Developing a High Performance Project Culture

Presented by: Keith Aldrich January 17, 2013

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Team A

Team B

World Class PMO

Immature Project Organization

Well Defined Project Scope

Scope is somewhat vague

Reasonable Budget

Very Lean Budget

Reasonable Timeline

Aggressive Timeline

Team A - Culture

Dysfunctional, negative, competitive, political, infighting, lacks trust, lacks accountability, entitlement, undisciplined

Team B - Culture

High Performing, positive attitudes, high levels of trust, accountability, disciplined, mutual respect

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Developing a High Performance Team Culture Project HR Management

Project Team Culture

Personal Leadership

Practical Applications Š2013 Continuity Consulting, Inc.

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Why do we care about developing a high performing team?

What is the biggest contributor to team performance?

What is the biggest contributor to culture?

If people are the biggest contributor to culture, what kind of people do we want?

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Results Team

Culture People

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 Teamwork is a critical factor for project success, and developing

effective project teams is one of the primary responsibilities of the project manager. Project managers should create an environment that facilitates teamwork.

 Project managers should acquire skills to identify, build, maintain, motivate, lead, inspire project teams to achieve high performance and to meet the project’s objectives.  High team performance can be achieved by using open and effective communication, developing trust among team members, managing conflicts in a constructive manner, encouraging collaborative problem solving, and decision making.  The project manager should request management support and or influence the appropriate stakeholders to acquire the resources needed to develop effective project teams.

A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge – Fourth Addition, Chapter 9 ©2013 Continuity Consulting, Inc.

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“I came to see, in my time at IBM, that culture isn't just one aspect of the game, it is the game. In the end, an organization is nothing more than the collective capacity of its people to create value.”

Lou Gerstner

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Culture is everywhere

Culture defines the collective character and essence of the group Culture is a conscious and unconscious force Culture influences individual and collective behavior

Culture is changed and modified as new elements are introduced

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Unique Purpose and Personality Passion for Performance Bias Towards Action Outward Focused Team Oriented

Values Each Individual 7. Highly Adaptable 8. Principled Leadership 9. Alignment and Congruency 10. Effective Communication 6.

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Fear Apathy Politics Conflict Burnout Selfishness Entitlement

Trust Purpose Challenge Discipline Excitement Accountability Positive Attitude

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“Since culture is a human creation, whose

deformations begin not ‘out there’ but in our inner lives, we can transform our culture only as we are inwardly transformed.” -(Parker Palmer)

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“Knowing thyself is the most difficult task any of us faces. But until you truly know yourself, strengths and weaknesses, know what you want to do and why you want to do it, you cannot succeed in any but the most superficial sense of the word.” - Warren Bennis

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Personal Leadership Effectiveness (PLE) is the skill of leading or governing oneself to their full potential and desired level of success, through greater understanding and management of their: Character Competencies

Behavioral Traits

Shaped by Life Events Personal Decisions Can be intentionally developed

Nature / Nurture Default Mode

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Behavioral Traits Influence:      

Communication Styles Work Preferences Motivations Fears Likes Dislikes

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Dominance

Extroversion

You will notice… self-confidence, decisiveness, a desire to lead, and risk-taking.

You will notice… enthusiasm, charm, sociability, relational skills, persuasiveness, and expressions of emotion.

Conformity

Patience

You will notice… cautiousness, an emphasis on detail and precision, restraint, perfectionism, and factuality.

You will notice… fortitude, a methodical approach, a team player, and concern for team members.

The ‘people communication’ trait

The ‘rate of motion’ trait

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Positive Attitude

Integrated Life

Change Adaptive

Ideal Self

•Vision •Mission

•Values

Real Self

•SelfAwareness •Feedback

Make a Plan

•Leverage Strengths •Develop Weaknesses

Practice New Skills

•Experiment •Fail Forward

In the context of: Trusting and Encouraging Relationships

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Turnover costs organizations 1.5 – 2.5x salary.

Disengaged Employees (25%-55%) Managers influence 15 out of 20 engagement variables > 25% of managers time is spent dealing with conflict 77% working adults emulate behavior of their supervisors.

“Project Oxygen”  

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Be a good coach.

Empower your team, and do not micromanage.

Express interest in team members’ personal success and well-being.

Don’t be shy; be productive and results-oriented.

Communicate and listen to your team.

Help your employees with career development.

Express a clear vision and strategy for the team.

Demonstrate technical skills so you can help advise the team.

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“Most organizations make decisions about their people’s talents and how those people are organized with far less rigor, logic and distinctiveness than their decisions about other resources, like money and technology.”

(Boudreau and Ramstad)

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•Roles & Skills

•Competency/ Skills

•Training Needs

•Project Interest

•Team Building Strategy

•Negotiation

•Feedback •Resolve Issues •Optimize Performance

•Staff Assignments

HR Plan

Acquire Team

Manage Team

Develop Team •Improve Competencies •Team Interaction •Team Performance

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Developing effective project teams is the responsibility of the Project Manager.  Can you identify individual and team development needs?  Can you identify individual and team strengths?  Do you leverage the strengths of other team members to mentor and coach others?  Have you established individual and team development plans that will impact performance and productivity of the project team?

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Is your training and development strategy focused and targeted on the areas of greatest need?

Team Development Areas 5 4 3 2 1 0 M

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Project Managers are to foster teamwork and integrate the efforts of team members to create high-performance teams. This includes:  Tracking team member performance  Observing team behavior  Providing recognition and feedback  Managing conflict and resolving issues  Optimizing project team performance

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Improve the predictability of your hiring decisions  Alignment with needs of the project role  Alignment with the culture of the organization  Alignment with the project team

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Employee 1

Employee 2

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From the Recruitment and Development Report we get more insight into the person we are considering for a particular role on the project. 

This person is obsessed with doing things right. That means that John relies on, and complies with, rules and regulations, policies and procedures, and respected authorities.

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John tends to be a perfectionist, a person who may even be compulsive about being organized and taking care of every detail. For John everything has a place, and everything must be in its place, unless it is being used.

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This person tends to take one step at a time. John likes to list and schedule events and activities and check them off when they are completed so that there is a sense of progress and evidence of accomplishment at the end of the day.

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This person wants to be right, hates to be wrong, hates to be embarrassed. Sometimes John may not take action for fear of being wrong or for fear that asking for help might lead to embarrassment. Those situations can be very stressful for John.

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John probably looks to others for leadership, preferring to support respected leadership rather than to be solely in charge. But, John is very responsible for carrying out work assignments, as long as the goal is clearly defined and the instructions are thorough and fully understood.

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The Recruitment Report provides key interview questions for each individual based on their assessment results.

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Organizational  

High Performing Culture Improved Recruitment Practices

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Greater Productivity

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Effective Team Work

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Increased Retention

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Enhanced Morale

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Improved Employee Engagement

Personal 

Self Awareness

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Personal Responsibility

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Self Discipline

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Values Clarification

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Better Relationships

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Improved Communication

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Personal Achievement

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Personal Significance

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Greater Sense of Purpose ©2013 Continuity Consulting, Inc.

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Become intentional about your personal development Be a courageous champion for a healthy culture Help others to develop and grow Invite us in to talk to your team

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Review the MERIT Profile Guide

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 http://issuu.com/continuityconsulting 

Consider taking a MERIT Profile  http://continuityconsulting.com/store.htm

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Success in leadership, success in business, and success in life has been, is now, and will continue to be a function of how well people work and play together.�

(Kouzes and Posner)

For Additional Information Contact: Keith Aldrich President Continuity Consulting, Inc. kaldrich@continuityconsulting.com 916-458-5151 www.continuityconsulting.com

Š2013 Continuity Consulting, Inc.

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