24 Jun 2008
However, one factor project managers cannot ignore is the lack of skilled staff, which makes now a critical time to review what you are doing to keep your team together and on track to project completion and success.
Why is the team important to completing projects?
The nature of projects means that individuals with specialist knowledge and skills are engaged to provide expert advice and carry out certain tasks with the aim of achieving a goal.
Simply putting individuals together does not make a team. It is usually a group, where they produce work that is the collective product of individual contributions. A team is different - Teams produce results through collective effort, so the work they do is done together.
A team is united; they collaborate, share knowledge and communicate effectively and coherently to achieve great success. And a leader is only as good as his team.
Peter Drucker, known as the ‘Father of Modern Management’, has said this, “The leaders who work most effectively, it seems to me, never say 'I.' And that's not because they have trained themselves not to say 'I.' They don't think 'I.' They think 'we'; they think 'team.' They understand their job to be to make the team function. They accept responsibility and don't sidestep it, but 'we' gets the credit.... This is what creates trust, what enables you to get the task done." (See The Drucker Institute)
What are three factors you can assess to help your team achieve more?
1] Does team member have a personal stake in ensuring the common goal is achieved?
I recently saw a perfect example of such a team in Sydney. They are constructing the new Macquarie Bank building at Sydney’s King St Wharf. The architect, engineer, developer/ builder and materials supplier all had the same vision – to build a magnificent and uniquely designed structure – a building that will be a positive contribution to Sydney’s cityscape.
It seemed to me that this common vision helped them break down communication barriers and solve problems in a creative way.
The second and third factors will be discussed in the next instalment of this article.
To learn more about how you can harness your natural management skills to lead your team to success, see the DNA of Successful Teams seminar, being held nationally in August 2008.
To reproduce this article, contact us on info@kiteservices.com.au
Shuba Paheerathan
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