Show and hide more. Table of contents Product information. Change Management, Project Management, and Teamwork Understanding the Dynamics of Change Sources of pressure for change Principles of change Major types of change Managing Organizational Change Sources of resistance to change Overcoming resistance to change The behavioral side of change Evaluating change Teamwork—A Key to Managing Change Teamwork and human resource management Project team building Managing Changes in a Project Environment Types of changes in a project environment Deciding what changes to make tradeoff analysis Dealing with resistance to project changes Evaluating changes and learning lessons for the future The rules in making project changes Summary 2.
Cultural diversity and projects Managing International Projects Attributes of international projects Primary factors in cross-cultural settings Challenges in managing international projects Summary 3.
The team building process Drivers and barriers to high team performance Organizing the Project Team Setting project goals Creating the team climate Assembling the project team Practical Guidelines for Team Building Plan for team building Negotiate for team members Hold a kick-off meeting Obtain commitment of team members Build communication links Obtain top management support Utilize ongoing project team development Introduce rewards and recognition Manage team conflicts effectively Provide good project leadership Summary 4.
Developing Effective Project Teams Developing a Project Team for Success Coordinating team efforts Appropriate use of power and authority Developing problem-solving abilities Developing a Team Communication Plan Modes of communication behavior Communication channels and links Listening—The key element of team communications Building effective team communications Effective Team Decision-Making About team decision-making Rational decision-making process Decision styles in a team environment Guidelines for effective team decision-making Managing Project Teams During the Project Changing project team members according to project life cycle External factors affecting team performance Team management Summary 5.
Why SMWTs? When I have the opportunity to work with project managers, one of the topics we invariably discuss is why some projects fail. The answers typically consist of reasons such as lack of resources, poor communication, unclear objectives, competing priorities, scope creep, and others. The one factor most often ignored is easily the most important one — the human factor. It is built upon the foundation of Human Needs Psychology and Emotional Intelligence and provides project managers and leaders with the most effective tools and strategies for understanding and responding to the behavior of team members.
Armed with this understanding, project managers can have an unprecedented level of confidence in their ability to effectively manage the most challenging teams and situations. The premise of Human Needs Psychology is that every human being has the same six basic human needs, regardless of upbringing, experiences, education, etc. Madanes, , p. These needs drive all our thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors either on a conscious or unconscious level.
There are several key elements to understand when considering how human needs affect behavior. Each one of us prioritizes those needs based on our own experiences and beliefs; and, each of us has our own vehicles or strategies for how we meet those needs. We can choose to meet those needs through positive or negative methods.
The challenge for us is to find strategies that are good for us and for those around us. In any relationship you must understand the other person's needs, as well as your own, in order to know what is really going on.
The first need each of us has is for certainty. We all want to feel safe, to avoid pain, and feel comfortable in our environment. Every individual needs some sense of certainty and security; knowing that our basic needs are being met.
Some of the key words for certainty are comfort, security, safety, stability, protection, and predictability. A person can meet their need for certainty by going to a specific school or studying a specific subject in order to acquire the skills that will land the job they aspire to. Or they can become obsessed with controlling their environment to make sure there are no surprises or unexpected problems. Or, they can meet the need for certainty by living in a one-bedroom apartment, collecting welfare and rarely leaving.
The thing that's important to know is that it looks different to everyone. But, is your strategy for meeting this need one that is merely what I call obtainable — that is, is it easy to get in the short term, but not good for you or the people around you in the long term? Or is your strategy sustainable — good for you, the people around you, and the organization or society you live and work in?
The second need is for uncertainty or variety. We all need variety and challenges that will exercise our emotional and physical range. Everyone needs some variety in his or her life. Key words for variety are fear, instability, change, chaos, entertainment, suspense, surprise, conflict, and crisis. For you as a project manager, think about how uncertainty can challenge you.
So many times in work and life, the situations we face are unfamiliar, and we experience levels of uncertainty.
That, in itself, is not a problem. The problem comes when that uncertainty drives us to act in ways that feed our fears. The third need is for significance. We all need to feel important, needed, and special; we want to feel worthy of attention. Significance comes primarily from comparing ourselves to others, and we question our superiority or inferiority.
Key words for significance include pride, perfection, evaluation, discipline, competition, achievement, performance, and rejection. This is the single biggest contributor to conflict I've ever encountered on the teams I've worked with. When a person has a high driving need for significance, it tends to lead to counterproductive behaviors that have a tremendously negative impact on the rest of the team.
Those behaviors can include hijacking meetings, putting other team members down, comparing themselves to others, and generally disrupting things in order to feel significant — making themselves more important than the team.
How you handle a situation like this can impact the overall morale of the team, and affect the success of your project or your organization. The fourth need is to experience love and connection with others. Everyone needs to feel connection with other human beings, and everyone strives for relationships that give them love. Some of the key words for love and connection are togetherness, unity, teamwork, warmth, and desire. Human beings are wired for love and connection.
And, it's more important in the workplace than we've previously believed. In fact, it's so powerful that it is considered a survival need. The feeling of being disconnected and alone can be devastating. In fact, scientists have discovered that the same part of the human brain that is triggered by hunger and thirst — basic survival needs — is the same part of the brain that is triggered by feelings of loneliness and disconnection.
Rock, , p. The fifth need is for growth. When we stop growing we die. It's a biological imperative in nature; and in human beings we seek to grow intellectually, spiritually, and emotionally.
Some people will satisfy their need for growth by reading new books or taking classes. Others might challenge themselves by taking on new initiatives. Key words indicating growth are development, inspiration, challenge, and learning.
One of the things I've learned in my many years of working with people, is that we are most happy when we feel as though we're making progress in our lives. Growth equals progress. The sixth need is for contribution. This is about going beyond your needs in order to make a contribution beyond yourself, and to give to others. What happens to your own problems or challenges when you're giving to others? Typically, they disappear — you don't think about them when you're focused on helping others.
Contribution is essential to feelings of fulfillment and happiness. This can manifest itself in the workplace through mentoring programs and training that seeks to improve the individual in meaningful ways.
Some key words are giving, mentoring, generous, and helpful. When we contribute, it tends to meet all our other needs in a positive, sustainable way. And, when we truly contribute to the project, the team, and the organization, it doesn't matter who gets the credit for success. The whole team shares in that success! Out of those six basic needs, every person has two that are the primary needs in their life.
We call these the driving needs, because they literally filter every thought, action, and decision that we make. We will do almost anything to satisfy these two needs, and they are experienced more intensely than our other needs. A person whose top need is variety will make very different decisions than one whose top need is significance.
And, to further complicate matters, two people who share the same primary need can meet that need in very distinct and different ways. One person can meet their need for significance by comparing themselves to others; another person may meet that same need through the work they do, while another might meet their need for significance by living in a big house and driving a nice car.
The question isn't whether one is right and the other wrong; it's about finding ways to meet your needs that are sustainable, and are good for you and the people around you.
It is the art of getting people to do what you want them to do. The project managers must realize that the art of motivating people starts with learning how to influence individual behavior. Different people are motivated in different ways.
Money is never a long lasting motivation. It is highly essential for the project manager to have the skills to establish what the needs of the team members are. Applying Maslow's hierarchy of needs is easier said than done, for this purpose. This does not mean making it easy. Departures and absenteeism are always results of de-motivations and the project manager needs to analyze the reaons. If people know exactly what they are supposed to do and exactly when they are supposed to do it, they would be satisfied with their jobs, become motivated, and be more efficient.
Ambiguity in the areas of scope definition, scope planning and responsibility matrix would contribute towards de-motivation. If you want to get the benefit of the employees you have, you've got to free them and make everybody a participant. Everybody has to know everything, so that they can make the right decisions by themselves. Empowerment leads to increased commitment, motivation and satisfaction resulting in high levels of performance of team members.
Project manager should encourage calculated risk taking, so that team members feel comfortable in seeking opportunities. However, before people can be empowered, they should be prepared for the demands and challenges it poses. The approach should be to build up competencies and share information in a transparent environment so as to provide maximum support for individuals to utilize the opportunities for growth and success. Knowledge and information are keys to power.
Trainings and competency development initiatives enhance the knowledge base. Empowerment is complete only when team members get to share the rewards associated with making right decisions. Rewards and recognition monetary and non-monetary coupled with the incentive mechanism reinforce desired behavior favorable to the culture of empowerment.
An empowered project would be one where the project manager does not have to tell the team members how to do things. Just tell them what to do and the team should surprise the project manager with ingenuity. A project ideally must have empowered team members running front line activities, and visionary project manager integrating the team's efforts. The employees' happiness needs to be of real concern. In return for doing it we will give you money and other rewards.
You have to spend eight hours a day here doing this work that you do not like so that you can ultimately have time to yourself and money to spend. Project managers spend as much as 70 percent of their time in meetings. Nearly all managers complain that they spend more time in meetings than they should and that, for the most part, meetings are a waste of time. If no one likes to go to meetings and everyone feels that they are a waste of time, why do we have so many meetings? We all appreciate the fact that two heads are better than one, three heads are better than two, and continuing to add people to a meeting improves the chances that something can be accomplished in the meeting.
The problem is that as the number of people attending meeting increases, the effectiveness of the meeting diminishes. The cost of additional people in a meeting continues to increase in a linear fashion, and after a certain number the benefit becomes less than the cost. Most of the meetings that a project manager will have to manage are going to be discussion, idea generation, and problem-solving types of meetings.
All of these meetings cost time and money. Therefore a smart project manager must hold it only when it's necessary and ensure that they are concise and constructive. Need for negotiation arises when someone else has what you want and you are prepared to bargain for it, or vice versa. Project manager must understand that negotiation in some form or the other happens continuously on any project.
Some project managers sincerely feel that being flexible is a sign of weakness. In fact it's a real sign of strength. A clear game plan with thorough preparation is required for successful negotiation. Never try to agree on haste, as you may have to repent in leisure. Change is the single most important element of successful business management today and this is equally true with project management as well.
An average human being is generally resistant to change. A good project manager needs to encourage the team to think outside the box, and make them comfortable to absorb changes brought into the system by the upper management and as well suggesting changes by themselves.
As a good example, in some cases the advanced project management methodologies itself may be challenged by the team, as some of them may not have the qualifications and skills to work with the proposed system. Such vested interests act as major roadblocks for effective team work. Project manager needs to articulate effectively for achieving the best from the team towards initiating, planning, implementing and consolidating changes.
In the modern time of Globalization, and distributed project management models, a project manager would face a fairly large amount of diversity in terms of Human issues. It is evident that a project manager would face Human issues not only from the project resources but also in terms of other human interfaces. Nothing fails easily like success. When you are successful and stay successful for long, don't take things for granted. This will lead to a swift failure, in a most unexpected way.
The project manager must be able to get the team doing common things uncommonly well. Kerzner, H. Randolph, W. This case study outlines the learning framework Fujitsu put in place to prepare project managers fully at the start of their careers.
How does an organization like Airbus identify and develop next-generation project leaders who can drive innovative solutions across the enterprise? But a return to the office has been far more fitful. By Parsi, Novid Iron ore mining projects are on the rise again in Australia. After prices plummeted in , the sector is expected to see an increase in export volumes of iron ore from million metric tons in….
This research studies whether executive coaching is effective in strengthening personal…. Learning Library. Human side of project management.
How to cite this article: Pillai, M. Every area of project management is affected by human performance. Because of this, project managers-when analyzing project failures-need to recognize, prevent, and address the performance issues that affect project outcome. This paper examines how performance issues affect project teams and ultimately, their project performance. In doing so, it explains two classifications of human activity-lateral expectation, behavioral, operational, personal and occurrence team-related, project-related, stakeholder-related, project lead-related.
It then describes how project managers can communicate clearly and recognize and resolve conflicts successfully, particularly those conflicts that are related to assembling and managing project teams, motivating individuals, managing meetings, negotiating conflicts, and managing change.
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