in which the organization transacts to make team members’ contributions valid and beneficial. The organizational culture should make team members more open to acquire new skills and information from each other to enable them move forward in a positive direction.

The knowledge acquired through collaboration between team members improves their ability to make decisions which have a bearing on the firm’s operations (Evans and Lindsay 97). Therefore, managers need to encourage team members to learn from one another to enable them stay focused on their objectives. Team members need to be open with each other to build strong relationships to make their team cohesive and progressive.

Team members need to learn conflict resolution and problem solving skills for them to be well prepared to deal with any challenges which may come their way. All members within a team should be willing to compromise so as to build consensus when making crucial decisions. Open communication between members enables them to set clear goals and how they are to be achieved.

Team members should share tasks between them so that everyone is allocated a specific responsibility to ensure that each individual acquires crucial knowledge on what needs to be done. Team leaders should help members set goals and monitor their performance (Jackson, Schuler and Werner 83). Therefore, this enables members to develop standards which guide their partipation within the team.

Building a Cohesive Team

It is important for activities which are done by work teams to be well coordinated. A workplace team needs to be productive to make it achieve its goals within stipulated time limits. Members should work well with each other to achieve their expectations. Tasks to be performed by each member should be well defined and aligned to strategic goals in the organization.

It is necessary for managers to decide how much decision making power teams should have in the beginning before they begin working on specific tasks. This will ensure that decisions made by team members are practical to make them easy to implement (Parker 45). Work place teams need to accommodate different employees and their skills to make them effective.

Members of work place teams need to come up with common codes of conduct, which they all must abide by. Codes of conduct help to maintain discipline in all procedures members are involved in to ensure they are in line with organizational expectations. Workplace teams need to do tasks which are well defined to make members more focused on what they need to achieve.

Members need to prioritize on the most important issues that need to be addressed which impact on internal operations within the organization (Sims 104). It is necessary for team members to make decisions which are only influenced by facts and not personal opinions.

In conclusion, workplace teams need to have creative members to ensure that they generate new ideas which impact positively on internal operations in the firm. All members should be assessed on their abilities to determine their contribution to the team. They should also be encouraged to participate in team work as this is the only they can learn new ideas.

References

Burke, Ronald J., and Cary L. Cooper. Reinventing Human Resources Management: Challenges And New Directions. New York: Routledge, 2005. Print.

Evans, James Robert, and William M. Lindsay. Managing for Quality and Performance Excellence. Mason: Cengage Learning, 2008. Print.

Heneman, Robert L., and David B. Greenberger. Human Resource Management in Virtual Organizations. London: Information Age Publishing, 2002.Print

Jackson, Susan E., Randall S. Schuler, and Steve Werner. Managing Human Resources. Mason: Cengage Learning, 2011. Print.

Parker, Glenn M. Team Players and Teamwork: New Strategies for Developing Successful Collaboration. New York, NY: Wiley, 2011. Print.

Sims, Ronald. Organizational Success Through Effective Human Resources Management. New York : Greenwood, 2002. Print.

Group work is one of the issues that continuously attract the attention of scholars and practitioners who attempt to develop ways of promoting cooperation within such groups. This task is of great relevance to different fields of human activity, for instance, one can mention business, education, or research. These videos indicate that there are several factors that are vital for the effective performance of different teams. In particular, one should focus on values, communication, leadership, responsibility, and ability to sacrifice some individual interests for the benefit of the group. This paper is aimed at discussing these factors in greater detail. It seems that all of them are equally important, and leader should consider them while taking their decisions.

One of the most important conditions is the presence of shared values. People, who are involved in group work, should have common goals or priorities (Cotterill, 2012, p. 29). These values have to guide their efforts and unite them at the time when it is necessary to overcome challenges or resolve difficult problems (Bouncken, 2002, p. 31). In some cases, it is the task of a leader to identify the goals and priorities that individuals have in common (Woodcock & Francis, 2008, p. 16). Without this factor, even the most skilled professionals can fail to achieve their goals, in part because they will have a different perception of organizational goals and duties. This is one of the main elements that should be taken into account by researchers and business administrators.

Apart from that, these videos suggest that team members should be willing to sacrifice some of their interests for the sake of the team. The individuals should know that their needs should not overweigh the needs of the team. One should not suppose that these people have to compromise some of their ethical principles. For example, in some cases, team members have to spend some of their leisure time on the tasks that the group should do. Thus, one can say that commitment is vital for good performance of groups. Provided that it is not present the team will experience significant difficulties during those periods when they have to work on time-consuming and challenging projects.

Additionally, these videos suggest that the success of the teams is hardly possible in whose cases when leaders do not promote cooperation among the individuals (Margerison, 2002). The problem is that very often, leaders prefer to be the only decision-makers without engaging the team into discussions. Sometimes, they simply prefer to impose their decisions on others. Again, one can say that the competence of employees may not be sufficient for achieving good results because a single person may not see every dimension of a certain problem or task. This is one of the main arguments that can be made. In turn, leaders should be able to avoid these pitfalls.

Another factor that should not be overlooked is the communication within teams. It should be noted that these teams should be responsive to the changes in the external environment (Lumsden, 2009). Therefore, the leaders should ensure the timely exchange of information within the groups. This argument is particularly relevant to large organizations that sometimes become less agile as they grow. Nevertheless, there is another aspect that should be considered. The teams are composed of people who have diverse opinions, attitudes, and skills. Decision-making in such teams can be effective only in those cases when each team member can openly express his/her ideas (DuBrin, 2008, p. 164).

In some cases, the leader has to encourage people to discuss the issues that they deem important. This issue is particularly relevant in those situations when a person has to say something that contradicts the opinions of the majority (Scholtes, 2003, p. 7). One of the pitfalls that managers need to be aware of is groupthink or the situation when people are reluctant to disagree with opinions of the majority. This is why the importance of communication should be overlooked by business administrators and scholars who examine the functioning of teams.

Finally, one should remember that a team can better attain its goals, if people can take responsibility for their actions and recognize their mistakes. Nevertheless, other members of the teams should be able to help those people who experience difficulties due to some reasons. This behavior is also critical for success. Such attitude is vital for the cooperation within teams. Provided that leaders do not consider these issues, their team will hardly attain the expected results.

These examples suggest that the work of a team depends on several factors. Among them, one can distinguish the following aspects: 1) the presence or absence of common goals; 2) the willingness of individuals to sacrifice some of their interests; 3) the leadership skills of people; 4) ability of people to take responsibility for their actions, and 5) communication within such groups. As a rule, it is the responsibility of leaders to make sure that these factors are present. The elements discussed in this paper are not the only factors that contribute to the success of teams. Yet, they are most critical ones.

Reference List

Bouncken, R. (2002). Knowledge Management in Hospitality and Tourism. New York: Routledge.

Cotterill, S. (2012). Team Psychology in Sports: Theory and Practice. New York: Routledge.

DuBrin, A. (2008). Essentials of Management. New York: Cengage Learning.

Lumsden, G. (2009). Communicating in Groups and Teams: Sharing Leadership. New York: Cengage Learning.

Margerison, C. (2002). Team Leadership. New York: Cengage Learning EMEA.

Scholtes, P. (2003). The Team Handbook. Philadelphia: Oriel Incorporated Woodcock, M., & Francis, D. (2008). Team Metrics. Boston: Human Resource Development.

Importance of Team Building

Nowadays, there are many reasons why companies are eager to build diverse teams and use the skills and abilities of different people to meet the same organizational goals. Diverse teams could produce good results in case they are properly led. Therefore, leaders have to understand their roles when they create teams, combine skills, and identify needs. Besides, they have to comprehend the reasons why diversity could help companies to succeed. Globalization is one of the main factors of why so many organizations focus on team building and cultural diversity, and sociologists offer many effective theories to underline the importance of diversity in team building.

Theoretical Approaches in Team Building and Leadership

Social comparison theory is a significant approach to comprehend how teams should be built and developed. It focuses on individuals and their abilities to share their opinions and knowledge. Festinger proposed to use such a theory as a chance for people to use various comparative references and apply them to different situations to reduce the differences and come to the same powerful conclusion (Yeager and Nafukho 391).

The strongest point of this theory is that employees themselves try to complete a kind of comparative self-evaluation to comprehend if they are ready to join a team, if their skills and knowledge are not enough to be an effective part of a team and if they really strive to be a part of the chosen team.

A leader should learn how to succeed in uniting people with different tastes and abilities. The opinions of all people should be considered in the same way with the same portion of respect. Every leader should understand the possible types of differences that may be observed during the work on some global projects. The scheme of cultural dimensions developed by Hofstede is one of the possible sources to rely on and measure the relations that could be developed (Binder 25). The dimensions include power distance, individualism vs. collectivism, masculinity vs. femininity, uncertainty avoidance, long-term vs. short-term orientation, and indulgence vs. restraint (Binder 25).

Pros and Cons of Cultural Dimensions

All these differences have certain potential benefits and challenges that can be observed in diverse team organizations. Such outcomes as various optimal solutions offered by different people, the possibility to provide customers with different services in regards to their cultural expectations, the opportunities to communicate effectively with different customers, and constant and, what is more important, the free exchange of knowledge and experience can be defined as the main advantages of work in diverse teams.

At the same time, leaders should think about the threats of diverse teams such as complicated interpersonal relations that could be hardly controlled by leaders, language or cultural differences that could not be accepted by all members, different time zones that could prevent effective communication, and possible resistance to changes.

Hints for Leaders of Diverse Teams

There are many ways of how leaders could succeed in building diverse teams. Today, a number of companies prefer diversity as a powerful trend to create interesting ideas and services and unite people from different parts of the world. The example of Devin Wenig, CEO of E-Bay, may teach people about the importance of considering the diversity of people and their opportunities and use them as soon as some decisions should be made by people to complete their functions.

People may have various dreams and face various challenges to make their dreams come true. Therefore, good leaders have to understand the needs of people and check if it is possible to meet them using the opportunities available. Gender differences, financial incomes, and personal traumas may bother every person. At the same time, a good leader should turn into a psychologist who tries to solve personal problems. A leader in a diverse team is a person who knows about their people and understands what can be done to change the situation and use the strengths of one person to cover the weakness of another person.

Conclusion

In general, a diverse team is a chance for organizations to become strong and effective in the chosen industry. The presence of people with different background and knowledge is a wonderful opportunity for a company to become competitive and productive. The only thing that should be taken into consideration is the presence of a good leader who knows how to unite people and use all their opportunities for good.

Works Cited

Binder, Jean. Global Project Management: Communication, Collaboration and Management across Borders. New York: CRC Press, 2016. Print.

Yeager, Katherine, L. and Frederick M. Nafukho. “Developing Diverse Teams to Improve Performance in Organizational Setting.” European Journal of Training and Development 36.4 (2012): 388-408.

Organizations use different methods to evaluate the individual performance of employees and create new effective programs for training and personal development. 360-degree feedback, peer-review, can be used as a key method of individual performance evaluation as it covers all important points of performance from broad environment. The four important steps are self-evaluation, peer review, direct reports and manager’s evaluation. Despite this opportunity, managers still have a long way to go in all parts of the organization. The role of 360-degree feedback may prove important.

360-degree feedback allows management to evaluate and analyze positive and negative factors of work, culture and motivation of an employee. Previously, managers cannot expect meaningful feedback. Organizations just have an appraisal process but it was very constricted (Baron and Kreps 1999). As part of the cultural initiative modern organizations have an opportunity to introduce 360-degree feedback, but, more significantly, management and performance evaluation is structured around the values. Employees are now being evaluated by supervisors, peers, and subordinates on whether they are demonstrating the principles in their daily practices. Initially, employees were very doubtful and uncertain to engage in the process. Most of the employees did not trust the evaluation process as it was anonymous and there was cynicism about whether it would really result in pheromone improvement (Armstrong and Baron 32).

In spite of cultural and religious differences, 360-degree feedback is very effective as it involves independent sources of evaluation and provides a manager with overall analysis of the performance. 360-degree feedback to the employees on their job performance can have a important outcome, but much depends on such issues as the nature of the comment, who or what provides the opinion, and the receptivity of the employee (Simon 2007). During the employee’s evaluation, managers should place heavy trust on feedback to help the employee’s learning–and justifiably so. If the, 360-degree feedback is received from the task, an obligation is that the employee believes that it is in response to his or her own practices and behavior and does not represent the effect of what his peers do. 360-degree feedback from self may vary in regard to knowledge, which in turn may vary with professionalism or age. It would clearly be risky to allow employees to serve as their own main source of feedback if they lacked experience. Interfering practices between response and delayed feedback–highly likely in a work environment–can adversely affect improvements (Baron and Kreps 1999).

The problem for the manager is more difficult when team performance is poor and negative feedback is given. In such situations, 360-degree feedback should be given to the team as a whole. This will lead to the situation when the team members respond to feedback in terms of commitment to team goals, interest in the team task, or attraction to the team. There can be one member in a team to whom people never gave feedback. Having these employees share their feedback and ask their peers for help in living the values is a dramatic event for the team (Armstrong and Baron 32).

In sum, 360-degree feedback is the most effective tool of modern management as it allows managers to save time and resources usually spent on information gathering and investigations. In a practical sense, a manager will not be not greatly concerned about feedback if the team performance is good, although attributing team outcomes to the acts of individual employees, so important to learning, may be difficult to pin down or measure and may therefore be largely ignored and individual motivation may suffer greatly.

References

Armstrong M., Baron A. (eds.) (2002). The job evaluation handbook. Eds. Institute of Personnel and Development.

Baron, J., Kreps, K. (1999). Strategic Human Resources; Frameworks for General Managers. Wiley; 1 edition.

Simon, H.A. (2007). Administrative Behavior, 4th Edition. Free Press; 4 Sub edition.

The situation with new managers overseeing their teams can be quite overwhelming. They need to understand that if they want to advance in their management career, they will be required to demonstrate good use of a well-honed set of skills. Therefore, this memo highlights essential skills the managers will have to acquire or hone. In the end, they will be prepared for any challenges or difficulties.

Managers will be expected to balance various duties and show organizational abilities. They will be responsible for managing their workload, supervising the performance of others, attending meetings, and conducting evaluations. Poor work habits, procrastination, and a lack of organization will not be tolerated and will set a poor example for their employees (Alam, 2018). Therefore, organizational skills will help new managers to minimize tension, save time, and guarantee that crucial deadlines are reached.

Additionally, they will be responsible for identifying and resolving difficulties and challenges every day in a management position. This necessitates exceptional attention to every detail and the capacity to remain patient under stress. When difficulties emerge, they will need to think quickly to ensure that their team is efficient and that the process runs perfectly (Alam, 2018). Creative thinking will assist them in developing unique ideas that will prevent a negative impact on their team and the organization.

Lastly, they will have to build trust with their staff so that the latter feel more comfortable providing information. To keep communication open, they will have be accessible and available to the staff to discuss any concerns or questions that may emerge (Alam, 2018). In this situation, holding daily or weekly team meetings will help. Regular meetings will help build exemplary communication, prevent problems, and possibly lead to new ideas.

A strict line should be drawn between a manager and teammates in this situation. A manager will have to understand that there are specific differences between leading and managing. While leading means to motivate and enable others to contribute to success, managing means to control the employees and the environment, while solving the problems that might arise.

As a result, by improvising the situations with the attendees of the training programme, the new managers will differentiate between efficient and non-efficient techniques. Moreover, it will help them build or strengthen character and have a clear-cut idea of possible situations. At the end of each session, they will be required to speak out on the essential concepts of the meeting.

References

Alam, J. (2018). Developing strategic management and leadership skills. GRIN Verlag.