Team Planning for Project Managers and Business Analysts

214 Pages·2012·2.22 MB·English

by  Gail Levitt

Business & Management / Project Management
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The many templates and guidelines presented in Team Planning for Project Managers e
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and Business Analysts will help busy leaders, project managers, and business analysts
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across all industries gain senior management’s support and command the resources t TEAM PLANNING
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necessary to plan their teams’ development to achieve high performance and superior
results through effective team collaboration.
—Vijay K. Verma, PMI Fellow, PMP, MBA, P.Eng., Manager, Project Management Services,
TRIUMF (Canada’s National Research Laboratory, University of British Columbia) T
FOR PROJECT
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Dr. Levitt has hit the nail on the head with a book full of practical information, clear A
examples, checklists, and templates for use in effective team planning. … Dr. Levitt explains M
the what, why, and how of team development planning in an easy-to-read style. ... A great

reference book every busy PM and BA should have. P MANAGERS AND
—Morley Selver, P.Eng IPMA B, The Project Doctor, www.bmoj.com L
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… I found myself energized after reading this material, and have incorporated the strategies N
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she outlines into my management style. I highly recommend Levitt’s work, and think that it N
BUSINESS ANALYSTS

applies to a broad range of skill levels, having practical application in project teams and B I
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organizational structure. U
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—Jason Bedford, Manager, Service and Systems Productivity, Hubbell Canada LP S
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Supplying busy project professionals with time-tested tips and templates for developing O
E Gail Levitt
teams efficiently and effectively, Team Planning for Project Managers and Business R
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Analysts provides the planning materials required to increase team collaboration and
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productivity in a global workplace.
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This comprehensive resource offers insights and access to critical resources and tools to N
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create, propose, execute, and evaluate team development plans. Dr. Levitt’s insights will A E
enable readers to transform their visions, mission statements, goals, and deliverables into L C
actionable plans for their teams. Y
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Team Planning for Project Managers and Business Analysts evaluates the strengths T M
and performance gaps in each of the five stages of team development—forming, storming, S A
norming, performing, and adjourning—and outlines methods for creating a team N
development plan and addressing the challenge of gaining upper management commitment. A
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With a focus on succession planning for the team, Dr. Levitt considers team brain capacity E
and how to plan for the transfer of knowledge within the organization. In addition to R
the many templates and guidelines included, the book offers a variety of practical team S
development guidelines to ensure that team activities, including kick-off meetings and
project status reviews, are both engaging and productive.
K12584
ISBN: 978-1-4398-5543-0
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9 781439 855430
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TEAM PLANNING
FOR PROJECT
MANAGERS AND
BUSINESS ANALYSTS
ESI International Project Management Series
Series Editor

J. LeRoy Ward, Executive Vice President
ESI International, Arlington, Virginia
Team Planning for Project Managers and Business Analysts
Gail Levitt • 978-1-4398-5543-0
Practical Project Management for Building and Construction
Hans Ottosson • 978-1-4398-9655-6
Project Management Concepts, Methods, and Techniques
Claude H. Maley • 978-1-4665-0288-8
PgMP® Exam: Practice Test and Study Guide, Third Edition
Ginger Levin, and J. LeRoy Ward
978-1-4665-1362-4
Program Management Complexity: A Competency Model
Ginger Levin, and J. LeRoy Ward
978-1-4398-5111-1
Project Management for Healthcare
David Shirley • 978-1-4398-1953-1
Managing Web Projects
Edward B. Farkas • 978-1-4398-0495-7
Project Management Recipes for Success
Guy L. De Furia • 978-1-4200-7824-4
A Standard for Enterprise Project Management
Michael S. Zambruski • 978-1-4200-7245-7
Determining Project Requirements
Hans Jonasson • 978-1-4200-4502-4
The Complete Project Management Office Handbook, Second Edition
Gerard M. Hill • 978-1-4200-4680-9
Other ESI International Titles Available
from Auerbach Publications, Taylor & Francis Group
PMP® Challenge! Fourth Edition
J. LeRoy Ward and Ginger Levin • 978-1-8903-6740-4
PMP® Exam: Practice Test and Study Guide, Seventh Edition
J. LeRoy Ward • 978-1-8903-6741-1
The Project Management Drill Book: A Self-Study Guide
Carl L. Pritchard • ISBN: 978-1-8903-6734-3
Project Management Terms: A Working Glossary, Second Edition
J. LeRoy Ward • ISBN: 978-1-8903-6725-1
TEAM PLANNING
FOR PROJECT
MANAGERS AND
BUSINESS ANALYSTS
Gail Levitt
PMBOK® Guide, PMI®, Project Management Institute®, and PMP® are registered trademarks of the Proj-
ect Management Institute.
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Version Date: 20120713
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Dedication
It takes great imagination for project professionals to develop teams to
reach their true potential. The practical constraints of deadlines, budget,
and scope can easily demand their full attention to focus on project deliv-
erables in the present and rob them of important time needed to plan for
the team’s future. Even so, there are individuals with the vision and the
drive to succeed as team developers. I know them as the bright lights of the
20,400 project managers and business analysts I have instructed, coached,
and mentored since 1995. These are the individuals who stood out to me
in the crowd as determined to develop their teams systematically to func-
tion more productively in their organizations. Whether or not they had
formal authority over the teams they wanted to develop, these individu-
als shared two important characteristics: understanding the importance
of creating, implementing, and communicating a team development plan
while also lacking the knowledge and resources to develop their teams
efficiently and effectively.
This book is dedicated to these project professionals; they already have
the imagination and just need the tools, tips, and templates to achieve their
visions. I would like to acknowledge the following people who inspired me
at every step in the book writing process:
George Geniev, visionary thinker
Marilyn Levitt, role model
Karen Morris, team mediator
Rod Landgraff, strategic mentor
Phyllis Harber-Murphy, editor and administrator extraordinaire
v

Contents
Foreword .............................................................................................xiii
Introduction ..........................................................................................xv
About the Author ................................................................................xvii
Chapter 1 Team Planning in a Project Environment ........................1
Stereotype of Team Planning .....................................................1
Truth about Team Planning .......................................................5
Visionary ..................................................................................5
Methodical ...............................................................................8
Observant .................................................................................9
IQ—Intellectual Ability ..................................................10
EQ—Emotional Ability ...................................................11
Team Planning Skills ................................................................12
Summary: Key Ideas .................................................................13
Chapter 2 Evaluating the Team ........................................................15
Team Life Cycle ..........................................................................15
Five Team Stages: Task and Relationship Focus ...............16
Observing Team Strengths and Gaps ...........................17
Observing Teams in Conflict ...................................................18
Conflict Levels and the Team Stages ..................................19
Forming Teams: Hidden and Emerging Conflict .......19
Storming Teams: Emerging and Active Conflict ........19
Norming Teams: Active Conflict and Aftermath ......20
Performing and Adjourning Teams: All Four Levels ...20
Identifying Team Stages: Art and Science .............................21
STARS® Method ....................................................................21
STARS® ..............................................................................22
Summary: Key Ideas ................................................................30
Team Life Cycle ....................................................................30
Team Stages ..........................................................................30
STARS® Method ...................................................................30
vii
viii  •  Contents
Chapter 3 Creating a Team Development Plan................................33
Protecting Your Project Assets ...............................................34
Team Development Plan: What Is It? .....................................35
Team Development Plan Components ..............................36
Team Vision ......................................................................37
Determining the Team Mission ....................................40
Setting Team Goals ..........................................................41
Identifying Team Deliverables .......................................41
Team “SWOT” Analysis ..................................................41
Performance Indicators ..................................................42
Team Performance Action Plan .....................................45
Summary: Key Ideas .................................................................52
Team Development Plan ......................................................52
Chapter 4 Getting Buy-In for the Team Development Plan ...........55
“Selling” the Team Development Plan: Challenges
and Opportunities ....................................................................56
External Obstacles ................................................................57
Internal Obstacles .................................................................57
Gaining Buy-In and Commitment: The Process ..................58
Tips for Influencing Upward ..................................................60
Tips for Influencing Team Members ......................................62
Influencing Team Members: Communication Guidelines ....63
Providing Continuous Reinforcement ..............................63
Modeling the Plan .....................................................................65
Summary: Key Ideas .................................................................67
Concept of “Selling” the Team Development Plan ............67
Influencing Successfully ......................................................67
Modeling the Team Development Plan .............................67
Chapter 5 Influencing Multigenerational Team Members .............69
Teamwork: A Multigenerational Concept .............................70
Multigenerational Characteristics ..........................................71
Matures ..................................................................................71
Cultural Experiences .......................................................72
Work Values ......................................................................73
Contents  •  ix
Work Strengths ................................................................73
Baby Boomers ........................................................................73
Cultural Experiences .......................................................74
Work Values ......................................................................74
Work Strengths ................................................................75
Generation Xers ....................................................................75
Cultural Experiences .......................................................75
Work Values ......................................................................76
Work Strengths ................................................................76
New Millennials ....................................................................77
Cultural Experiences .......................................................77
Work Values ......................................................................78
Work Strengths ................................................................79
Team Leadership Preferences ..............................................79
Tips for Engaging Each Generation ..................................80
Engaging Matures ...........................................................80
Engaging Baby Boomers .................................................81
Engaging Generation Xers ..............................................81
Engaging New Millennials .............................................82
Generational Alliances and Conflicts ....................................82
Multigenerational Alliances ...........................................82
Multigenerational Conflicts ..........................................84
Building Multigenerational Collaboration ............................85
Summary: Key Ideas ................................................................86
The Generations ...................................................................86
Team Leadership Preferences .............................................86
Building Multigenerational Collaboration ......................86
Multigenerational Leadership Essentials ..........................87
Chapter 6 Facilitating Team Development at Meetings ..................89
Facilitation Power .....................................................................90
Facilitating as a Process ............................................................91
Leading versus Facilitating Meetings ................................92
Creating Ground Rules .............................................................92
Sample Ground Rules...........................................................94
Enforcing Ground Rules ......................................................94
Facilitator Competencies .....................................................94