Foster Teamwork and Results through Project Management
Foster Teamwork and Results through Project Management
There are essentially two forms of project team. The first is the dedicated project team, where the organization sets up a group where all, or most, of the team members are wholly dedicated to managing the project. This is a common occurrence in large organizations that must manage technological projects and where accountabilities are critical, such as infrastructure development, defence weapons acquisition and development, and aircraft development. In some cases, organizations
set up dedicated project teams to implement "soft" projects. While this is fairly common in the public sector, it is rarer in the private sector.
Much more common for managing projects are the ad hoc project team. This is for a number of reasons. Firstly, most organizations cannot afford to dedicate personnel to projects on a full-time basis. Secondly, many projects - if not most - are not big or complex enough to demand dedicated full-time management. With that said, there is usually just enough complexity to require cross-functional expertise and integration. In that case, the best approach is to create teams of individuals with functional expertise and responsibilities who meet on a regular basis to plan, develop and implement a project. When the approach is more formalized, it is often referred to as "matrix management", where each functional area of the organization is responsible in an explicit manner for a project function. On the other hand, any time an organization creates a cross-functional team under a single project manager, we can say that it has implemented an ad hoc approach to project management.
This leads to the second component: project leadership. This is perhaps the most overlooked aspect of project management. You can have all the fancy Gantt and CPM charts in the world, but if the project manager can't lead people, then it is all for nothing. Effective project managers must be capable of leading and motivating ad hoc teams of experts and specialists from various departments and functional areas, each of which may have their own agenda or assumptions about project success. These skills are generic, which is why it is more important to select and develop the right leaders for projects, more than any technical aspects of the discipline.
Ad hoc project teams under good leadership can be highly effective and efficient at implementing initiatives. Whether it is for new product development or to introduce cultural change, project teams can be used to foster better internal communication, better focus on performance-based outcomes, faster development cycles, and less internal friction. This list is impressive, but this type of approach can require significant cultural and organizational change.
This is not something that can be implemented solely by the HR department without buy in from across the company or organization. HR does have a role to play, primarily in supporting the approach and, perhaps, providing some training. But the main initiative and leadership must come straight from the top. Consequently, the senior executive team should view themselves as a project team and start breaking down functional barriers themselves. It is quite normal for department heads to speak for their own, but the needs of the organization as a whole must come first. If they set the proper example, the chances that any ad hoc project teams that are set up will work are much higher.
All of this requires a dedicated effort at cultural change and organizational development. There may be a significant requirement for training and reallocation of personnel, although this would not necessarily be the case. The important thing is not to assume that everyone will automatically know what is required of them. These types of skills must be fostered through education and constant reinforcement, and may also require modifications to HR policies and practices.
On the other hand, project management and project teams are essentially an operational matter for any company or organization. They are the best way to convey the idea that it isn't "business as usual". Business processes must be examined and possibly modified to support the new approach. Needless to say, this may also have an impact on compensation and other aspects of performance management. With that said, the return on investment is potentially significant in terms of shorter decision and implementation cycles, greater cooperation, more focused allocation of resources, and better teamwork.
Foster Teamwork and Results through Project Management - To learn more about this author, visit Richard Martin's Website.
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Needless to say, the failure to capitalize on quickly developing competitive opportunities and demand for products and services can lead to poor business results and lost market share. This is where a project based approach can come into play. Projects are organizational initiatives designed to focus managerial effort and organizational/financial resources. While there are a number of conceptual models to identify, evaluate, develop and implement projects, the real crux of the issue is to create effective project teams. This involves two components: project leadership and team composition. Let's address the latter topic first.
There are essentially two forms of project team. The first is the dedicated project team, where the organization sets up a group where all, or most, of the team members are wholly dedicated to managing the project. This is a common occurrence in large organizations that must manage technological projects and where accountabilities are critical, such as infrastructure development, defence weapons acquisition and development, and aircraft development. In some cases, organizations
set up dedicated project teams to implement "soft" projects. While this is fairly common in the public sector, it is rarer in the private sector.
Much more common for managing projects are the ad hoc project team. This is for a number of reasons. Firstly, most organizations cannot afford to dedicate personnel to projects on a full-time basis. Secondly, many projects - if not most - are not big or complex enough to demand dedicated full-time management. With that said, there is usually just enough complexity to require cross-functional expertise and integration. In that case, the best approach is to create teams of individuals with functional expertise and responsibilities who meet on a regular basis to plan, develop and implement a project. When the approach is more formalized, it is often referred to as "matrix management", where each functional area of the organization is responsible in an explicit manner for a project function. On the other hand, any time an organization creates a cross-functional team under a single project manager, we can say that it has implemented an ad hoc approach to project management.
This leads to the second component: project leadership. This is perhaps the most overlooked aspect of project management. You can have all the fancy Gantt and CPM charts in the world, but if the project manager can't lead people, then it is all for nothing. Effective project managers must be capable of leading and motivating ad hoc teams of experts and specialists from various departments and functional areas, each of which may have their own agenda or assumptions about project success. These skills are generic, which is why it is more important to select and develop the right leaders for projects, more than any technical aspects of the discipline.
Ad hoc project teams under good leadership can be highly effective and efficient at implementing initiatives. Whether it is for new product development or to introduce cultural change, project teams can be used to foster better internal communication, better focus on performance-based outcomes, faster development cycles, and less internal friction. This list is impressive, but this type of approach can require significant cultural and organizational change.
This is not something that can be implemented solely by the HR department without buy in from across the company or organization. HR does have a role to play, primarily in supporting the approach and, perhaps, providing some training. But the main initiative and leadership must come straight from the top. Consequently, the senior executive team should view themselves as a project team and start breaking down functional barriers themselves. It is quite normal for department heads to speak for their own, but the needs of the organization as a whole must come first. If they set the proper example, the chances that any ad hoc project teams that are set up will work are much higher.
All of this requires a dedicated effort at cultural change and organizational development. There may be a significant requirement for training and reallocation of personnel, although this would not necessarily be the case. The important thing is not to assume that everyone will automatically know what is required of them. These types of skills must be fostered through education and constant reinforcement, and may also require modifications to HR policies and practices.
On the other hand, project management and project teams are essentially an operational matter for any company or organization. They are the best way to convey the idea that it isn't "business as usual". Business processes must be examined and possibly modified to support the new approach. Needless to say, this may also have an impact on compensation and other aspects of performance management. With that said, the return on investment is potentially significant in terms of shorter decision and implementation cycles, greater cooperation, more focused allocation of resources, and better teamwork.
Foster Teamwork and Results through Project Management - To learn more about this author, visit Richard Martin's Website.
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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