Project Management 2.0

Situation: Ya need something casual to wear that makes a PM statement.

I just noticed on facebook that PMI is promoting a new set of T's.  Here's the announcement and link -

Show off your project management pride! Reward your favorite project team members with new T-shirts from PMI! 

“Project Management” t-shirt: A colorful globe design sets off the words “Project Management” in several different languages.

‘Project Managers Do It With Standards” t-shirt: Give your fellow project managers a good chuckle when you wear this trendy t-shirt, which features a silhouette holding A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide). Select from a male or a female silhouette.

‘Rome Wasn’t Built in a Day. They Should’ve Hired a PMP” t-shirt: For team members with a PMP® credential.

Of course, I tend to favor our gantthead T's - but I think it's great that you now have more PM fashion options.

If you're interested, the PMI shirts can be found here.

Our t-shirts are of course, in the gantthead shop.  You also get a free one if you sign up for a Premium Plus Membership.

Here's a few of them...

Situation: Team members keep stumbling over simple, common sense, standard practices.

A Team Operating Agreement seems like overkill for a lot of us. I've personally seen dozens of these over the last several years and many are just a fluffy box-checking exercise.  The whole this seems a bit much until you've been through the painful process of constantly reminding people how they should be working together. At some point you have to ask yourself - what's the least ridiculous option?  Do you keep telling people what you think is just common sense or do you work with them to spell out a set of rules that make sense to everyone?

Yesterday we went through the process of updating the TOA template we have here on gantthead (usually available only to premium plus members, but freely available to all registered members through 1/15/2012) and we added a few items that you see listed in bold below.

• Ownership of project outcomes
• Ownership of specific outcomes
• What we value
• How we make decisions
• How we communicate
• How we work through problems
• How we express our commitments

In my opinion all of these things are important, but as it is with so many other things, the more important part is not the document - but the process of having built it collaboratively.  It's that collaborative process that gets you real buy-in to the principles you lay out in the agreement.  The signature is just a formality.

If you have a moment, come take a look at the new version of our template and let us know what you think.  

What do you think should be in a Team Operating Agreement?  What's a waste of time? How do you make the collaborative process of building the document work?

Situation: You need to get people more in sync.

Recently, I interviewed Harlan Bridges on one of his chapter in Project Pain Reliever entitled, "My team isn't really a team". I asked him a few questions about how you get people to recognize the problem.  Then we dropped in a condensed version of the solution from the book. 

Dave:  In your experience, how do project managers find themselves in this situation?  What triggers the realization that they need help?

Harlan:  Project managers can find themselves in this position for many reasons. Some of these happen when:

• the team's purpose, it's reason for existence, is not clearly defined
• there is no team identity
• the team members do not agree on the goals and objectives
• the team members are not used to working as a team or with each other
• there is a lack of clear communication
• there is a lack of clear expectations 

Some obvious ways that people figure out that they are not on a cohesive team are:

• everyone working more as a group of individuals doing individual activities than as a coordinated team
• a lack of cohesion
• conflicts between team members
• unclear roles
• a lack of respect for each other or the Project Manager

Dave:  How do you help them connect what they perceive as their problem to the solution you outline in your Project Pain Reliever chapter?

Harlan:  I work with the PM to look for the warning signs of a lack of teamwork. If they are present and pervasive, there are ways to find root causes and solutions. 

I will ask questions such as these in an attempt to find out the root causes a lack of teamwork.

• Are the people on the team the "right" people?
• Do the team members have a clear and complete understanding of the goals and objectives of the team?
• How is communication being handled within the team?
• Is there an established team identity?
• Are conflicts work related or personal in nature?

Dave:  What skills will the Project Manager need to resolve this project problem?

Harlan:  The most important skills are those of observation, communication, and leadership. Practice observing the interactions of the team members. Look for signs of disrespect towards team members as well as tendencies to marginalize people or their contributions. Communication is key. The most important skill in communication is the ability to listen. The project manager most learn to deal with conflict effectively. Do not avoid conflict, but rather work to determine the cause of the conflict. Seeking advice of others who have a track record of successful team building is a good method for overcoming a skill gap. Course in leadership as well as self-learning activities can also be of help.

In some cases, the teams may be beyond help. It is possible that the team is so miss-matched that it will not function well. That is why getting the right people on the team is critical to success. I have had the misfortune of working with such a team. In spite of my best efforts, I had to replace one of the members of the team to end the turmoil. Though not my desired solution, it did solve the problem and my team became a successful team afterwards.

Dave:  How do you motivate them to action?

Harlan:  In these situations, projects are usually not meeting milestones or other expectations. It's a self-motivating situation. There is often a great deal of stress for all involved and the trick is painting a clear picture of the cost of failure.

This stress of belonging to a low-performing team by itself is usually a strong motivator to take action. The alternative is a vicious downward cycle which is untenable for all involved. 

So how do you build a strong team?

(excerpt from Project Pain Reliever)

As the project manager, you have the responsibility for developing and leading cohesive teams. Remember that you are not so much managing a project as leading a team of people who must come together to achieve the goals of the project. Often, people are part of a functional unit within the business and do not directly report to you. You will have to establish yourself as a leader and mold the individuals into a team. What can you do to create cohesive, successful teams?

First, you need to understand the characteristics of a successful team. Then you can create an environment that helps the team take on those characteristics. These characteristics include:

• The right people on the team
• Respect for every member of the team
• Well-defined roles and responsibilities
• Clear and honest communication
• Understood and agreed upon project goals
• Team ownership of project goals
• Team responsibility for the success of the project

What should I do?

As project manager, you need to start laying the foundation for effective teamwork by creating an environment where people can work together effectively.

Get the right people

In order to get the right people, you need to develop a resource plan. A resource plan requires that you identify and understand the work to be done, at least at a high level. This will identify the type of personnel required and will help you to recognize skills and abilities required to complete the work. Use the resource plan to begin identifying the resources for your team.

Effective teams require the right people. There are many factors to be considered when choosing team members, such as:

• Do they have the skills required to complete the work?
• Do they have the capacity to work on the project, and do they have the time?
• Do they have the ability to effectively work with others?
• What is their position within the organization, and do they have the right level of influence?
• Are they results oriented?

In most organizations, project team members are part-time teams. They usually have to split time between their regular job and project work. In order to reduce conflicts between their different responsibilities, work closely with the team member’s functional manager. Come to an agreement with the functional manager on terms such as availability, dealing with emergencies, and time away from their usual duties.

Create a team identity

Project team members are often from different functional areas or departments within the organization. They identify themselves as members of that organization and that team. A project requires them to leave their “home” team and play for someone else’s team. Who is that new team? If they do not know, it is difficult to feel loyal to, or a part of, a new team.

Once you have identified your team members and brought them together, begin creating a team identity. Involve the members in this. Here are some activities that can help:

• Choose a team name, perhaps the project name or a nickname.
• Develop a team logo.
• If budget allows, order team shirts or coffee mugs, etc.
• Announce the new team to the organization; be sure to list the team members.
• Create a project web site on the company intranet.

Once you have established the team identity, use it often. Refer to the team by the team’s new identity.

Develop a team operating agreement (TOA), aka team charter

Once you have determined your team identity, it’s time to create the team operating agreement (TOA) or team charter. Include the entire team in the development of the TOA to ensure that everyone buys into it and has ownership. The TOA provides the ground rules and guidelines the team will use to work together in an effective manner during the project. It can include anything the team believes must be addressed in order to work together. Some typical items included are:

• Team communication rules and expectations
• Decision making procedures
• What meetings will be held and ground rules for conducting meetings
• Roles and responsibilities
• Personal courtesies and how the team interacts with each other

Upon completion of the team operating agreement, every team member as well as the project manager should sign it indicating their agreement. The TOA is a living document and should be revised as needs arise.

Define project goals and objectives

The project goals and objectives are defined in the project charter. You have one, right? The project sponsor and the project manager usually jointly develop the project charter. They will work together to define the goals and objectives of the project, as well as the project success criteria. This document drives the scope of the project.

Use the project charter to help the team understand what is expected of them and of the project. As project manager, it is your responsibility to ensure the team has a clear understanding of project goals, objectives, and scope. Your team must know what success looks like in the eyes of the project sponsor. The project charter should also clarify how the project fits into the strategy of the organization. This will help the team understand the importance and relativity of the work they are doing.

Use leadership strategies

The most important aspect of team building is effective leadership from the project manager. The project manager is ultimately responsible for creating effective and successful teams. Some project managers are naturally charismatic, and people seem to want to do their best for them. Most of us do not have that gift. So how can the rest of us be effective leaders? Fortunately, although leadership entails many skills, these skills can be learned.

Practice effective communication

Become an effective communicator and always be honest in your dealings with the team. Learn to listen. Communication is your most effective tool in dealing with people. A simple rule is to tell your team everything about the project unless there is a valid reason for not doing so. Don’t manage with a “need to know” attitude but rather a “why shouldn’t they know” attitude.

Organize the team’s work in such a way that team members are mutually depen- dent and recognize it. This will produce a strong impetus for the group to become a team. Encourage a problem solving orientation in the team. Associate project suc- cess with teamwork and lack of teamwork with project failure.

Create rewards and recognition

Set up a system of rewards and recognition for your team. A good technique is to create a way that team members can nominate other members for rewards or rec- ognition. This fosters camaraderie and avoids the perception of favoritism. Present rewards and recognition at team meetings and consider inviting the team member’s functional manager to present the award. Post it on the project’s web site.

Manage conflict effectively

It is not possible to eliminate conflict from projects. How the project manager deals with conflict will determine whether conflict is harmful to the team and the proj- ect. In fact, controlled conflict can result in beneficial effects, such as thinking in a new way, coming up with novel solutions, and encouraging creative thinking. But unmanaged or unresolved conflict usually leads to problems.

Often you will have to become a negotiator between the team members in con- flict. This requires good listening skills and a bit of detection on your part. You must find the root cause of the conflict before you can address it. Work with all parties to the conflict to create a solution. In other words, help your team members find a solution. Don’t solve their problem, but support them in finding a resolution.

Empower your teams

Empowering others requires a level of trust on your part. Encourage the team to make decisions and find solutions to problems. It is your job to support the team in its work. Project managers with strong leadership skills trust their teams to do what’s right. Micromanagement is a team killer. You have selected a team for their expertise and ability to do the work. Trust them to do so. Your job is to clear their path of obstacles to project success and to provide them with all they need to do their jobs.

Situation: You need to get people working together a bit better.

Recently, I interviewed Gina Abudi on one of her chapters in Project Pain Reliever entitled, "My team spends more time arguing than working". I asked her a few questions about how you get people to recognize the problem.  Then we dropped in a condensed version of the solution from the book. 

Dave:  In your experience, how do project managers find themselves in this situation?  What triggers the realization that they need help?

Gina:  Usually project managers find themselves in this situation when the problem becomes obvious to nearly everyone within the project team or working with the team in some way. It’s apparent that help is needed when project begins to go downhill: milestones are missed, stakeholders are unhappy, quality is poor, etc. Arguing is a fact of life and every team has arguments. What matters is how the project manager gets the team past this stage and to a point where they are working together effectively. 

Dave:  How do you help them connect what they perceive as their problem to the solution you outline in your Project Pain Reliever chapter?

Gina:  I find that helping project managers understand how teams work is essential. I ask them about their team and the relationships team members have with each other. I ask them question such as:

·       How did you first “kick off” the project team?

·       How did you help your team get to know each other?

·       What did you do when you team first began having issues?

·       How much do you know about your team members?

The project manager begins to understand that her limited knowledge about the team and her lack of “the right management at the right time” has an impact on how the team works together.

Dave:  What skills will they need to resolve this project problem?

Gina:  They must be able to work with team members individually and as a group to help them transition from stage 1 of team development through to stage 3/4. They need to set aside time for the team to become familiar and comfortable with each other. This requires skills in:

·       Team leadership

·       Communication

·       Problem solving

·       Influencing others

Any project manager must have strong team leadership skills to be effective in their role. Those that are not interested in their team and getting them team to a point where they are working effectively will be unable to be effective in their role.

Dave:  How do you motivate them to action?

Gina: The project failing is usually a good motivator. Often, also, the desire to be “liked” and for others to want to work with you is a motivator. If you are not a good leader (project manager) - it is unlikely that people (team members) will want to work with you. I find that by helping them to understand the benefits of spending time up front in team building and enabling the team to get to know each other, it is time well spent that will overall reduce arguments and improve project success. 

So how do you bring everyone together?

(excerpt from Project Pain Reliever)

Understand the stages of team development

First, step back and consider the five stages of team development. The first four stages were known as “Tuckman’s Stages.” The stages were developed by Bruce Tuckman and published in 1965. In 1977, Tuckman and Mary Ann Jensen, added a fifth stage, “Adjourning.” Let’s discuss the first four stages, which is what you need to understand in order to get your team working well together:

• Stage 1, Forming. The team first meets each other in this stage.
• Stage 2, Storming. Team members begin to work together and compete with each other for status and acceptance of their ideas.
• Stage 3, Norming. The team begins to work effectively as a team, no longer focused on their own goals, but rather on developing a way to work together effectively and efficiently.
• Stage 4, Performing. The team is functioning at a very high level and focused on reaching the goals of the group as a whole.

By understanding how teams work together and move through these four stages to reach high performance, you will be better equipped to get your team working together. Remember that some teams never make it to Stage 4, high performing, and stay at Stage 3, norming. Additionally, changes on the team could move a team that is performing in the “norming” stage back to “storming.” The project manager will need to be aware of changes that move a team back, and help them move forward as quickly as possible. Understanding the stages of team development enables you to be more effective as a project manager.

Teams may move back and forth between stages as changes occur that affect how the team works; for example, new members join, someone leaves, the project scope changes, a team member develops personal prob- lems, or other reasons occur. A team may move from norming back to storming, performing back to storming, norming back to forming, etc. In many cases, the team can get back to where they were fairly quickly. As the project manager, it is your responsibility to understand how teams function, and where you are needed to step in and assist them to keep moving in the right direction.

Resolve your team problem

Take these steps to resolve your problem of the team not working well together.

1. Step back so the team can begin to build relationships with each other.

You may already have individual relationships with some of the team members based on working together on past projects. If you do, use what you know about the team members to understand what is going on within the team. Use those relation- ships to call on team members to understand what is happening.

This team needs to spend some time getting to know each other and learning about each other so they are comfortable working together. It is possible that, prior to the project starting, the team did not have the opportunity to meet and get to know each other. This should be done now, but not in an hour or two; the more dif- ficulty that exists with the team working together, the more time needs to be spent in team building. Consider an entire day for a team that is working together poorly: You need to do some serious team building and issue resolution. This is important and needs to be fit into your schedule. You and the entire project team need to be together to start to build relationships and work together. Think about:

• Have any team members worked together before? If so, get them together and ask them what they found helpful when they first worked together?
• Are some members trying to reach out to the others? If so, get them in- volved in getting the team to work well together. They may have some good ideas!
• What are the personalities of the various team members? Are they shy and quite? Outgoing and loud? This may help you understand some of the is- sues you are facing.
• What are your options for getting the team together face-to-face for a couple of hours for a team building event? If not possible, when the team is virtual, think about your options for getting them together virtually through Web conferencing or other means. Ideally, you may have access to a virtual platform; if not, use a conference call, but definitely get everyone together. Some possibilities to consider are:
  • Breakfast or lunch get-together (if the team members are all in one location)
  • An “after hours” get-together (if the team members are all in one location)
  • A virtual get-together where the team is still able to see each other via cameras on their computers
  • A conference call get-together Even if the team is getting together via a conference call, a teambuilding event is possible. Some possibilities to consider include:
    • Presentations by team members about themselves: backgrounds, past projects, hobbies and interests, etc.
    • Use of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.
    • Various team building exercises. There are many team-building exercise books available, along with lots of information about team building exercises on the Internet.

Think about who you may want to bring from outside the project team to direct the team building. Maybe the project sponsor or a client could run a session? Maybe a neutral party, like a team-building consultant could help facilitate team building exercises?

Prior to the team meeting, ask the team to bring to the meeting their concerns about the project. What are the issues they are facing on the project, or otherwise, that is making it difficult for them to work together well? Do not short change the team building event as it will help strengthen the team, but also include discussion around team issues as they must be resolved to ensure success on the project. Make sure that problems and issues are brought to the forefront so they can be addressed and resolved. Prior to the get-together, make sure the team is aware that one discus- sion will be focused on the fact that the team is not working well together, and you want ideas from them as to how to improve the team as a whole. That way, team members can prepare to bring their best, positive ideas forward and make the most of their time together.

2. Come prepared on the day of the team meeting.

You have seen how the team is not working well together. In addition to team build- ing exercises, devote sufficient time to listing all of the team issues (no names nec- essary) that are having a negative effect on the project and focus discussion on the resolution of those issues. If others brought issues to your attention outside of the project, bring them up. However, this is not the time to point fingers or blame. As the project manager, it is up to you to keep frustrations at a minimum and keep the group moving in the right direction. This isn’t easy. You may find bringing in a facili- tator will help greatly here.

If problems are related to the scope of the project, disagreement around the proj- ect goals, etc., you may want to bring in your project sponsor to assist. It is important that the team works well together, so do not be afraid to call on others to help you get the team back on track. If issues are around individuals not pulling their weight and completing their tasks, or not showing up for team meetings, get the issue out on the table.

Make sure you have someone available to capture information to share after the meeting (note taker).

Once all issues are voiced, and the team has agreed those are the issues, the meet- ing should focus on discussions around why the issues are taking place and what can be done to resolve or move past them. -At this point, ask the team: What would help to get everyone to the meetings on time? What would help to ensure you can complete tasks in a timely manner? Be sure to capture all information. You may need help from others. For example, if you find out that some team members can- not complete their tasks on time because their immediate supervisor pulls them to work on other projects; that is an issue that will need to be addressed with someone other than the team member. Your sponsor can help here.

The key is to be sure that all issues are on the table. A plan must be developed to address each issue, with another plan to address issues that arise going forward, before they grow into larger conflicts that are detrimental to the project.

3. Follow up after the team get-together.

Gather the notes from the get-together and share them with everyone very soon after the meeting. You want their input on the notes, so ask for team members’ re- sponses and acknowledgement of acceptance of the get-together notes:

• Is anything missing from the list of issues? Is anything missing from the steps to resolve them? Is anything missing from how to monitor progress and address issues going forward?
• If issues need to be addressed by others outside the project team, or by the sponsor or other stakeholders, be sure to get a timeline from them for resolution on the issue.

The goal is to have everyone buy in to what happened at the meeting and the agreed-upon output from the get-together. At the next team meeting, reserve some time on the agenda to see how things are going after the team building session. Ask the team if there are other issues that have come up that should be discussed. Likely you will find the team more apt to speak up, or to tell you about issues they ad- dressed already and which are now resolved.

Teams that have spent some time up front getting to know each other are much more likely to be able to handle issues that arise in a timely manner.

Situation: You're curious about how much your peers make...

Today, PMI released the results of their most recent research into how much Project Managers make. The median income globally was $92K and $105K in the US (both in USD).  The full press release can be found below.

Want to Earn Six Figures? Become a Project Manager

New research from Project Management Institute reports that 71% of project managers

saw an increase in compensation over the last 12 months

NEWTOWN SQUARE, PA, 16 December 2011 — As employment continues to fluctuate, uncertainty about job stability and the economy is keeping people on high alert. Despite these uncertain times, there is a silver lining for those in one profession that continues to thrive. New research from the Project Management Institute confirms what businesses, job boards and the media have been proclaiming for the past two years: project management is one of the hottest professions out there.  According to the PMI Project Management Salary Survey, Seventh Edition, the salaries of project managers around the world continue to climb, indicating not only that project management professionals are in strong demand, but also that organizations are increasingly recognizing the value of trained project managers to their overall business goals.

Location and certification increase salaries

This year, 30,000 project management practitioners in 29 countries responded to the survey. The data was reported across all roles and experience levels.

·        The median annualized salary is US$92,000; in the U.S. it is US$105,000.

·        71% of respondents reported that their total compensation (including salary, bonus and other benefits) had increased over the previous 12 months.

·        Nearly 33% reported increases of at least 5% of total compensation in the last year.

Countries including the United States, Germany and Australia posted average salaries well above the median, each exceeding US$100,000. The highest project management salaries in 2011 are reported from Switzerland, where respondents averaged more than US$160,000. 

The 10 countries reporting the highest median salaries (reported below in US dollars) are:

·        Switzerland, $160,409

·        Australia, $139,497

·        Germany, $110,347

·        The Netherlands, $109,775

·        Belgium, $108,750

·        United States, $105,000

·        Ireland, $101,635

·        Canada, $98,517

·        United Kingdom, $96,384

·        New Zealand, $91,109

The survey shows that certification, as well as geography, positively affected salaries. Project Management Professional (PMP)^®credential holders in the U.S. earned an average of 16% more (approximately US$14,500) than their non-credentialed peers in 2011.