Team Management

The Holistic Approach to Motivating and Building Morale
- by Joseph D. Launi, PMP
Building on the works of management scientists, this article seeks to tap into the human psyche to position project team members to be increasingly focused and productive. The author provides lessons learned and recommends some actions managers can take to capitalize on these lessons to create a truly satisfying and productive project environment.

Integrated Team Approach in a Client-Supplier Project Environment: A Value Addition to Project Management?
- by Sajitha K. Nambiar, PMP and Naomi Brookes, PhD, DIC, FHEA
How do we manage the team in the current project environment when there are many teams involved in one project delivery? In this article we explore a generic project environment in which there is a client (sponsor) project team and one or more supplier (vendor) project teams working toward a common project goal. Practitioners in two different project domains (construction industry projects [capital intensive projects] and IT service sector projects) were interviewed as part of a case study project, and practices are recommended to set up and maintain integrated project teams for a successful project delivery.

The Intangibles of Trust, the Art of Adaptation, and Soft Skills in Team Leadership
- by Shara Beach, PMP
Although there are many tangible factors that affect the success of your projects, this article focuses on the synergy created from the elusive intangibles of trust, the art of adaptation, and the cultivation of soft skills in team leadership. Together, these three principles will help you create an environment in which people willingly perform at their highest levels.

Team Building and Development in a Matrix Environment
- by Karen Davey-Winter
Project teams are often matrix in nature, staffed by members taken from diverse functional teams in order to achieve the project goal. This is complicated enough if the structure is a well-defined functional hierarchy. However, a matrix environment for completing projects adds in another layer of complexity. The functional "teams within teams" still exist, and each person has a functional "home" team, but now they also belong to a "project" team which has a finite life span, and a project manager to whom they also report. All of these teams need nurturing if a project is to be successful.

Clique or Team? A Fine Line Indeed
- by Kwei Akuete, PMP
Project leaders need to watch the chemistry that evolves among their team members to make sure that cliques don't form--or even that a perception of cliquishness does not occur. The result could be bad morale, both for new team members and for those within the group.