Mechanics of Leading a Team

There is no magic formula to leading a team. It is one of the unique qualities that some people have naturally and others must learn. One of the best methods you can use to lead a team is to emulate the leaders you admire. By mimicking the actions of successful leaders, you will be on your way to being successful too. Much of your ability to lead will come from experience and maturity. There are, however, certain procedures and protocols of project management that you must know to be successful.

Decision Making

Many new project managers are afraid to make decisions. They do not want to offend team members, make a mistake, or look bad in front of management. The fact is, your job as a project manager will require you to make decisions that may not always be popular with the project team. Figure 11-3 demonstrates the balance between acceptable risk and the safeguards of using experienced staff. The decisions you make will need to be in the best interest of fulfilling the project requirement, in alignment with the project budget, and in consideration of the project timeline.

Figure 11-3: Project managers must balance risk and reward to be successful.

Some decisions you will not have to make entirely on your own. The project team can make many decisions. For example, a company that is upgrading all of the workstation operating systems from Windows 98 to Windows XP will have many obstacles to pass. One of the primary questions that will need to be answered in the planning stage is how the operating system will be deployed to the workstations.

Some on the project team may be in favor of using disk imaging software. Others may want to use scripts to deploy the image. Still other members may want to visit each machine and install from a CD-ROM. Obviously, many different approaches exist for installing this operating system, but there needs to be a clear decision on what the best method is for the project—and why that method is preferred.

A project manager can lead the team through these decisions utilizing the talents, experience, and education of each team member to come to a conclusion. To facilitate the discussion, the project manager may use three types of decision-making processes to arrive at a solution:

Directive The project manager makes the decision with little or no input from the project team. Can you see the danger here? The project manager may be aware of the technology to be implemented, but he may not be the most qualified to make the entire decision. Directive decision making is acceptable, and needed, in some instances, but it isolates the project manager from the project team.

Participative Participative decision making is what you should aim for. In this model, all team members contribute to the discussion and decision process. This method is ideal for major decisions such as the process to roll out an operating system, design a new application, or develop a web solution for an organization. Through compromise, experience, and brainstorming, the project team and the project manager can create a buzz of energy, excitement, and synergy to arrive at the best possible solution for a decision.

Consultative This approach combines the best of both preceding decision- making processes. The project team meets with the project manager, and together they may arrive at several viable solutions. The project manager can then take the proposed solutions and make a decision based on what she thinks is best for the project. This approach is ideal when dealing with projects under tight deadlines, restrictive budgets, and complex technology. When there are many variables that can cause the project to stall, the project manager must assume more of the responsibility to safeguard the project.

Working with Team Members

During the process of arriving at a solution or after a solution has been made, some team members may simply disagree with you. Disagreements are fine and are encouraged, as it will show team members are thinking and looking for the best solution to a project. In some instances, though, team members may create conflicts among themselves over differences of opinion. These internal conflicts can cause a team to break into cliques, uncooperative partners, and ultimately a nemesis to the success of the project.

You will have to learn how to be diplomatic among the team members to keep the project moving toward its completion. You will encounter four types of team members in your role as a project manager:

Evaders These team members don’t like confrontation on any level. They would just as soon nod their heads, smile, and scream internally, “No, no, no!” These team members may be new to the company, shy, or intimidated by outspoken team members—including the project manager. When using the participative method to arrive at a decision, everyone’s input is needed— including from these people. You will learn very quickly who these people are on your project team, as they’ll never or rarely offer a differing opinion or disagree with any suggestions made. To get these individuals involved, try these techniques:
- Have each team member offer an opinion on the topic, then write the suggestion on a whiteboard.
- If possible, allow team members to think about the problem and then e-mail their proposed solution to you.
- Call directly on the evader team members first when asking for suggestions.

Aggressive These team members love to argue. Their opinions are usually in opposition of the popular opinion, they are brash in their comments, and they are typically smarter than anyone else on the project team—at least they think they are. These folks may be very intelligent and educated on the technology, but they play devil’s advocate out of habit rather than trying to help the team arrive at the best solution. You’ll know who these individuals are rather quickly—as will everyone on the project team. To deal with these folks, try the following methods:

Allow these team members to make their recommendation first before taking suggestions from other team members.
Ask them to explain their position in clear, precise reasoning.
If necessary, speak with them in private and ask for their cooperation when searching for a solution.

Thinkers These team members are sages. They are usually quiet through much of the decision-making process and then they offer their opinion based on what’s been discussed. These team members are excellent to have on the project team, though sometimes their suggestions stem from other team members’ input. Try to work these thinkers into the discussion by asking them questions or calling for their opinions early on if you think they should contribute early on in the process.

Idealists These team members, while their intentions are good, may see the project as a simple, straight path to completion. They may ignore, or not be aware of, the process to arrive at the proper conclusion. Often, idealists are well trained in the technology but have little practical experience in the implementation. These team members are usually open to learning and eager to offer solutions to the project.

Dealing with each of these personas takes patience, insight into their personalities, and knowing what their motivations are. You have to spend time with your team members, develop a relationship with them, and lead by example. You won’t be effective leading your project team if your only time invested with them is talking about the project, their assigned work, and your review of how they’re doing on the project.