Managing Team Issues

Without a doubt, people will fight. Fortunately, in most offices, people are mature enough to bite their tongues, try to work peacefully, and, as a whole, strive to finish the project happily and effectively together.

Most disagreements in IT project management happen when two or more people feel very passionate about a particular IT topic. For example, one person believes a network should be built in a particular order, while another feels it should be constructed from a different approach. Or two developers on a project get upset with each other about the way an application is created. Generally, both parties in the argument are good people who just feel strongly about a certain methodology of their work. Figure 6-5 demonstrates how arguments over technical implementations take a project off schedule.

Figure 6-5: Arguments take a project off schedule and increase costs.

There are, of course, a fair percentage of contrary and pessimistic people in the world. These people don’t play well with others, and are obnoxious at times. They don’t care about other people’s feelings, and much of the time they don’t care about the success of your project.

Unfortunately, you will have to deal with disagreements, troublemakers, and obnoxious people to find a way to resolve differences and keep the project’s momentum.

Dealing with Team Disagreements

In most projects there will be instances when the project team, management, and other stakeholders disagree on the progress, decisions, and proposed solutions within the project. It’s essential for the project manager to keep calm, to lead, and to direct the parties to a sensible solution that’s best for the project. Here are seven reasons for conflict in order of most common to least common:

Schedules
Priorities
Resources
Technical beliefs
Administrative policies and procedures
Project costs
Personalities

So what’s a project manager to do with all the potential for strife in a project? There are five different approaches to conflict resolution:

Problem solving This approach confronts the problem head-on and is the preferred method of conflict resolution. You may consider this approach as “confronting.” It calls for additional research to find the best solution for the problem, and is a win-win solution. Problem solving can be used if there is time to work through and resolve the issue, and it works to build relationships and trust.

Forcing With this approach, the person with the power makes the decision. The decision made may not be best for the project, but it’s fast. As expected, this autocratic approach does little for team development and is a win-lose solution. Forcing is used when the stakes are high and time is of the essence, or if relationships are not important.

Compromising This approach requires both parties to give up something. The decision is a blend of both sides of the argument. Because neither party really wins, it is considered a lose-lose solution. The project manager can use this approach when the relationships are equal and it’s impossible for one party to “win.” This approach can also be used to avoid a fight.

Smoothing This approach “smoothes” out the conflict by minimizing the perceived size of the problem. It is a temporary solution but can calm team relations and boisterous discussions. Smoothing may be acceptable when time is of the essence or any of the proposed solutions will work. This can be considered a lose-lose situation as no one really wins long-term. The project manager can use smoothing to emphasize areas of agreement between the stakeholders within a disagreement, minimizing the areas of conflict. Smoothing is used to maintain relationships and when the issue is not critical.

Withdrawal This approach is the worst conflict resolution tactic because one side of the argument walks away from the problem—usually in disgust. The conflict is not resolved and it is considered a yield-lose solution. The approach can be used, however, as a cooling off period, or when the issue is not critical.

Phases of Team Development

Teams develop over time, not instantaneously. As a project team comes together, there are likely people on the project team who have worked with one another before just as there may be people on the project team who have never met. Because projects are temporary the relationships among project team members are also often viewed as temporary. The project manager can see, and sometimes guide, the natural process of team development.

The goal of team development is not for everyone to like each other, have a good time, and create life-long friendships. All of that is nice, but the real goal is to develop a team that can accurately and effectively complete the project scope. Within team development there are four stages the project team will pass though:

Forming This stage allows the project team members to come together and learn about each other. They feel each other out and find out who’s who and what each other is like.
Storming This stage promises action. There’s a struggle for project team control and momentum builds as members vie to lead the project team. It is during this phase that people figure out the hierarchy of the team, and the informal roles of team members.
Norming In this stage, the project team’s focus shifts toward the project work. Control on the project team has been established, and people learn to work together.
Performing In this stage, the project team members have settled into their roles and are focusing on completing the project work as a team. During this stage, a synergy is developed; this is the stage where high-performance teams come into play.

Project Management Is Not a Democracy

Despite what some feel-good books and inspiring stories would like to have you believe, project management is not a democracy. Someone has to be in charge, and that someone is you, the project manager. The success of the project rests on your shoulders, and it is your job to work with your team members to motivate them to finish the project on schedule.

This does not mean that you have permission to grump around and boss any member of your team. It also does not mean that you should step in and break up any disagreement between team members. Among the team, you should allow some discussion and some disagreement.

This is what teams have to do: they have to work things out on their own. Team members have to learn to work together, to give and take, to compromise. Figure 6-6 shows the power of team decisions. Step back and let the team first work through disagreements before you step in and settle issues. If you step into the mix too early, then your team members will run to you at every problem.

Figure 6-6: Teams can make decisions on their own.

Ultimately, you are in charge. If your team members cannot, or will not, work out a solution among themselves, you’ll be forced to make a decision. When you find yourself in this situation, there is an approach to working through the problem. Here are recommended steps to conflict resolution:

Attention Meet with both parties and explain the purpose of the meeting: to find a solution to the problem. If the two parties are amicable to each other, this meeting can happen with both parties present. If the team members detest each other, or the disagreement is a complaint against another team member, meet with each member in confidence to hear that person’s side of the story.

Listen Ask the team members what the problem is, allow each to speak their case fully without interrupting, and then ask questions to clarify any of the facts.

Resolve Often if the meeting takes place with both team members, a resolution will quickly boil to the surface. Chances are that you won’t even have to make a decision. People have a way of suddenly wanting to work together when a third party listens to their complaints. They both realize how foolish their actions have been and one, or both, of the team members will cheer up and decide to work together.

Wait If this is not the case in your meeting, don’t make an immediate decision. Tell the team members how important it is to you, and to the project, that they find a way to work together. Sometimes even this touch of direction will be enough for the team members to begin compromising. If they still won’t budge, tell them you’ll think it over and then you will make a decision within a day or two—if the decision can wait that long. By delaying an immediate decision, you allow the team members to think about what has happened and you give them another opportunity to resolve the problem.

Act If the team members will not budge on their positions, then you will have to make a decision. And then stick to it. If necessary, gather any additional facts, research, and investigations. Based on your evidence, call the team members into a meeting again and acknowledge both of their positions on the problem. Then share with them, based on your findings, why you’ve made the decision that you have made. In your announcement don’t embarrass the team member who has been put out by your decision. If the losing team member wants to argue his point again, stop him. Don’t be rude, but stop him. The team members have both been given the opportunity to plead their case, and once your decision has been made, your decision should be final.

Dealing with Personalities

In any organization, you’ll find many different personality types, so it’s likely that there are some people in your organization who just grate on your nerves like fingernails on a chalkboard. These individuals are always happy to share their discontent, their opinion, or their “unique point of view.” Unfortunately, you will have to find a way to work with, or around, these people.

Here are some personality types you may encounter and how you can deal with them:

Personality	Attributes	Resolution
The Imaginary Leader	These individuals think they are managing the project this week and will be running the company next week. You know the type, always first to raise their hands in school and remind the teacher if she forgot to assign homework.	These people really do want to lead— they just don’t know how! Give them an opportunity by allowing them to conduct an occasional team meeting or organize upcoming activities. If you can, try to show them how to lead with tact instead of their rudeness.
The Mouse	These individuals are afraid of doing any activity on the project without explicit directions from you. They’re so afraid they’ll make a disastrous mistake, they require your guidance on each part of their work.	Encourage these types to take charge of their duties. Tell them that you have confidence in them to do the tasks that you’ve assigned to them. If they do make a mistake, work through it with them to build their confidence.
Your Favorite Uncle (or Aunt)	This persona is the office clown. Always playing gags, streaming toilet paper around someone’s cubicle, telling jokes, and sharing stories around the office. Not only are these types of people great fun, but also they’re great time wasters.	Often these folks don’t have enough to do, and so they assume everyone else is under the same workload that they are. Give these people more assignments, and they’ll have less time to kill. If that doesn’t work, politely share with them that their jovial activities are appreciated, but not always necessary.
The Cowboy	These people love excitement. They are happy to try anything out (like rebooting a server mid-morning) just to see what happens. Their experience may be great, but their swagger, ten-gallon hat, and stunts aren’t always well thought out.	To deal with the Cowboy types, encourage their enthusiasm but discourage their ability to make on-the-spot decisions without thinking about the results of their actions. These individuals are generally smart and eager to help, but need a touch more guidance from you.
The Prune	These sourpusses are as much fun as pocket full of thumbtacks. They don’t care about your project, think the technology sucks, and take their hourly breaks every twenty minutes.	Granted, these folks are hard to work with. They’ve got more problems personally than the project you are managing. You can start by befriending them and then sharing the value of their work on the project with their superiors. This transfers some responsibility of the work onto those Prunes. And tell them to smile a little.

Use Experience

The final method for resolving disputes among team members may be the most effective: experience. When team members approach you with a problem that they just can’t seem to work out between themselves, you have to listen to both sides of the situation.

If you have experience with the problem, then you can make a quick and accurate decision for the team members. But what if you don’t have experience with the technology, and your team members have limited exposure to this portion of the work? How can you make a wise decision based on the information in front of you? You can’t!

You will need to invent some experience. As with any project, you should have a testing lab to test and retest your design and implementation. Encourage your team members to use the testing lab to try both sides of the equation to see which solution will be the best.

If a testing lab is not available, or the problem won’t fit into the scope of the testing lab, rely on someone else’s experience. Assign the team members the duty of researching the problem and preparing a solution. They can use books, the Internet, or other professionals who may have encountered a similar problem. Experience is the best teacher, as Figure 6-7 demonstrates.

Figure 6-7: A method for resolving issues by testing should be implemented.

Disciplining Team Members

No project manager likes the process of disciplining a team member—at least they shouldn’t. Unfortunately, despite your attempts at befriending, explaining the importance of the project, or keeping team members on track, some people just don’t, or won’t, care. In these instances, you’ll have little choice other than to resort to a method of discipline.

Within your organization, you should already have a process for recording and dealing with disciplinary matters. The organizational procedures set by human resources or management should be followed before interjecting your own project team discipline approach. If there is no clear policy on team discipline, you need to discuss the matter with your project sponsor before the project begins. In the matter of disciplinary actions, take great caution—you are dealing with someone’s career. At the same time, discipline is required or your own career may be in jeopardy.

As you begin to nudge team members onto the project track, document it. Keep records of instances where they have fallen off schedule, failed to complete tasks, or have done tasks halfheartedly. This document of activity should have dates and details on each of the incidents, and it doesn’t have to be known to anyone but you. Hopefully, your problematic team members will turn from their wicked ways and take your motivation to do their jobs properly. If not, when a threshold is finally crossed, then you must take action.

Following an Internal Process

Within your organization there should be a set process for how an unruly employee is dealt with. For some organizations, there’s an evolution of a write-up, a second write-up, a suspension of work, then ultimately a firing. In other organizations, the disciplinary process is less formal. Whatever the method, you should talk with your project sponsor about the process and involve her in any disciplinary action.

In all instances of disciplinary action, it would be best for you and the employee to have the project sponsor or the employee’s immediate manager in the meeting to verify what has occurred. This not only protects you from any accusations from the disgruntled team member, but it also protects the team member from your disappointment by having a member of management present.

Removal from a Project

Depending on each situation, you may discover that the team member cannot complete the tasks required of him on the project, and removal from the project may be the best solution. In other instances it could be that the team member refuses to complete the work assigned to him for his own reasons and is a detriment to the success of the project. Again, removal from the team may be the most appropriate action.

Removing someone from the project requires tact, care, and planning. A decision should be made between you and the project sponsor. If you feel strongly that this person is not able to complete the tasks assigned to him, rely on your documentation as your guide. Removal of a team member from a project may be harsh, but it’s often required if the project is to succeed.

Of course, when you remove someone from the project, you need to address the matter with the team. Again, use tact. A disruption in the team can cause internal rumblings that you may never hear about—especially if the project team member that was removed was everyone’s best friend. You will have created an instant us- against-them mentality. In other instances, the removal of a troublemaker may bring cheers and applause. Whatever the reaction, use tact and explain your reasons without embarrassing or slandering the team member who was removed.

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Managing Team Issues