Chapter 6: Team
Building & Team
Interactions (pt. 1)
ISE 443 / ETM 543
Fall 2013
A number of activities are carried out by the
team ...
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“Strong and well-considered communication
is at the heart of building a productive team.”

Exhibit 6.1: Essentials of an Effective Communicator
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
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Listen.
Adopt a management by walking around (MBWA) way of being.
Assure participation by all team members.
Synthesize and integrate.
Meet with all key project personnel every week.
Insist on information “flow-down.”
Hold short “information” meetings.
Communicate with boss and other project support people.
Talk to customer at least once a week.
Maintain a positive and supportive attitude.
Offer training for poor communicators.
Assure that communications is part of personnel evaluation.
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Your turn ...

INDIVIDUALLY, grade yourself as a communicator


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Do the same for another member of the group



Assign a numeric grade (A = 4, B = 3, C = 2, D = 1, F = 0) to
each of the essentials on the previous slide.
Sum the results to get a composite score.
Again, this is an INDIVIDUAL effort
It may be useful to agree within the group which member will be
evaluating whom.
When you are finished with your individual rating,
REMAIN QUIET

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Turn your paper over and put down your pen/pencil to indicate
that you are done.
4
Once the class is finished ...

One at a time, each team member will share his/her evaluation, as
follows:
 Start by sharing your self-evaluation, as follows:
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
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
THEN, move to your evaluation of your team mate, as follows:



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“I gave myself an overall score of ___”
“I believe my strengths as a communicator are ___” (choose 2 or 3 of your
highest scoring points)
“I believe my challenges as a communicator are ___” (choose 2 or 3 of your
lowest scoring points)
“I gave you an overall score of ____”
“Based on my experience on this team, the strengths you have
demonstrated as a communicator are ___”
“Based on my experience on this team, the challenges you have
demonstrated as a communicator are ___”
Keep in mind

keep your comments constructive
 your impressions may be based on very limited interaction
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“Team building and being part of a team are
critical issues in project & systems
engineering management.”
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
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Develop and maintain a
personal plan for team building
and operation.
Hold both periodic and special
team meetings.
Clarify missions, goals, and
roles.
Run the team in a
participative, possibly
consensual, manner.
Involve the team in situation
analysis and problem solving.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Give credit to active, positive
team members and
contributions.
Assure team efficiency and
productivity.
Obtain feedback from team
members.
Integrate, coordinate, facilitate,
and assure information flow.
Maintain effective
communication.
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Your turn ...

INDIVIDUALLY, evaluate how your team has been
functioning



When you are finished with your individual evaluation,
REMAIN QUIET


Which of the activities listed on the previous slide have you
participated in?
How helpful was it?
Turn your paper over and put down your pen/pencil to indicate
that you are done.
When the class is finished, the entire team will discuss
your evaluation.
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Let’s talk for a moment about “team busters”


“a person, nominally a member of the project team, who
works hard, either consciously or otherwise, in
destroying the team that the PM and CSE are trying to
build.”
Usually exhibits one or more of the following behaviors
...


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Questions the authority of the PM and CSE at every turn.
Challenges the management and technical approach of the PM
and CSE.
Does not follow the agreed-on decisions.
Consistently “goes over the head” of his or her boss.
Tries to monopolize meeting agendas.
Attempts to embarrass or challenge the boss in front of others.
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If a manager is a “team buster” ...

In addition to the previously listed behaviors, a “team
busting” manager will exhibit the following behaviors



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If you are not part of his or her team, by definition you are doing
a poor and misguided job.
Forces his or her people to clear all actions, and even
conversations, strictly through the “chain of command.”
Tries to create a “we” and “they” mentality, whereby everyone
who reports to the team buster is a “we” and everyone else is in
the “they” group.
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Team busters represent a real threat to the
project (and the organization)



Often have a valuable skill or skill set (e.g., expertise in
an area crucial to the project or organization)
The threat to the team outweighs the benefit of the
expertise
Specific steps are required to handle the team buster


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1st “strike” - Private conversation explaining that the behavior will
not be tolerated
2nd “strike” - Communicate with upper management and a
second private conversation indicating that the next step is
removal from the project or even (with support of management)
from the organization
3rd “strike” – Removal from the project ... with support from
management and HR.
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Conflict is to be expected (even welcomed?)
in a project

The seven most common areas of conflict have changed
in ranking over the years


“Schedules” and “Priorities” have remained consistently in the
top
Conflict Area
Rank in 1976 Rank in 1986
Schedules
1
1
Costs
6
2
Priorities
2
3
Staffing
3
4
Technical opinions
4
5
Personality
7
6
Procedures
5
7
conflicts and conflict management should be considered
part of the job
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A person’s conflict resolution style is an
indicator of how he/she will respond

Competing (forcing)


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Compromising (sharing)



refuse to acknowledge the conflict
Accommodating (smoothing)


negotiate a position acceptable to all parties
not always best for the project
Avoiding (withdrawal)


power is used to resolve the conflict
a short-term solution, seldom long-term resolution
temporarily suppress the problem until it can be fully addressed
Collaborating (problem solving)

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allow all parties to express viewpoints, determine why, seek longterm resolution
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Your turn ...

INDIVIDUALLY, identify your “preferred” conflict
resolution style


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
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Do you believe this to be an effective way to address conflicts?
Is there a style that would be more effective?
Do the same for another member of the group
When you are finished with your individual rating,
REMAIN QUIET
When the class is finished, the entire team will discuss
your evaluation.
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